Arsenal took all three points against a stubborn Hull City side to head into the November international break atop the Premier League table. The visitors played well, closing down gaps in the lines and ball-carriers quickly, but the Gunners were persistent. Eventually, they found a breakthrough with Martin Ødegaard slamming home a rebound from a Noni Madueke shot. It’s “to the Arsenal, one-nil” for a reason, folks. That’s quite often all this bunch needs. They saw out the match comfortably.
It wasn’t
pretty but it was enough! We shouldn’t dwell too long (at all) on a less-than-scintillating performance as the third match in a Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday stretch, particularly one that included a 1-0 win at Liverpool and an away win in the Champions League. That’s a lot of football and a lot of travel. You take ‘em how you can get ‘em when you’ve got tough weeks.
Hull City opened the match pressing higher than expected and playing with a lot of energy and physicality. It looked like it was going to be a match full of Arsenal players getting kicked and perhaps progressively more frustrated at being kicked. But Hull scaled it back significantly after the opening 10-15 minutes, became more selective, and dropped their line deeper. The result was a pretty drab opening 30ish minutes of the game.
The visitors got their best and really only chance of the match in that period. Arsenal were looking to break quickly but Riccardo Calafiori rushed what should have been a fairly easy pass to Christos Tzolis on the wing. The resulting turnover eventually led to an excellent chance that David Raya did well to turn away. Other than that self-inflicted moment, Arsenal didn’t allow the visitors a sniff.
That’s kind of the tradeoff opposing teams are looking to make against Arsenal, particularly at the Emirates. Play organized, conservative football to make it a low-event game, capitalize on the one decent to good chance you get, and hope to keep the Gunners out at the other end. There is no question in my mind that Hull City making it difficult for Arsenal to find a way through for most of the match came at the cost of their attacking potency.
The only other moment in the first half worth recapping was Kai Havertz being denied a penalty for a shirt pull because he was offside. From what the referee announced to the stadium but for the offside, Arsenal would have had a spot kick. According to referee analysts, however, they may have misapplied the Laws.
Fortunately, Arsenal rendered it a moot point midway through the second half. The Gunners quickly recycled a poor Hull City clearance to Noni Madueke. The winger’s blistered shot forced a juicy rebound, and Martin Ødegaard was first to it. The captain tucked it away and that was all Arsenal needed.
They could have and likely should have extended their lead late in the half. Noni Madueke was put in brilliantly by a Mikel Merino backheel flick but the goalkeeper got a foot on the ball as the winger tried to cut around him. It looked like Merino screamed at Madueke for not shooting earlier and it also looked like he apologized for the outburst after the match. Madueke also had a penalty shout in added time. He felt he was bundled over from behind. Was there enough contact? Maybe, maybe not. It was certainly clumsy and risky!
You’ll notice Noni Madueke’s name keeps coming up. The winger was excellent and Arsenal’s most dangerous player. He’s really stepped up his game with Bukayo Saka on the shelf and looks to be playing with plenty of confidence. He’s a consistent attacking threat. Hopefully he picks up where the international break is leaving things off because it feels like he’s on the precipice of really breaking through in terms of goal contributions. He’s getting into excellent positions, driving at his defenders, and creating chaos.
Kai Havertz had an off game, mostly because he really struggled to stay onside. He has been whistled offside 15 times this season, more than Bukayo Saka’s team-leading 14 offside calls last season. Glass half empty — you really need your striker to stay onside. Glass half full — Havertz and Arsenal are pushing forward and looking to run behind more frequently and that’s a good thing. Christos Tzolis had an off game, too. He was not efficient and effective with his touches in the way that he has been since joining the club. I’m willing to chalk it up to his hamstring injury layoff.
Bruno Guimaraes was only okay. You expect him to periodically turn the ball over trying to play his high risk, high reward passes. The ledger had too many ticks on the turnover side today. That’s going to happen but you accept it because when they do come off, it creates high-danger situations.
Arsenal were not at their scintillating best today nor have they been for a number of their performances this fall. But you really can’t argue with results when the underlying numbers are mostly there, too. Since the October international break, they’ve won 7 and drawn 2. The draws were away to Bayern and Fleetwood Town (LOL) in the Carabao Cup. They’ve won 10 straight at home in all competitions, keeping 8 clean sheets. They’ve taken 27 of 30 points on offer in the Premier League, equaling the best 10-match start in club history, and sit atop the table.
And let’s not forget they’ve done most / all of it missing two superstars. They should have William Saliba back after the break. Get better soon, Bukayo Saka. This Arsenal side is something else, aren’t they?
