Dennis Bergkamp returned to captain Arsenal for only the second time after shaking off the knee injury which ruled him out of the 5-1 triumph in Inter Milan.
The Dutchman replaced Kanu while there were milestone appearances aplenty in the Gunners' ranks. Fredrik Ljungberg made his 200th appearance for the club, Thierry Henry his 150th league appearance and Robert Pires his 100th in the league as the Gunners chased their seventh successive win.
Ray Parlour, out with a hamstring strain, was replaced by Gilberto Silva.
Fulham were seeking their first-ever victory at Highbury in the league and made one change as former Arsenal midfielder Junichi Inamoto replaced Barry Hayles. Louis Saha was seeking his 50th league goal.
Arsenal: Lehmann, Toure, Campbell, Cygan, Cole, Ljungberg, Silva, Edu, Pires, Bergkamp, Henry. Subs: Clichy, Kanu, Aliadiere, Stack, Hoyte.
Fulham: Van der Sar, Volz, Knight, Melville, Bonnissel, Malbranque, Clark, Legwinski, Inamoto, Sean Davis, Saha. Subs: Sava, Crossley, Hayles, Djetou, Goma.
Referee: G Barber (Hertfordshire)