It was a narrow loss, the two sides only separated by an unfortunate goal from a first-half set piece, which saw Altay Bayindir, under pressure from William Saliba, palm a Declan Rice corner towards the back post, where Riccardo Calafiori headed home.
The Reds looked strong going forward, with new signings Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha in particular showing flashes, but they were unable to breach the Gunners' defence.
Fernandes spoke to broadcasters after the game, pointing out positives to take despite the loss.
"It's the first game of the season, so we can't speak about step forward," the midfielder admitted to Sky Sports.