Odegaard secures victory for Arsenal as champions edge past stubborn Hull
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard’s 72nd-minute strike secured an ugly win over Hull and sent the champions six points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Newly promoted Hull were expected to be comfortably declawed. Instead, they pushed Arsenal to the limit. Mikel Arteta’s side claimed a ninth league win from ten, their ability to find a way through underlining why he sets the standard among Premier League managers.
Playing at home after three demanding away fixtures and still unbeaten in the Champions League, Arsenal lacked attacking fluency.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 72nd minute. Noni Madueke fired a shot from the right that Hull’s Greek goalkeeper, Kostas Tzolakis, could only parry back into danger. Odegaard was there to seize on the loose ball and convert the rebound, giving Arsenal the lead after Hull had frustrated them for more than an hour.
Hull deserved credit for more than their organisation. Elliot Stroud forced a sharp save from David Raya and John Egan headed narrowly wide.
VAR provided the first half’s biggest talking point. Nobel Mendy pulled Kai Havertz’s shirt inside the box, prompting a lengthy review. Referee Farai Hallam announced a holding offence but awarded Hull a free-kick for an earlier offside involving Havertz, by the width of an elbow.
The decision infuriated Arteta and brought another shirt-pulling controversy into focus, a week after Jurrien Timber went unpunished for a similar incident in Arsenal’s win at Liverpool.
Madueke tested Tzolakis again after the interval. Arteta then introduced Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyokeres, followed by Eberechi Eze and Piero Hincapie. Three minutes after the second double substitution, Odegaard broke Hull’s resistance.
Arsenal know a fast start guarantees nothing: they also took 24 points from nine games in 2022-23 but finished second. Manchester City’s record 19-point title-winning margin in 2017-18 remains a distant benchmark.
Their defensive record is remarkable, however. Just five league goals conceded despite William Saliba, arguably the world’s best centre-back, missing every match this season with a back problem. He is due to build his match fitness with the under-21s against Aston Villa on Sunday having been an unused sub in teh midweek Champions League victory in Prague.
