Abou Diaby rounded off a superb second half for himself by scoring the third. He was once again the instigator in the move, swapping passes with Arshavin holding off his man and firing in powerfully off the goalkeeper

Match Review – Arsenal 3 Hull City 0 – Premier League

The Tigers were tamed by the Gunners who didn’t ever really click into top gear. Arsene had reshuffled his pack before the kick off, Cesc had been hamstrung at Burnley so Denilson’s return couldn’t have come at a better time. Wenger tried to rearrange his side to accommodate for the missing creativity from the Arsenal captain.

Emmanuel Eboue was drafted in to add, attacking power and direct running, Eduardo came back into the side to give the attack another goal scoring option. Abou Diaby was given the responsibility of filling in Cesc’s shoes and he did so fantastically well. Abou Diaby is not a play maker, he is not going to spot and find runners in the same way that Cesc or Rosicky can, instead Diaby brought his own game to the position. Diaby’s powerful runs from midfield made the difference for Arsenal overall and that has been missed.

Diaby and Arsenal started the game very slowly, the side must have been in the Burnley draw state of mind. The front three continuously swapped positions. Samir Nasri often coming inside and almost drifting into Cesc’s position, this may have been the thinking behind the selection of the more forward thinking Emmanuel Eboue.

The pushing and shoving two minutes before half time started when Samir Nasri stepped on one of the Hull City players foot and it started the flow of testosterone from both sets of players, Nasri and Hunt were booked and it could have been the jump start that the players needed.

Moments later, Abou Diaby powered his way through the Hull City midfield and appeared to slip over, the referee awarded a free kick to Arsenal outside of the box. Nasri had already taken one previously in the half so he stepped aside to allow Denilson to test those short ankles. Denilson curled a dipping shot over the wall and into the corner of the net. With half time soon approaching, it was a fabulous time to score even if the foul should not have been given.

Denilson was superb, even before his great strike. He won many tackles both with clever interceptions and thunderous tackles, something he has been accused of not doing by many of the clubs support. What I noticed about Denilson was his awareness of players around him. Time and time again he had already made his mind up about what his next move would be before he received a pass. Often playing first time passes into Arsenal players in space. His game recovery has been fantastic this season. He has been out with injuries and has slotted in without any settling in period. He produced a similar high standard performance after his long back injury this season, with the games coming thick and fast, this is very important and I wish many more of our players could come back from injury in that manor.

Two minutes after the break, Eduardo showed a glimpse of his ability when he received a pass from Arshavin and in one movement the Crozilian spun his marker and controlled the ball into his path, unfortunately it was on his weaker side and for once he didn’t show his usual composure and poked wide. An inform, goal scoring Eduardo would have taken a touch, looked at the keepers position and finished regardless of what side of his body the ball was on.

Arsenal had upped the gears for the second half, the passing was sharper, more direct and the tempo was much better. Diaby was causing Hull City problems with his running and supporting of the forward line.

Ten minutes into the half, Hull were gifted a way into the game with a nonexistent penalty. Stephen Hunt crossed a ball that was over everybody and Craig Fagan fell to the floor. Steve Bennett was pulling at his own shirt to tell the world what he supposedly saw. I thought the laws of the game indicate that the referee can only make decisions on what he has seen. How did he see a pulled shirt that did not exist?

For once this season we used our lucky card at the right time, Manuel Almunia kept up his impressive penalty saving record in the Premier League by diving to his right to stop a rather tame effort by Geovanni. Justice for the Gunners.

Hats off to Almunia who had a flawless overall game for Arsenal. Came and claimed crosses without any fuss, made a penalty save and distributed well. Lets hope the season starts now for Mr Almunia.

The game could have been tied to 1-1 and Hull City would have defended for their lives but instead Arsenal strode down the pitch three minutes later, Abou Diaby played a one-two with Song, drove into the box and squared left footed to Eduardo to tap in from close range. 2-0, Eduardo needed that goal, hopefully he can gain confidence and find the net on a regular basis.

Aaron Ramsey came on for Samir Nasri and once again looked very good. Theo Walcott replaced Eduardo to a rapturous round of applause. Eduardo hasn’t scored in his last ten appearances for Arsenal which is incredible for a player who is so cool in front of goal. It just goes to show how important remaining fit and playing whilst being match sharp is for a player.

Abou Diaby rounded off a superb second half for himself by scoring the third. He was once again the instigator in the move, swapping passes with Arshavin holding off his man and firing in powerfully off the goalkeeper. Abou Diaby played a key role in all three goals, clearly enjoying the attacking midfield position.

I said at the time and still believe that he was badly missed against Chelsea at the Emirates.

Ramsey and Walcott could have increased the lead but it wasn’t to be, 3-0 to the Arsenal, the same score line that Manchester United lost to earlier in the day at Fulham. Two points behind Manchester United with a game in hand we are discretely going about our business. Lets hope that West Ham can do us a favour today so we can enjoy another fantastic weekend.