Hull City v Arsenal: Premier League – as it happened
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http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2015/may/04/hull-city-v-arsenal-premier-league-live Version 0 of 1. 9.58pm BST21:58 Okay, that’s us for tonight. Well deserved win for Arsenal, who did the job with those three goals fairly late in the first half. Hull huffed, puffed, should have scored early on and made things a bit interesting with that Quinn reply, but never looked like stepping things up much further. But we’ve had fun and learned what flat-track bullies are – or aren’t! – so the second 45 minutes was well worth tagging along for. Arsenal are level on points with second-placed Manchester City, two goals shy but with a game in hand. Hull remain a point clear of 18th-placed Sunderland, who have a game in hand themselves. All to play for. Thanks for your company, and goodnight. 9.53pm BST21:53 St Totteringham’s Day is confirmed Arsenal have finished above Spurs 20 times in the past 20 seasons. Tottenham have finished ahead of Arsenal 10 times in the past 48 seasons 9.52pm BST21:52 FULL-TIME! Hull 1-3 Arsenal Spirited second half from Hull, but it wasn’t really in doubt. Updated at 9.55pm BST 9.51pm BST21:51 90+4 min: Last chance for a Sanchez hat trick! It’s Cazorla again, setting Arsenal off on a 2 v 2 counter, but Dawson stands the Chilean up well. Still, he makes room for a shot and might do better than drag it wide of the far post. 9.49pm BST21:49 90+2 min: A glimpse of goal for Walcott, who is well found by Bellerin 10 yards out but the angle isn’t in his favour and he swivels to bobble a shot wide. 9.49pm BST21:49 @nickames82 "struggles against the good ones" like winning 2-0 against Manchester City, 2-1 against MUFC, etc? #narrative #justgivingadictionarydefinitionandwhatdoesnarrativemeananyway? Updated at 9.49pm BST 9.48pm BST21:48 90+1 min: We are in the first of four added minutes. 9.47pm BST21:47 @NickAmes82 Has Giroud's impact on the game been as non existent as the text commentary makes out? ha That would be harsh, but he was fairly quiet. 9.45pm BST21:45 89 min: Walcott wins Arsenal’s fifth corner. Hull have not had one. It comes to nought. 9.45pm BST21:45 88 min: Robbert Bronkhorst – “Well? Peter Finn isn’t the only one left out of the loop. What is a “Flat Track Bully?” Lucky for you that this game is right out of dramatic tension, Robbert. I’ll tell you. It’s to describe a team that defeats weaker teams with ease but struggles against the good ones. 9.43pm BST21:43 86 min: Promising English youngster Theo Walcott replaces Giroud. 9.43pm BST21:43 85 min: Could/should have been four, Harper saving from Bellerin before Wilshere’s rebound seems to strike Chester on the arm. Sanchez, who could have had more than a few here, then shoots into the side netting. 9.41pm BST21:41 84 min: A Cazorla daisycutter nearly fools Harper, who was going to his left but ends up having to kick away with his right. It didn’t appear to be deflected. 9.40pm BST21:40 83 min: Huddlestone sets Hull on the counter with a delightful flick that redeems all his ills from the previous 82 minutes sees the ball worked to N’Doye, whose cross to the edge of the box is wasteful. Updated at 9.40pm BST 9.39pm BST21:39 82 min: It is cleared. Hull win a throw in. 9.38pm BST21:38 81 min: Corner to Arsenal, Dawson putting Ozil’s centre behind. But first up, Jelavic replaces Quinn for Hull. 9.37pm BST21:37 80 min: Nice footwork from Brady on the left but this time his cross isn’t very good. He gets another go and that’s cleared too, this time by Koscielny. 9.35pm BST21:35 79 min: “What’s a flat track bully?” asks Peter Finn. 9.34pm BST21:34 78 min: Meyler, perhaps still operating with one eye, finds loads of space inside the box and, with N’Doye unattended in the middle, crosses behind him from the right. That was a great position. 9.33pm BST21:33 77 min: Huddlestone is caught yet again, beginning a counter that ends – to cut a long story short – in Harper juggling the ball out for a throw. Yes. 9.32pm BST21:32 76 min: Sanchez nearly gets between McShane and Harper from a long Ospina clearance. Harper gets out to gather and has to drop it smartly to avoid carrying it out of his box....and 30 seconds later has to drop like a stone onto a Cazorla sidefoot from Ozil’s cutback. Updated at 9.52pm BST 9.30pm BST21:30 74 min: Hull’s sting may have been drawn now. Anyone got any thoughts on Arsenal being flat-track bullies? 9.29pm BST21:29 73 min: Meyler, who has been good since his introduction, is back on. His right eye is virtually sealed shut. Updated at 9.30pm BST 9.29pm BST21:29 72 min: The free kick is in perfect Sanchez range....but this time it’s deflected away rather than in. 9.27pm BST21:27 70 min: Early involvement from Wilshere, surging forward in Wilshere-esque fashion before being scythed down outside the box. But at the other end, Koscielny had seemed to catch Meyler with blood drawn. The crowd are not happy – Meyler is having to go off for a bit. Updated at 9.41pm BST 9.26pm BST21:26 69 min: Phil West asks if this is a dive. Any views? 9.25pm BST21:25 68 min: Jack Wilshere is back! He replaces Ramsey, and the away fans sing his name. 9.22pm BST21:22 65 min: Aluko off, Andy Robertson – a left back – on for Hull. I assume we’ll see Brady pushed further up, and a switch to a back four. 9.21pm BST21:21 64 min: Sanchez is found by a lovely Ozil flick and hares down the left. He tries to pick Ozil out in the box but Harper stretches out a hand. Then Ramsey blasts over after another flowing move. Updated at 9.33pm BST 9.20pm BST21:20 63 min: Arsenal get their feet on the ball for a bit and McShane has to be alert to concede a corner with Cazorla looking to go clear. That is cleared, but not before Arsenal win two headers in the box. 9.17pm BST21:17 60 min: Could have been another! Elmohamady again, this time nearer to the byline, stands up an inviting ball and McShane, getting up behind N’Doye, connects well but thunders his header over! 9.16pm BST21:16 59 min: That, of course, came from nowhere but seems to have spiced things up. A few hackles are raised by a Coquelin challenge on the goalscorer Quinn, who is in pain. He gets up. Good goal from him, and it’s worth underlining that he has already made some intelligent late runs onto crosses despite his small stature. 9.14pm BST21:14 GOAL! Hull 1-3 Arsenal (Quinn 57) Oh! Oh! Right then...Koscielny tackles Meyler but the ball runs straight to Elmohamady, who puts in another excellent ball from the right and the diminutive Quinn, ghosting into the box not for the first time, finds space to nod downwards and past Ospina! Better do some work! Updated at 9.24pm BST 9.13pm BST21:13 56 min: Richie from Cape Town – “Is there a “special” or is there really no train back to London until 05h00 tomorrow? Surely, beating Hull doesn’t warrant an all-night celebration?” Ramsey has just stabbed a clever shot, not dissimilar to his FA Cup final winner against Hull from last May actually, wide of the near post. 9.10pm BST21:10 54 min: Honestly, nothing has happened. Aluku has chested the ball out of play. There’ve been a few fouls. Bellerin tried a sparkly run down the right. It’s hard to see this changing too much. As I said, Hull won’t want a hiding. 9.09pm BST21:09 53 min: Peter McMurry with grim tidings for his fellow Arsenal fans: “Three teams in the PL have owners who are committed to spending what it takes to win. Arsenal’s owner is committed to spending what it takes to make the top four. Until that changes Gooners (of whom I am one) will have to content themselves with pretty stories about how much better everything will be next year.” 9.08pm BST21:08 50 min: We can probably keep discussing this important topic, actually, as nothing is happening in the game. Speak to me, Zack Gomperts – “It’s not like being flat track bullies for a kind of fixture is at all a bad thing. United used to default the title by putting away the dross in the more average years. In terms of Arsenal it was super true last year. The difference this year is those fixtures Admir, only really since Christmas though.“We’ll see if Arsenal can be “making progress” for more then half a season next year I guess.” Updated at 9.17pm BST 9.06pm BST21:06 49 min: You’re all writing in about flat-track bullyism now. That was easy. Another one from Angus Chisholm – “What does it even mean to say ‘a flat-track bully in this type of fixture’. Isn’t being a ‘flat track bully in this type of fixture’ what has made Chelsea champions? Doesn’t it just mean that Arsenal are good at doing football? Especially given that they are likely going to finish second in the English league system this season in a few weeks which also suggest that they are quite good at doing football. Neville’s good but this just stinks of another example of a Sky Sports personality being provocative for the sake of it.” 9.05pm BST21:05 47 min: As Peter Oh brilliantly points out, another Arsenal goal would salvage some long-lost pride for London. 9.03pm BST21:03 46 min: “Not to be to glib,” says Justin Dinkha, before continuing glibly: “but doesn’t Admir Pajic’s observation of beating Man U and Liverpool just further prove Arsenal’s credentials as flat track bullies?” Aluko has just shot over. 9.02pm BST21:02 Peeeep! The second half of Hull 1-4 Arsenal has commenced And there is a change for Hull. Livermore off, Meyler on. 8.58pm BST20:58 Admir Pajic has a nibble: “If Gary Neville had moved on from 2014, he might have noticed that Arsenal have won twice on their two visits to Manchester in 2015 and beaten the crap out of Liverpool. Hardly just flat track bullies.” 8.55pm BST20:55 “Sanchez has been a fantastic signing this year and shown that you can be both a fantastically creative flair player and a hardworking team player at the same time. Liverpool would have been incredibly lucky to have him... But he is a better fit at Arsenal and just what they needed” – says ‘Dante Danger’. 8.53pm BST20:53 “Who says Network Rail don’t know what they’re doing?” quips Lou Roper. You have four minutes, Gooners. 8.51pm BST20:51 Somebody – Gary Neville I think – said before the game that Arsenal are flat track bullies for this kind of fixture. It’s hard to disagree; do you think they’re showing signs that this may change though? Tell us. 8.50pm BST20:50 Half-time: Hull 0-3 Arsenal Well that escalated quickly. Hull seemed to have got themselves into this game, and missed a great chance through Aluko, but now they’re well out of it. Even if the first two goals owed a lot to deflections, sloppy play – twice by Tom Huddlestone – was part of their undoing and you have to praise Arsenal too. Some of the eye-of-the-needle passing, particularly by Cazorla, has been an absolute joy. It would be a big surprise to see this turned around in the second half – and Hull certainly won’t want and more significant blows to what was a healthy-ish goal difference. 8.47pm BST20:47 GOAL! Hull 0-3 Arsenal (Sanchez 45+1) That’ll be that. Huddlestone is caught dawdling on the ball for a second time, this time just inside the Arsenal half, and the ball is worked to Ramsey. His quick, incisive pass sets Sanchez clear again. This time, with a bit more time to think than before, he goes around Harper and the rest is a foregone conclusion. As is this game now. Updated at 8.57pm BST 8.45pm BST20:45 45 min: And that was even better – it could have been three. Another sublime ball by Cazorla, this time slide-rule, sets Sanchez clear and his attempted dink over Harper is thwarted by the veteran ‘keeper’s right arm! 8.44pm BST20:44 45 min: Ramsey, to Ozil, to Sanchez, to Ozil, and a shot gathered by Harper. Very nice move from Arsenal. 8.43pm BST20:43 43 min: Hull need something else after the break. Aluko has been invisible, that fluffed header – which should have changed everything – apart. Maybe this is one for Nikica Jelavic. Hull have put some good balls into the box. 8.41pm BST20:41 41 min: Elmohamady combines well with N’Doye and gets away himself, this time down the right. But he can’t pick out the right cross and Mertesacker gets a toe to it. 8.39pm BST20:39 40 min: N’Doye should score when latching onto a clever, quickly-taken free kick from Huddlestone from deep. He shoots wide. And it doesn’t matter – he’s just offside. 8.38pm BST20:38 38 min: N’Doye gets to the ball before Bellerin and Hull are away! But Bellerin is very, very quick and starts catching him. Still plenty of time to pick Aluko out but he rather snatches at his ball from the left, with the outside of his left, and it’s misdirected to Ospina. 8.37pm BST20:37 37 min: Worth emphasising the quality of that quarterback-style ball by Cazorla though, even if there was some luck in the finish. It was delightful. The Spaniard comes again now and jinks into the left side of the area. Harper has to fumble his shot wide. 8.35pm BST20:35 36 min: The Arsenal fans are singing “boring, boring Chelsea,” because that is what’s really important here. 8.34pm BST20:34 GOAL! Hull 0-2 Arsenal (Ramsey 33) Cazorla pings a dream of a ball from left of halfway to Ramsey, who has made a run into the area between two defenders. He checks outside Brady and shoots with his right. It clips Brady, loops up and nestles in the corner to Harper’s right! Two deflections, two goals! Updated at 8.42pm BST 8.32pm BST20:32 33 min: Another inviting ball from Brady, who had got to the byline, but there’s nobody on hand and Arsenal can get it away. 8.32pm BST20:32 32 min: Maybe this will indeed pan out like that match at Turf Moor last month, when Arsenal scored a grubby goal early on and then rode it out quite comfortably. 8.30pm BST20:30 30 min: Now N’Doye is booked for a rather sneaky trip on Monreal. Hull must be annoyed. They were just about on top here and the goal was such a silly one to give away. It stemmed from the kind of moment that has stopped Huddlestone from being a top player. 8.29pm BST20:29 GOAL! Hull 0-1 Arsenal (Sanchez 28) Chance taken. Sanchez’s free kick, right-footed just outside the left corner of the area, flicks off Dawson’s head, wrong-foots the rooted Harper and loops in. Ouch. Updated at 8.35pm BST 8.28pm BST20:28 28 min: Huddlestone is, not for the first time, a little dozy and Ozil catches him on the ball. Sanchez takes over, hares towards the box and is felled by Livermore, who takes one for the team and is booked. Chance here... 8.26pm BST20:26 27 min: Hull have warmed to this after barely touching the ball early on, it must be said. 8.26pm BST20:26 26 min: Ramsey is evidently in pain. Lots of wincing. He hobbles off but with a view to returning, which I think he’ll shortly do. 8.24pm BST20:24 24 min: Huddlestone catches Ramsey on the ankle, and he receives treatment now. 8.24pm BST20:24 23 min: Chance for Hull! Some nice football sees the ball end up with Brady on the left. His delivery is simply wonderful – pace, whip, direction, and Aluko has the goal at his mercy but heads the ball like somebody who doesn’t normally head a ball. It comes off the side of his face, goes to the left and is cleared. Anyone else would have scored, surely. Updated at 8.24pm BST 8.22pm BST20:22 £64, even. £64 to watch a football match at Hull City? Must be Richard Scudamore's Premier League "virtuous circle" again. https://t.co/mjMQfCYBXB 8.21pm BST20:21 21 min: N’Doye tries something very speculative from 40 yards, and fails as it drops far off target. Updated at 8.29pm BST 8.20pm BST20:20 20 min: Elmohamady’s cross from the right is deflected up, and Quinn gets up well at the back post but heads well wide. Arsenal won’t want to keep giving Elmohamady room to deliver though. 8.19pm BST20:19 19 min: It’s cleared and then Livermore dithers on the edge of the box and Coquelin nicks it away....then Arsenal counter at great speed and in huge numbers, and it’s Coquelin in the opposing box all of a sudden – but he can’t quite control and is pulled up for a high boot. 8.18pm BST20:18 18 min: Dawson spreads diagonally to Brady, who nods on to the onrushing Quinn. Mertesacker sends him flying and it’s a usefully-placed free kick on the left... Updated at 8.20pm BST 8.17pm BST20:17 17 min: Ramsey finds Ozil, who has made a very clever diagonal run from left to right, but nobody is on the same wavelength as his backheel and Harper collects. 8.15pm BST20:15 15 min: Hull are, in general, happy to sit deep here. It’s worked so far: Arsenal’s final ball has not really come off yet. 8.13pm BST20:13 13 min: Elmohamady outdoes Monreal down the right but can’t quite cross beyond Ospina. Hull will need to make the most of such forays....and that’s almost proved when Sanchez plays a one-two with Ozil and sees a 20-yarder shovelled away by Harper, diving to his right! Updated at 8.14pm BST 8.12pm BST20:12 12 min: Graham Fulcher reminds me that a point for Arsenal would ensure what the Gooner faithful call St Totteringham’s Day – when their team cannot be caught by Spurs. Updated at 8.21pm BST 8.10pm BST20:10 10 min: Even less orthodox from Huddlestone, who flicks out a heel to a Bellerin cross and is slightly lucky that it loops straight to Harper. Anywhere else and it stood a chance of being one of the great own goals. 8.09pm BST20:09 9 min: Hull are settling down now, but Quinn is crowded out by Monreal and Cazorla by the corner flag. The home team tries again but Huddlestone misplaces a simple ball to Livermore in the middle. 8.08pm BST20:08 8 min: Now Ospina is out to the edge of his own area again, this time going for a rather optimistic punch on a deep free kick from halfway. He ends up landing one on Coquelin, who goes off for some treatment clutching his mouth. He’ll be ok. 8.06pm BST20:06 6 min: N’Doye gives chase to a Chester punt over the top and Ospina has to head clear from the edge of the area. Clear that the big Senegalese will be seeking to expose the Arsenal back line here. 8.04pm BST20:04 5 min: Arsenal are, again, passing the ball around at the back. 8.03pm BST20:03 3 min: “Arsenal supporters can leave with their side 2 up, and miss Mertesacker falling over and letting Hull score, Walcott coming on and making a fool of himself with various glaring misses, Ospina getting sent off for decapitating someone and the match ending 3-2,” predicts Charles Antaki, just as N’Doye is flagged offside. Updated at 8.14pm BST 8.02pm BST20:02 2 min: Montreal gets forward, crosses towards Ramsey, who’s made a dash for the near post, but the Welshman can’t direct towards goal. Hull’s first touch is a goal kick for Harper. 8.01pm BST20:01 1 min: Arsenal spend the opening minute passing the ball around the back. 8.00pm BST20:00 Peeeeeeeeep! Arsenal, shooting left to right, get us underway. Lovely stuff. 7.56pm BST19:56 The teams are out! Let’s hope everybody gets their money’s worth. 7.56pm BST19:56 “50 quid for a match ticket plus the costs of transport and ‘refreshment’ is indeed outrageous,” concurs Lou Roper. “Even if you stump up, when is the last train from Hull to London tonight (don’t forget to check the holiday timetable)?” It’s at 20.57. 7.48pm BST19:48 Arsenal fans have paid £50 a ticket for a Bank Holiday Monday night game in Hull. That’s naughty, and much less lovely. When will this stop? Updated at 8.04pm BST 7.44pm BST19:44 Lovely touch from Hull to the visiting fans, this. How good is this at Hull very classy pic.twitter.com/PBDrZMUwjA 7.41pm BST19:41 @NickAmes82 Here's hoping for Arsenal to win by 2 goals so Hull drop below us (Leicester) It’s the time of year where a single result can have ramifications for a number of sides... 7.38pm BST19:38 Steve Bruce: “When you’re playing against the big boys you’ve got to be at your maximum. We have been in the last couple of games and can we do it again, that’s the question mark. If we can, we’re in with a chance.” Updated at 7.47pm BST 7.38pm BST19:38 Let’s talk, anyway. What do you expect from this game? What do you want from it? How’s your Bank Holiday gone? Email/Twitter as per above. 7.32pm BST19:32 Dame N’Doye has been important to Hull’s survival bid since arriving in January. Five goals now. It’s a fun time if you’re an N’Doye. Did you know that he has a 37-year-old brother, Ousmane, who plays as a defensive midfielder for surprise Romanian league leaders ASA Târgu Mureș and has been one of the league’s star turns this season? Here is a goal he scored at the weekend. 7.21pm BST19:21 Wenger: “It’s vital [to maintain our momentum]. We are fighting to keep as close as possible to Chelsea. We have two games in hand, we know this is a tricky one because Hull are struggling to stay in the league so we expect a real battle tonight.” Updated at 7.27pm BST 7.18pm BST19:18 Insight: Hull are unchanged. So are Arsenal. Danny Welbeck misses out on a bench place, though, as he has a “slight knee problem”. Jack Wilshere is again among the subs. Updated at 7.22pm BST 7.02pm BST19:02 The teams are in! Hull: Harper, Chester, Dawson, McShane, Elmohamady, Livermore, Huddlestone, Quinn, Brady, N’Doye, Aluko. Subs: McGregor, Rosenior, Bruce, Meyler, Hernandez, Jelavic, Robertson. Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Cazorla, Coquelin, Ramsey, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud. Subs: Szczesny, Gibbs, Gabriel, Rosicky, Wilshere, Walcott, Flamini. Referee: Lee Mason Digest these and I’ll be back with some #insight shortly. 7.00pm BST19:00 Good evening That’s it, then. All done. Dusted. Wrapped up. Nothing to see here. The Premier League is over! When do the play-offs start? Not the spirit, dear reader. For Chelsea may have bored their way to the title (or, if you’ve a brain, been far better than any of their competitors this season and skinned cats in a thoroughly laudable variety of ways, which was the measure of a very good team before we all became hysterical about rarely-attainable notions of style) already but there’s plenty more for us here. Plenty. There’s the Battle For Second and, if that’s all a bit tame, the Battle Against The Drop. And, in the space of a single 90 minutes between two football teams, we’ve both coming right up for you. First, to Hull. Not literally. I’m not going to Hull, not on a Bank Holiday. But looking at Hull, this feels like a good opportunity for them. Easier said than done, but three points against an Arsenal side with rather less at stake would put them 14th, four points clear of the relegation zone. In fact a single point would do the same, leapfrogging Aston Villa and Newcastle on goal difference and performing the dual purpose of highlighting just how extreme the Magpies’ slide has been. Not that this will be Steve Bruce’s main concern: his team has hit some form after six matches without a win had led to fears that they were dropping like a stone. They’ve beaten Crystal Palace away and Liverpool at home in their last two and a third successive victory would be very useful ahead of Saturday’s hosting of basement side Burnley. Next, to Arsenal. Can they do it on an early May night in Hull? Probably: they haven’t lost in the league since 7 February, against Harry Kane FC. They weaved a few nice patterns against Chelsea last weekend but, despite Arsène Wenger’s lament, never really looked like winning. But they’re on outstanding form and playing some very good stuff; it’s worth noting that, like Chelsea, they’re digging in when they have to as well. Last month’s 1-0 at Burnley wasn’t all butterflies. I know, I was there. It was ugly as sin, but that’s of great credit to the fact that the Gunners do seem tougher now – just as they need to be. If they can mix brain and brawn tonight then you’d think they will have too much for Hull – and put themselves in the driving seat for second place! I actually have a feeling that this will be a really good game. So stay close. Updated at 7.20pm BST 7.00pm BST19:00 Hello. Nick will be here shortly with the team news and build-up. One player who is unlikely to feature for Arsenal tonight is Jack Wilshere, with Arsène Wenger keen to avoid rushing the midfielder back into first-team action: Wilshere is ahead of schedule in terms of his fitness but Wenger said that it can take longer for a player to regain the high-tempo rhythm and intensity required in the Premier League. “What people underestimate a little bit is that to get back to be capable to play is one thing. To be back and be capable to be sharp and efficient takes a bit longer,” he says. “In the Premier League it is a fraction of a second that makes you efficient or not. Even the players, from the moment they train again fully and the moment they are really back to their level, they are impatient. At the moment, every week he is stronger, he is getting back to the level now. This week was the first week he is sharp again. “You live in a job where you need to trust your body. Jack is one of them who plays with freedom as soon as he’s back. So I don’t think on that front it will be a problem. He needs now one or two years without problems to really get the full confidence and belief back and I don’t see why it shouldn’t happen.” You can read the full story from Amy Lawrence here. |