Hull 1-4 Arsenal: Delightful Gunners Sweep Hull Aside With Aplomb

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Arsenal destroyed Hull at the KCOM stadium with an an assured performance blemished only by Robert Snodgrass’s penalty, 90min reports.

A minute’s applause was given before the match for Daniel Wilkinson, a former Hull player who sadly passed away this week.

Mike Phelan’s side got the match underway at the KCOM stadium, unchanged from their draw at Burnley and looking to keep a surprisingly good start to the season going.

Both sides tried to gain control of possession quickly, with Arsenal more heralded for their patient build-up. However, Hull were stroking the ball successfully as well early on, with Arsenal more proficient on the break.

Adama Diomande made a nuisance of himself in a promising position, before Alexis Sanchez got involved in a slick interchange of passes to set up an attacking opportunity for his side which dribbled out.

Mike Phelan could be observed applauding as his players continued to look confident, Abel Hernandezchasing down a through ball in vain. Andrew Robertson worked hard to defend a cross in turn.

The first meaningful attempt on goal was a touch wasteful from Sanchez, firing it awry. Meanwhile, cross-field balls from Sam Clucas and David Meyler were giving Hull another attacking dimension.

The lead, however, was taken by the away side. Patient attacking play with a string of passes found its way to Hector Bellerin, whose cross found Alex Iwobi, then Santi Cazorla andt Theo Walcott before Iwobi rifled a shot in off Sanchez.

A few moments later, Sanchez was just prevented from doubling the lead by a moment of desperate defending. Hull were on the ropes, and Arsenal were pouring forward at any opportunity to gain command of the contest.

Iwobi was looking red-hot whenever he touched the ball, and Walcott also looked like a man determined to impress even if his next shot was fairly tame in the end.

A second should have been scored by Mesut Özil, as he followed up an Iwobi effort with a skier into the stands. The likes of Coquelin, Özil and Cazorla were oozing with confidence, and Mustafi earned his credit with a beautifully timed challenge to cut off a Diomande run.

Hull found themselves with a first real chance at goal when Diomande once again surged forward. The ball ended up with Robert Snodgrass, but his shot was disappointing.

The Hull fans urged their players forward with half time looming, but Arsenal would not be denied. A penalty and red card would further dismay the crowd, as Theo Walcott fired a goal bound effort into the arm of Jake Livermore.

The ex-Spurs player walked off shaking his head, but Eldin Jakupovic produced an excellent save from Sanchez’s admittedly iffy penalty to turn the boos into cheers.

He had to produce another stop when a corner was headed at him by his own defender in Elmohamady, and must have been relieved that no more was asked of him until half time.

Cazorla had been booked earlier for a challenge on Elmohamady, and another trip left the Hull faithful begging for another to make it 10 against 10. A final warning was issued.

The ire of the home fans was further stoked when a dodgy Mustafi challenge was ignored with Hull in the ascendancy.

Arsenal were content to pass in front of a deep-sitting Hull, and the defensive tactic proved fruitless to stop Walcott and Iwobi exchanging passes via a wonderful Iwobi back-heel before the former angled it in, withHarry Maguire unable to prevent the ball crossing the line off his head. The Gunners deserved their 2-0 lead.

A rampant Arsenal continued to probe, looking greedy to pouch more goals as their fans sang loud and long. The noise faltered, however, when Abel Hernandez launched an overhead kick off the bar following a poor Snodgrass free kick.

Hull bravely mounted a few more attacks, but Arsenal were only reinforced by Granit Xhaka’s substitution for Cazorla. They began to press hard, and calmly dealt with any potential danger. Xhaka and Walcott combined for the latter to fire a decent snapshot at goal from 25 yards out.

As if the home fans were not angry enough, it looked as if an obvious penalty for sub Mbokani was going to be waved away after Petr Cech’s foul. The former Norwich forward had his first touch before his legs were snatched from beneath him.

The referee decided in the end that it was a foul, and Snodgrass coolly dispatched the penalty. The goal seemed to have made for a nervy final ten minutes for Arsenal.

In a cruel twist of fate, though, Walcott’s blocked shot fell to Sanchez, who was afforded a simple opportunity to restore the two-goal advantage. The Chilean found the roof of the net with his finish.

The game was realistically over, with Arsenal able to watch the clock tick down in relative comfort. Not in the mind of Granit Xhaka, who suddenly smacked a 30-yard screamer in the top bin with his left foot to compound Hull’s misery and seal the three points once and for all. The referee brought the contest to a close a minute later.

Xhaka blockbuster makes it four one.... drop him at your peril Wenger pic.twitter.com/5jxU9XGL8j

— GJON (@Gjon777) September 17, 2016

Arsenal look a side to be reckoned with all over the park, and might be considered title contenders after all.