- Date:2009-12-19
- Kick-off:17:30
- Venue:Emirates Stadium
- Attendance:60006
- Referee:Bennett, S
Live Commentary
90mins
Arsenal 3 Hull 0: Goals from Denilson, Eduardo and Diaby give Arsenal a comfortable victory in the end, following a tough 1st half.
90mins
Olofinjana is booked for his challenge on Eboue.
90mins
There have been 4 minutes of stoppage time signalled by the fourth official.
89mins
Ramsey shoots right-footed from the edge of the area towards the top corner and it's just wide of the upright.
88mins
Arsenal break immediately to the other end. Walcott gets clear on goal, loops it over Myhill but it bounces agonisingly wide.
87mins
Half chance for Hunt, but his shot is clawed away by Almunia.
85mins
Good play from Ramsey who finds Silvestre on the left. The Frenchman crosses low but it's deflected safely into the arms of Myhill.
83mins
High ball by Dawson into the penalty area looks for Zayatte, but Almunia comes out well and claims the ball.
82mins
Half chance for Zayatte to shoot inside the Arsenal penalty area, but the opportunity goes begging as he mis-kicks.
81mins
Arsenal substitution: Arshavin exits the field and is replaced by Carlos Vela.
79mins
Arsenal 3 Hull 0: Diaby finishes off a fine Arsenal passing move and the home side will surely now move back up above Aston Villa and Tottenham into third.
78mins
Mendy plays the ball into the area. Dawson shoots but it's cleared and Walcott breaks away for Arsenal.
77mins
The pace of the game has noticeably dropped over the past couple of minutes.
75mins
Fagan tries to go by Gallas, but fouls the Arsenal man. It's been a frustrating evening for Fagan.
74mins
Arsenal substitution: Walcott comes on to replace Eduardo.
73mins
Nasri breaks into the penalty area, but he shoots wide.
72mins
Woeful finish from Eduardo as he finds space in the box for a shot.
69mins
Low cross across the face of the goal and Myhill does well to turn the ball away for a corner.
67mins
Gardner does well to win possession from Arshavin, but then gives the ball straight back to Arsenal. Hull have been much less of a threat in this second half.
66mins
Hull substitution: Geovanni is replaced by Mendy.
66mins
Arsenal substitution: Nasri leaves the field to be replaced by Aaron Ramsey.
64mins
Arshavin tries to beat Zayatte inside the area, but the Hull man does well to shepherd the ball out for a goal-kick.
63mins
Eduardo moves forward in possession. He exchanges passes with Arshavin, who tries to find Silvestre, but he'd stopped his run and the ball is given away.
61mins
Decent first touch by Cousin helps the ball on towards Fagan, who goes down by it's Arsenal who are given the free-kick much to Phil Brown's disgust.
60mins
Hull substitution: Garcia goes off to be replaced by Cousin.
58mins
Arsenal 2 Hull 0: How Hull will rue that penalty miss now. Diaby's fine run is tapped home from close range by Eduardo. He couldn't miss.
53mins
Silvestre was booked for his foul on Fagan.
53mins
Poor penalty by Geovanni and Almunia saves. Hunt follows up but he heads wide. What a chance for Hull to equalise.
53mins
Silvestre brings down Fagan a long way off the ball and the referee has given Hull a penalty.
52mins
Hunt comes forward again for Hull, but he's dispossessed by Eboue and the danger is over.
50mins
Corner to Arsenal. They have come out of the blocks at a furious pace this half.
48mins
Hunt goes forward for Hull but he over-runs the ball and it's out for a goal-kick.
48mins
Diaby shoots and there are penalty claims for handball as it fires against Zayatte, but the referee waves play on.
47mins
Decent chance for Arsenal as Eduardo fires wide. Arsenal have started the second half far better.
46mins
Hull substitution: Barmby makes way for Olofinjana.
46mins
Arsenal get the second half underway.
45mins
The scuffles between the sides continue as the half-time whistle goes, with Garcia confronting Nasri and stewards coming in to help keep the sides apart.
45mins
Arsenal 1 Hull 0: Denilson's fabulous 30-yd free-kick three minutes into stoppage time gives Arsenal a half-time lead after a stuttering first-half display.
45mins
Geovanni's continued protests earn him a yellow card.
45mins
Arsenal 1 Hull 0: Fantastic 30-yard strike from Denilson and Arsenal gain the lead right on half-time.
45mins
Boateng receives a yellow card for his protests.
45mins
Song drives forward and finds Diaby who is fouled 30 yards from goal and it's a free-kick in a dangerous area for the hosts. Boateng is furious with the referee's decision.
45mins
Zayatte charges in late on Vermaelen on the edge of the Arsenal area and it's a yellow card for the Hull man.
45mins
There will be 3 minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
44mins
Hunt joins him for his reaction to Nasri's involvement.
44mins
Nasri goes into the referee's book for his part in the incident.
44mins
Steve Bennett is having a long conversation with both of his assistants working out what action to take.
43mins
Arshavin is fouled on the edge of the Hull area. Hunt clashes with Nasri and all of a sudden a fracas ensues between players from both sides and the referee has some sorting out to do here.
42mins
Geovanni breaks forward for Hull. They try to work an opportunity, but end up losing possession and Arsenal launch an attack themselves.
40mins
Arshavin plays the ball into the area, Song gets on the end of the cross and his header is deflected away for a corner.
38mins
Hull win a throw-in deep inside the Arsenal half after good pressure from Fagan.
37mins
The groans are ringing around the Emirates again as the home side struggle to put any spell of possession together.
35mins
Garcia tries to play the ball forward for Fagan down the right-hand side, but the Hull man is caught offside.
34mins
Hunt challenges Almunia again, which the Arsenal keeper looks unimpressed with.
33mins
Arshavin shoots left-footed from distance, but it goes well over.
32mins
Eboue plays a ball from deep into the area. Myhill leaves it but it eventually drifts out for a goal-kick.
30mins
Arshavin moves into the area and crosses but it's straight at Barmby who chests down and clears.
28mins
Good skill from Eduardo. He exchanges passes with Nasri but is barged off the ball too easily as he breaks into the area.
26mins
A cross into the Hull area is turned behind by Gardner and Arsenal have a corner.
25mins
Arsenal try to break forward but Song wastes possession for the hosts and the move breaks down.
24mins
Long ball over the Arsenal defence towards Fagan, but it's too long and runs through to Almunia.
24mins
Curling effort for Eduardo towards the far corner, but it's just off target with Myhill scrambling.
21mins
Arsenal still struggling to find their rhythm and Myhill in the visitor's goal has been largely a spectator.
19mins
Free-kick to Arsenal for a foul on Arshavin inside the Arsenal half.
18mins
Arsenal try to force their way into the Hull half, but lose possession and Hull receive a free-kick for a foul on Geovanni.
16mins
Long clearance forward by Myhill catches Hunt offside, but he continues his run and clatters into Almunia as the Arsenal keeper gathers the ball.
15mins
Nasri shoots from distance but it's saved by Myhill in the Hull goal.
14mins
Diaby shoots from the edge of the area and it gets a deflection and goes out for a corner.
13mins
Poor cross from Eboue and the first groans of frustration go up from the crowd at the Emirates. It's not been a great start for the Gunners.
10mins
Geovanni tries to play a ball forward, but it's over-hit and out for a goal-kick.
9mins
Long ball forward headed on by Hunt and Geovanni almost finds space to get a shot in, but it's put out for a throw-in to the visitors.
7mins
Silvestre crosses towards Arshavin, but it's cleared and Hull break well with Fagan and almost fashion a chance of their own.
6mins
It's been a reasonably start for the visitors, with Arsenal yet to settle into their usual flowing passing game.
5mins
Cross from Hunt. It bounces in front of Almunia, but Arsenal's stand-in captain for the day gathers the ball comfortably.
3mins
Fagan shoots from outside the penalty area for the visitors, but it goes wide of the post.
2mins
Arsenal try to fashion a chance with Eduardo inside the area, but Zayatte and McShane do well to crowd him out and the move comes to nothing.
1mins
First attack of the game and it comes from Hull, but Gallas cuts the ball out and clears the danger.
1mins
The visitors get the game underway.
0mins
Worryingly for the visitors, Hull have won only one of their last 22 Premier League games on the road and are 10 points worse off than they were at this stage last season.
0mins
Two goals for Arsenal this afternoon and Phil Browns Hull side will have conceded 100 league goals in just 1 ½ seasons.
0mins
The hosts have won 10 of their last 12 home Premier League games, each have been by at least a two-goal margin. They have, however, kept only two clean sheets in their last 10 league games.
0mins
There is little history between the two sides only 15 league meetings in 101 years, in which Arsenal have won eight, Hull three.
0mins
Arsenal will be without captain Cesc Fabregas who misses out with a hamstring strain in a game which they lost 2-1 last season.
0mins
Hull City team line-up: Myhill, McShane, Zayatte, Gardner, Dawson, Boateng, Garcia, Geovanni, Barmby, Hunt, Fagan
0mins
Arsenal team line-up: Almunia, Eboue, Vermaelen, Gallas, Silvestre, Song, Denilson, Nasri, Diaby, Eduardo, Arshavin
Match Preview
Following a disappointing midweek draw that saw his team held 1-1 by Burnley, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will be looking to make the most of the home advantage against Hull on Saturday.
However the Tigers have been in solid form of late, having suffered only one defeat in their last six league outings and, after a break during midweek, will be fired up for a repeat of last season's league meeting at Arsenal.
In September last year, Hull became the first team to win at the Emirates after coming from behind to claim a 2-1 victory with goals from Daniel Cousin and Geovanni sparking a run that saw them claim maximum points in their next three games.
However, this win was overshadowed by a fiery FA Cup encounter in March on the same turf that ended in a 2-1 win for the Gunners, with Hull boss Phil Brown accusing Cesc Fabregas (injured for the match) of spitting at the feet of his assistant Brian Horton.
Brown will be warning his backroom to be on their toes this time around as well, as captain Fabregas leads a long list of Gunners likely to be in the stands for this clash after coming off in the 43rd minute at Burnley with a hamstring injury.
Other key omissions for Arsene Wenger will be Tomas Rosicky (groin), Kieran Gibbs (metatarsal), Robin van Persie (ankle), Gael Clichy (back), Nicklas Bendtner (groin), Armand Traore and Johan Djourou (knee), while Denilson (back) could return.
The main problem for Hull will be the absence of talismanic midfielder Jimmy Bullard (knee) whilr captain Ian Ashbee (knee) is out for the season.
However, Tigers midfielder Dean Marney believes that even without Bullard, given his side's recent good form, Hull can repeat their success in London from last season, telling the local press: "We proved last season when we went to Arsenal and won that we are capable of getting results.
"There's a little bit of confidence back in the squad and we're all looking forward to games now."
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Match Report
Arsenal made the most of defeats for two of the supposed top-four, Manchester United and Liverpool, as they beat Hull City 3-0 in an ill-tempered encounter.
After Liverpool had lost at rock-bottom Portsmouth and United had been thrashed by Fulham earlier in the day, the Gunners moved to within two points of Sir Alex Ferguson's side and still have a game in hand on last term's champions.
There still appeared to be some bad blood between Arsene Wenger's side and the Tigers following their controversial FA Cup clash in March which ended with City alleging that Cesc Fabregas had spat in the direction of their assistant manager, Brian Horton.
A frustrating first half for the home side came to life just before the break when Samir Nasri appeared to stamp on Richard Garcia's foot, sparking a fracas among a host of players from both sides.
Almost immediately, and with the three minutes of first-half stoppage time almost up, Denilson curled in a fantastic 30-yard free-kick to give Wenger's side the perfect tonic.
However, Hull had not forgotten Nasri's action and scuffles continued as the half-time whistle went, with Richard Garcia confronting Nasri and stewards being forced to come in to help keep the two sides apart.
The visitors had the perfect chance to equalise eight minutes into the second half when they won a penalty after the hapless Mikael Silvestre brought down Craig Fagan.
However, Manuel Almunia saved Geovanni's weak penalty and from that moment on there was only going to be one winner.
Arsenal soon doubled their advantage when Abou Diaby surged forward before setting up Eduardo to net a simple second.
Abou Diaby lashed in a 79th-minute third goal after exchanging passes with Andrey Arshavin to put a gloss on the final scoreline which flattered the Gunners.
Hull almost snatched a consolation goal when Stephen Hunt was denied by Almunia while, at the other end, Arsenal substitute Theo Walcott sent a lob inches wide and Aaron Ramsay also went close to making it 4-0.
Arsenal Team
Hull City Team
Arsenal | Hull City |
Corners
| 8 | 0 |
Fouls
| 9 | 16 |
Goal attempts
| 14 | 6 |
Shots off target
| 9 | 4 |
Offsides
| 0 | 4 |



90mins
Shot from Walcott, but the young Arsenal man drills it wide.