The Game

These are the sort of games which win you titles.

On a day which saw many Arsenal players failing to deliver and some shocking referee decisions, we get three very important points which keep our title hopes alive. I don’t know if Hull would have still managed to equalise but I firmly believe that had the linesman not helped them back into the game, we would have won it more comfortably. Someone once said that referees should be substituted just like players and today’s game shows why.

The game was not nice to see, we were struggling in the final part to create chances and when we did we blew them. What in my opinion changed the game was Theo’s introduction, which is funny, considering I was so disappointed to see Emmanuel being replaced, but Theo attacked the space and delivered some nice balls which a striker with different characteristics than Nick’s would have surely buried.

Anyway, a big sigh of relief as we can keep on dreaming, keep on hoping, or better, keep on believing. West Ham are next, at home, game in which Alex Song and hopefully Cesc Fabregas will make their comeback.

Match Video Highlights

Match video highlights are available in the Videos section of our website. If not there yet, rest assured they will be up in a matter of hours.

Player Ratings

Almunia: 6 – A virtual spectator Manuel, didn’t have much to do, I believe the penalty was the only time he was called in action.

Vermaelen: 7 – You can’t really blame him for linesmen mistakes. He made sure Hull City strikers were kept at bay.

Campbell: 6 – Like Thomas, can’t really blame him for poor refereeing although he was a little shaky in certain moments.

Clichy: 7,5 – I was very, very impressed with Gael’s performance today. Both defensively and offensively, he was a big asset for the side. You can easily say that slowly, the Frenchman is rediscovering his form, which is terrific to see.

Sagna: 7 – Very solid game for Bacary who also delivered some nice crosses.

Eboue: 7 – Brilliant first touch, nice tricks with the ball and an excellent overall performance. He was disappointed when substituted but it seems Arsene was spot on.

Denilson: 7 – You cannot deny the fact that his shot gave us the win. He had a very good game, promised it, and delivered it but he will never win me over if he keeps on jogging back when dispossessed. This, seriously, has to stop as he gets away with it sometimes – like today – but not in other occasions.

Diaby: 5 – A very, very poor game from Abou. I’m not sure what was wrong with him but whenever he got the ball, he just … stopped. He seemed out of ideas, rarely attacked the space and was guilty of going for goal from distance instead of passing it to a close team mate.

Nasri: 4,5 – Like Abou, Samir had a disappointing game. He also was slow on the ball and rarely managed to dribble his way past the Hull defenders. Let’s hope it’s just a one off.

Arshavin: 6,5 – Started brightly, scored and then … vanished. I said Andrey was going to be one of the keys for us today and in a way he was but he was shocking after the goal, especially in the second half in which he missed glorious chances. I’m not saying he did nothing worth mentioning in the second 45 minutes but by his standards, it was very little.

Bendtner: 6,5 – A mix of feelings today on his performance. He’s way too slow to be considered an Eduardo-like striker but as he’s been doing since his comeback from injury, used his body to perfection to help the midfielders getting up. And was also on target even if he didn’t hit it cleanly, scoring one of the season’s most important goals.

(Subs)
Walcott: 7,5 – Is it too high? I don’t think so. I kept a close eye on Theo and you could see the Hull left wingers going crazy when he came on, not only when he was on the ball, but also with his runs, which made sure Bacary was left unmarked when on the ball.

Eduardo: 6 – I loved his contribution. It wasn’t a usual inside-the-box cameo appearance by Dudu as he dropped very deep to help in midfield but still did pretty well.