Match ends, Arsenal 2, Hull City 0.
Arsenal 2-0 Hull City
- From the section Premier League
Nicklas Bendtner's first Arsenal goal since March 2011 helped the Gunners beat Hull to keep their four-point lead at the Premier League summit.
The Danish striker headed in Carl Jenkinson's cross after two minutes to set up a dominant display with Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor kept busy.
Mesut Ozil stroked in from Aaron Ramsey's deft pass to make it 2-0 after 47 minutes.
Jake Livermore had a rare Hull shot but fired straight at Wojciech Szczesny.
Hull boss Steve Bruce said just before kick-off that "it might have been foolish" to play with two strikers in attempt to earn a result, having secured a surprise win against Liverpool on Sunday.
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But his side could probably have played with 12 players and still struggled to contain Arsenal's precision passing and clever movement as Ozil, Ramsey and Santi Cazorla weaved all sorts of patterns in midfield to secure a sixth victory in seven Premier League games.
With questions being raised about Arsenal's ability to maintain their title challenge, having last won the Premier League title 10 seasons ago and with Bendtner as the only back-up for first-choice striker Olivier Giroud, the 25-year-old's early goal signified another piece of the jigsaw falling into place.
Arsenal now face games against Everton, Manchester City and Chelsea before Christmas where their title credentials will be rigorously tested.
So it was understandable that Gunners boss Arsene Wenger shuffled the pack, deciding to rest Giroud, Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere among five changes to the side.
Bendtner, who has had a woeful period at the club after loan spells at Juventus last term and Sunderland the previous season, made his first Premier League start for Arsenal since 5 March 2011.
But he wasted little time in making his mark by heading in Jenkinson's precise cross after a sweeping Gunners move down their right.
That led to a sustained period of pressure from the hosts with Hull barely able to get out of their own half. There appeared little chance of the Tigers repeating their 2-1 win at Emirates Stadium in 2008.
In that time, Bendtner could have had another goal but was let down by a poor touch after McGregor has spilled Ozil's shot. Laurent Koscielny, Cazorla and Ozil also went close before half-time with McGregor saving superbly to deny Ramsey.
It took 15 minutes for the visitors to have any sort of sustained possession in Arsenal's half and Danny Graham's header was their first effort on target after half an hour, the only surprise at the break was that it was only 1-0.
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Arsenal began the second half as they did the first and doubled their lead after 47 minutes.
Despite suggestions the ball had gone out of play in the build-up, Nacho Monreal appeared to keep the ball in, fed Ramsey and the Welshman's delightful pass found Ozil for the German's fourth goal of the season.
Ramsey and Bendtner could have added a third, and although Hull improved in the final third of the match, the contest was played at an intensity that suggested it was already won.
Only Livermore came close after a decent run as Arsenal secured their fifth clean sheet in their last six Premier League games.
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Hull City boss Steve Bruce: "The one thing you want to do is start well and they have scored a wonderful goal, we've been done on a one-two in a wide area, but it's wonderful. Arsenal are confident enough and then when they go 1-0 up early on it becomes a difficult evening for us.
"I was delighted to get back into the game but lo and behold we did the same thing in the second half but late on we rolled our sleeves up otherwise it could have been embarrassing."
Line-ups
Arsenal
- 1Szczesny
- 25Jenkinson
- 17Monreal
- 20Flamini
- 4Mertesacker
- 6Koscielny
- 7RosickySubstituted forWilshereat 73'minutes
- 16RamseySubstituted forArtetaat 80'minutes
- 23BendtnerSubstituted forWalcottat 73'minutes
- 11Özil
- 19Cazorla
Substitutes
- 5Vermaelen
- 8Arteta
- 10Wilshere
- 12Giroud
- 14Walcott
- 21Fabianski
- 28Gibbs
Hull
- 1McGregor
- 27El Mohamady
- 11BradySubstituted forRoseniorat 58'minutes
- 3Figueroa
- 4Bruce
- 5Chester
- 14Livermore
- 8Huddlestone
- 9GrahamSubstituted forBoydat 58'minutes
- 20SagboSubstituted forNagyat 73'minutes
- 7Meyler
Substitutes
- 2Rosenior
- 10Koren
- 12Fryatt
- 17Boyd
- 18Nagy
- 22Harper
- 23Faye
- Referee:
- Andre Marriner
- Attendance:
- 60,017
Match Stats
Home TeamArsenalAway TeamHull
- Possession
- Home67%
- Away33%
- Shots
- Home20
- Away7
- Shots on Target
- Home7
- Away2
- Corners
- Home11
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home9
- Away6
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Arsenal 2, Hull City 0.
Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City).
Offside, Hull City. Ahmed Elmohamady tries a through ball, but George Boyd is caught offside.
Foul by Nacho Monreal (Arsenal).
Jake Livermore (Hull City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Gedo (Hull City).
Foul by Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal).
Liam Rosenior (Hull City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Mikel Arteta replaces Aaron Ramsey.
Substitution
Substitution, Hull City. Gedo replaces Yannick Sagbo.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Jack Wilshere replaces Tomas Rosicky.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Theo Walcott replaces Nicklas Bendtner.
Nacho Monreal (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull City).
Attempt blocked. Tom Huddlestone (Hull City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by David Meyler.
Attempt missed. George Boyd (Hull City) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Yannick Sagbo with a cross following a set piece situation.
Foul by Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal).
Yannick Sagbo (Hull City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Jake Livermore (Hull City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Wojciech Szczesny (Arsenal) because of an injury.
Delay in match Yannick Sagbo (Hull City) because of an injury.
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Alex Bruce.
Attempt blocked. Santiago Cazorla (Arsenal) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mesut Özil.
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Maynor Figueroa.
Attempt blocked. Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Aaron Ramsey.
Substitution
Substitution, Hull City. Liam Rosenior replaces Robbie Brady.
Substitution
Substitution, Hull City. George Boyd replaces Danny Graham.
Mesut Özil (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Maynor Figueroa (Hull City).
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Robbie Brady.
Attempt missed. Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Santiago Cazorla with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Allan McGregor.
Attempt saved. Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Mesut Özil with a through ball.
Carl Jenkinson (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by David Meyler (Hull City).
Attempt blocked. Yannick Sagbo (Hull City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Robbie Brady.