Arsenal Stumble To Disappointing Draw

Match Review: Arsenal 2 Hull City 2 - Premier League 18.10.14

An international break after a loss can go one of two ways, it either gives your team the time to refresh as they mentally separate themselves from the club whilst on national duty or it can turn into an elongated hangover as the opportunity to set things right as soon as possible was interrupted. Sadly, for Arsenal it looks as though the latter is applicable this weekend.

There is a certain air of discontent tinged with a smattering of relief as Arsenal avoided defeat but now sit 11 point off the leaders having won a mere two games out of eight.

It was a strange contest with Hull offering the most casual of starts and Arsenal creating a string of chances and looking like they were going to take out their frustrations of weeks past on the visitors. Welbeck and Cazorla had early chances but found their finishes, including a gem from Cazorla, equalled by the determination of Steve Harper. Arsenal pushed forward looking to capitalise on Hull's lethargic start and the opener was provided in brilliant individual style by Alexis with a dancing run down the right, into the box before shooting across goal with a lethal shot that nestled in the opposite side of the goal.

For a few fleeting moments it looked as though Arsenal would take command of the match and roll out a big home win. However, the atmosphere was dampened minutes later when Mohamed Diamé ran powerfully through the heart of our makeshift defence to calmly lift the ball over the advancing Szczesny. Nacho Monreal, filling in for the injured Laurent Koscielny and suspended Chambers, played the role of bystander in this scene whilst Mathieu Flamini, who was easily pushed off the ball - possibly even illegally - before flicking the ball into Diamé's path, took the role of villain to many. To others, the true antagonist of this story was the referee, Roger East.

In a week where former referees' chief Keith Hackett bemoaned our lack of top quality referees we were subjected to another woeful display. This should not detract from our poor performance but as the late equaliser showed, and our many late escapes this season prove, even when we are playing poorly we can get a result - our determination and scrappiness should not be overlooked nor dismissed as it may come in very handy in matches to come. However, when you are playing poorly and the referee shows a lack of competence it is incredibly hard to win games.

Arsenal should be winning these types of games regardless but it's not wrong to lay a proportion of the blame at the feet of the officials.

Things didn't improve much in the second half as almost immediately Hull took the lead after great work from Abel Hernández. After that Arsenal attempted to get a foothold back in the game. Arsenal were playing intricate stuff and were completely dominating the ball but Hull's defensive lines, at the back and in midfield, proved difficult to break down. Arsenal came close to an equaliser when Alexis breezed in to glance in a header towards goal, sadly matched by a superb reflexes from the replacement goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic after Hull lost Harper to injury.

Arsenal kept knocking at the door and it was Alexis who again made the difference with an inspired assist for Welbeck who put the ball away much to the relief of all who bleed red and white. Arsenal searched for a winner over the next 4 minutes of stoppage time but couldn't find their cup final moment again.

After the game Wenger said "It was a disappointing afternoon because we got a point but we had 80 per cent possession. It is a very disappointing result. We were unlucky with the referee on the first goal but on the second goal we can only blame ourselves. We came out of the dressing room with a lack of focus and gave them the lead straight away. It was difficult. I cannot fault the effort or the heart that we had in the game. The defensive concentration was missing on the second goal and when you make it difficult at that level you cannot give the goals away like that".

Sadly we've given too many of these goals away. Arsenal need to get their backline fit and settled as soon as possible if they want to have any hope of clawing at the deficit and making it to the January transfer window with a glimmer of hope.

Teams

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)

Szczesny, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs, Flamini (Ramsey 62'), Wilshere (Y) (Campbell 68'), Cazorla (Y), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis, Welbeck
Subs
Martinez, Coquelin, Campbell, Ramsey, Arteta, Rosicky, Ajayi

Hull City (3-5-2)
Harper (Jakupovic 42'), Chester (Y), Davies, Dawson (Bruce 84'), Elmohamady, Huddlestone, Livermore, Diamé, Robertson, Ben Arfa, Hernandez (Ramirez 62')
Subs
Jakupovic, Rosenior, Bruce, Ramirez, Quinn, Brady

Player Ratings

Szczesny - 5/10 - Nothing to do except pick the ball out of the net
Bellerin - 6/10 - Grew in stature as the game went on
Mertesacker - 4/10 - Surrounded by inexperience he could have marshalled better
Monreal - 3/10 - Not an option at centre-back but could have won the game at the end
Gibbs - 6/10 - A reasonable game but was missing for Hull's second
Flamini - 6/10 - Half at fault, half unlucky for their first goal. Did okay otherwise.
Wilshere - 6/10 - Some decent passing
Cazorla - 7/10 - A good but largely ineffective performance. Locked out.
Sanchez - 8/10 - Our most dangerous player. Contributed with a beautiful goal and assist
Chamberlain - 5/10 - Gave it his best, but didn’t get much joy & his passing was slack
Welbeck - 6/10 - Struggled to find pace but took the equaliser well
Subs
Ramsey - 6/10 - Added some drive to midfield & played a splendid ball for the unclaimed winner
Campbell - 5/10 - Looked lively but slack in possession

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