We knew it wasn’t going to be easy and easy it wasn’t. Having watched Stoke City’s determination almost helping them in snatching a draw away at Chelsea this afternoon, that sort of determination was also put on show by Hull City against the Arsenal and it turned out to be a very entertaining match.

The second half was very much as expected, but not from the first minute. Although on the long run Hull did put a lot of pressure on us which eventually paid off, it was our lads who dictated the game in the first minutes of the half, up to a point of dominating possession and getting close to a double lead when Adebayor did well to get past his marker but his left-footed strike was save by Myhill. Hull’s reply to that saw Djourou completely failing to make contact with the ball in the penalty area, clashing into Manucho but luckily, the referee waved play on.

Hull’s pressure paid off in the 64th minute. Mendy is picked on the right wing, Clichy fails to close him down, his cross is deflected into the path of Cousin who makes no mistake from close range with the head. The lucky deflection from the cross proved crucial but Gael completely lost his battle with Mendy on the wing today.

With the home side pushing on in search of a win, it was however the Arsenal having the last laugh and with Bendtner replacing Eboue, Hull simply had no answers to the questions asked by our lads. In the 75th minute, a low Van Persie free kick went wide with Bendtner calling Myhill into action four minutes later after doing well on the right. The lead was taken in the 81st minute. Nicklas does well to create space on the right, left it to Van Persie who turns brilliantly and picks Nasri who fires a low left-footed shot for 1-2. The finish, from the Frenchman, was simply amazing.

Four minutes later it was 1-3. Van Persie – in an offside position – picks Bendter’s run into the penalty area with the finish by the Danish too good for the keeper. And, it could have been 1-4 minutes later but Nicklas’ header from a Clichy cross smashed against the post. As funny as it may sound, the Danish striker has been doing incredibly well in Eboue’s position and deserves to keep the place in the next match.

Player Ratings

Almunia: 6 – Not much to do, but at least he looked more communicative and secure than last week.
Clichy: 5 – Lost the battle with Wendy and gave him way too much space in the move which led to the goal.
Toure : 6,5 – He’s doing very well for someone who was very close to the exit.
Djourou: 6 – A very unorthodox piece of defending could have lead to a penalty and was also caught sleeping in the Cousin goal.
Sagna: 6,5 – Another solid performance from the Frenchman.
Denilson: 5 – Hull players simply walked past him when he had defending to do, but can’t blame him as he’s no good as a holding midfield. Song would have been a much better option for today’s match.
Diaby: 5,5 – Showed some good skills when pushing forward but very little when he had to help the back four. Like Denilson, Song would have been a better option.
Eboue: 5 – Created space and made a number of good runs in the first half, but his final touch was extremely poor.
Nasri: 7,5 – It’s so good to see him perform so consistently. The finish to give us the 1-2 lead was top class.
Adebayor: 8 – Welcome back Emmanuel. This is what I was calling for last week – the runs, the strength, the shielding of the ball. Keep it up big boy.
Van Persie: 8,5* – Involved in all three goals, went close with a stunning free-kick and confirming he’s enjoying the form of the season.

(Subs)
Bendtner: 10 – If a 10 is deserved, it should be given. Did everything right, from the first touch to the last and going by what I saw in these last two weeks, it would be a good move by Wenger to drop Eboue and start with Nicklas on the right wing.
Song: No Vote. – Too little from him but deserved to start, considering the match.

*Rating changed after the author of the article was chased by some of the readers in the middle of the night. Luckily, he escaped unhurt.