Hull City 1 - Arsenal 2: Too Close, But 3 Points Is All That Counts

The matches are all ticking down, 8 more to go, Arsenal have 64 points, joint level with leaders Chelsea who have played a game less, and 1 point above Man Utd who have also played 1 game less. If Arsenal are to win the championship, they cannot afford any losses or draws, they require 24 points from the next 24, why expect anything less?


This match was a hurdle that needed to be overcome, and the team just about did it. The team started very well, lots of nice passes and movement, there was a sequence where there were 3 successive blind passes from the team as they ripped Hull apart with their skill. The team took the lead, nice build up on the right, the ball found its way to Arshavin who dinked in between 2 players and fired home, really nice goal.


From then, Arsenal continued to push a little bit, Arshavin missing efforts, is he becoming close mates with Bendtner? That said, Hull constantly tested the Arsenal defensive line, their Dutch striker being flagged offside before finally 'breaking' the trap and clashing with Campbell for a penalty. Bullard smashed past Almunia who had no chance, but it was a very very dubious penalty, the player was offside and in England, tackles like that are rarely a foul.....


After that, their captain Boateng got a red card, a natural consequence after the team focus on persistent fouling, he could have caused serious damage to Sagna with his tackle. Campbell also did his share, clattering into Zayatte, he was substituted. Campbell in my opinion should have got a red, we cannot cry foul when others tackle hard, we do it as well, Zayatte was on crutches at the end.

Hull then resorted to a 4-4-0, and sat very deep. Arsenal never took any shots until the final 4 mins, first Clichy, then Denilson, his shot was spilt and Bendtner smashed home, 2-1.


My view, the team could have solved this game earlier, this business of taking games to the limit is not too clever. The team faces West Ham, who are a good team, we need all the reserves for them, if the match was 'finished' after 70mins, we could have integrated Eduardo to play and get into form and not rush him. Secondly, where were the shots on goal? You don't win if you don't shoot, and yes, we can shoot from outside the box. Third, we need Gallas back ASAP, I'm not sure that Campbell can handle so many games in a week, he looked very shaky today.


Match Ratings

Almunia 4: Not much to do.

Sagna 3: Still scatter crossing, decent in defence though.

Campbell 2: Gave away a penalty, looked sluggish at the back. Headed everything away though, but clearly doesn't want the ball to feet.

Vermaelen 4: Decent game, not much to handle with.

Clichy 3: Bad crossing, good intercepts though.

Denilson 3: He seriously needs to hit the gym this summer, ridiculous he gets knocked off the ball so easily, bulk up.

Diaby 4: Carried the ball well and made some nice tackles, but not decisive.

Nasri 2: Bump back to earth, been very good in the last few games, offered nothing today.

Eboue 3: Not much impact despite some fine running.

Arshavin 3: Nice goal, but very wasteful and lazy.

Bendtner 4: Bad control, but held his nerve when the time came to bury his shot to clinch the points.

Eduardo N/A: Not much time,then again looks slow in legs and head.

Walcott 2: Still has very fine speed in his legs, but some of his passing and crossing stinks. Why cross or pass when there is no one in the box?


Coach Rating

Wenger 5: Used his best players available, although why did Denilson stay on for so long? Also when Hull went ultra defensive, he could have reacted quicker and introduced Walcott or Eduardo wide or up front. Apart from that, 3 points is what he is paid to deliver.