If I was Johan Djourou, I’d go up to Le Boss and quote the singer Lemar: “If there’s any justice in the world, I would be your man.”

Match Review – Arsenal 1 Hull City 2 – Premier League

I am not a happy chappy as I write this merely minutes after the final whistle. However I am not angry or enraged, just frustrated. You can’t legislate for Hull’s equaliser because it was a cracker (although we did gift them the ball in the build-up), but the winner from YET ANOTHER corner? Our third goal conceded from a corner in six games? That’s just not right. I’m gonna get this off my chest now: a change MUST occur at the back. Or we’re gonna be giving away set-piece goals at an increasingly alarming rate, and that WILL stop us winning the title.

After the kids’ heavenly win against Sheffield United in midweek, the senior players were restored to the lineup. In my match review for the Fulham game, I wrote the following:

“With Arsenal, you can tell within 10 minutes how the game is going to go. If our passing is crisp and our movement good, then as long as we grab an early we will be okay. But if things aren’t clicking then you know we’re in for a hard time.”

And once again, this theme prevailed.

Although our start wasn’t bad, it wasn’t one you’d expect from a team brimming with confidence. Those expecting us to repeat the six-goal feat of midweek must remember one thing: this was a completely different XI to those that thumped the Blades. While one would expect the senior XI to be fresh, they looked jaded. And the signs were ominous at the back from the off: Gallas challenged Cousin for an aerial ball but came off second best. Oh dear.

Cousin would prove to be a handful all evening. We won a corner early on, but – as always – it was tame. Hull broke quickly and Denilson made an excellent covering tackle.

Things picked around the fifteen-minute mark. Ade’s square pass was deflected into Cesc’s path but the Spaniard scuffed his shot wide. Then we had the ball in the back of the net: a Sagna cross nodded in by Ade at the back-post. Was it a push? I’m not entirely sure. It probably was, but given the fact the Man Utd won a non-existent penalty earlier in the day, right now I am feeling slightly aggrieved.

We had finally begun to exert a semblance of pressure, but were not clinical in the final third. Theo Walcott’s speed got him through one-on-one with the keeper – or so he thought. Theo took a bit too much time and the recovering challenge was excellent. Not long thereafter, Eboue slipped in Cesc who twisted and turned but neither Gallas nor Ade could slam his pass home. Credit to the Hull defence.

The first-half was littered with potential chances that we should have had, as opposed to chances we missed. I can remember three separate occasions where we should have put our foot through the ball but refused to do so: and two of those times Theo was guilty. The first came when Eboue scuffed a cross that fell to Theo at the back-post. Instead of hitting it first time on his left, he opened his body and attempted to control it with his right, but his touch was heavy and the ball went harmlessly through to the keeper. The second time a Fabregas cutback found Walcott steaming in, but he decided to take a touch instead of shooting on sight.

The third time it was Eboue who spurned a clear opening. The best move of the game saw Ade slip in his mate, but instead of wrapping his foot around the ball, the Ivorian Warrior decided to play it square to the anonymous van Persie, and the danger dissipated.

It was like we had eleven Hlebs on the pitch.

Eboue did try to make up for it towards the end of the half but his shot was deflected wide at the near post. Resultantly, we won a corner. Inevitably, it came to nothing. No surprise there then, eh? We must have one of the worst corners-to-goals ratio in the whole of England, never mind just in the Premier League.

The boys came out for the second-half and you looked for a reaction, you hoped Wenger had given them a mild hairdryer treatment and that we’d come out all guns blazing. Cesc misplaced a pass straightaway (the first of quite a few during the 90 minutes), and you immediately sensed that the struggle would continue.

No sooner had the second period kicked off than had Hull came close; George Boateng’s low effort deflected over by Fabregas. However, five minutes into the half deadlock was broken. Theo cut in from the right, shaped to cross, jinked the other way and then squared it into the middle where a mixture of Ade, Cesc and Lady Luck sent the ball over the line. It was scrappy but on a day like this, it would take an ugly goal to get the breakthrough.

The volume around the Emirates went up a notch and for the next ten minutes we had our tails up. Robin produced a moment of skill in the inside right channel to forge an opening for himself but poked his shot wide of the near post when had options in the middle. Then an attempted Eboue backheel fell to Ade who saw a certain goalbound effort deflected wide. The longer it stayed one-nil, the more Hull would have to come out and the more chance we’d have of picking them off.

But something wasn’t right. We still looked lethargic and indecisive, as exhibited twice in the build-up to their equaliser. I can’t remember exactly, but I think it stemmed from Theo and Denilson getting muscled off the ball on the halfway line, then when we won it back, Denilson’s pass to Gael was over-hit. Either way, there was no stopping Geovanni’s shot itself. The words “postage stamp” came to mind. We could have made a greater effort to close it down, but that is always easy to say in hindsight.

It had similarities to Danny Landzaat’s goal for Wigan a few years ago. I remarked to my Dad that we only conceded great goals at the Emirates. He replied back to me: “and corners”.

How right he was. Now it was Hull in the ascendancy, and they forced another corner. You all know what happened next. I’ve seen the replays, and Gallas momentarily takes his eyes off Cousin, who gains that vital yard and heads it in. Once again, it was postage stamp good from Hull. But he never should have had a free header in the first place.

There was no fucking about from Le Boss as he sent on Bendtner for the ineffective Eboue straightaway. We had 25 minutes to fashion – at the very least – an equaliser. 25 fucking minutes, which is a long fucking time (pardon my fucking swearing), but we didn’t do it. Had we gone hell for leather straight away, a quick equaliser would have even left us enough time to grab a winner. Maybe because we’ve come back from this kind of situation so many times that the players thought it would eventually happen again?

But instead of throwing the kitchen sink ASAP, we tried to bide our time. Admittedly, I might be being a bit harsh – had we gone for it too soon, then a Hull third would have killed the game off. And had we managed a second in the game’s dying moments, then the patient approach would have been vindicated.

On 75 minutes Theo sent in a flat aerial cross that just evaded Ade’s head. It would be the young Englishman’s final act of the game as he was then hauled off for the midweek hero, Carlos Vela.

With ten minutes remaining, we stepped it up. A Cesc through-ball found Robin free but his right-footed shot went agonisingly wide. My Dad said to me that was “one of those days”.

Two minutes later, we finally produced a decent corner but Willy’s header crashed against the underside of the crossbar. Like all good poachers, Vela was on the spot but the ball unknowingly bounced off his thigh and somehow wide. I said to my Dad: “it’s definitely one of those fucking days.”

Cesc looked to take the game by the scruff of the neck as he had two decent long-range efforts saved by Myhill in the Hull goal. Kolo lashed wildly from a corner when cooler heads were needed. And deep, deep into injury time, Robin hit a fizzer from 20-yards that was barely a foot over the bar.

And that was that.

Only our second defeat in 60 games at the Emirates. More worryingly, however, is that it was already our second defeat of the season in a mere six games – whereas last season we went 30-odd games before suffering our second defeat.

There’s two ways of looking at this: the optimist in me says that, given how we remained unbeaten at the Emirates last season, we were bound to suffer “one of those days” where nothing goes in our favour. So in that sense, I’m glad to have got it out of the way early doors and against Hull instead of, for instance, the Mancs, Chavs, Scousers or Spuds. I hark back to the Double season in 2001/02 where we suffered three home defeats before January – two of which coming after we had taken the lead.

However, the pessimist in me says that champions grab all three points despite playing below-par, especially at home.

The realist in me says this: be it Gallas or Toure, someone’s head has to be on the chopping block. Not only have 3 of the 4 goals conceded this season have been from corners, but the fact that Marlon King and Daniel Cousin (no disrespect intended – after all, they did beat us fair and square) can give them so much hassle is a worrying sign, especially as the likes of Drogba, Anelka, Torres, Berbatov, Rooney and Tevez lie in wait. Would Ferdinand and Vidic suffer this against Hull? Nope. Terry and Carvalho? Doubt it. Hell, even Woodgate and King would probably come out on top.

So who should be “rested”? The facts point to the captain: it was he at fault against Fulham and again here. For the life of me, I don’t know why he looked away at the corner instead of focusing on Cousin. As skipper, was he too busy worrying himself with what his team-mates were doing?

The winning goal has nothing to do with height (although a few extra inches would help) and everything to do with concentration. And if the captain can’t keep his concentration, then it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the team.

They say that in cricket, the burden of the captaincy can adversely affect one’s game. I never really felt that was true in football, until now. Never mind his leadership skills (or lack thereof, as some believe); he has to be an effective player to merit a place in the starting lineup. Before being a good captain, he has to do his job as a player.

The best thing we can do is pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and learn from this defeat. There’s no point going all doomy and gloomy like we did after Fulham. That loss was shocking due to toothlessness, this defeat came about largely due to persistent deficiencies at the back and a slice of bad luck in attack. One must not forget that in the interim, we’ve done very well.

Since Fulham, our strikeforce has proved that it is capable of being deadly and destructive, with 10 goals in three league games. And yes, while they may have misfired here against Hull, I do honestly believe that it was an off-day.

The midfield has also shown a fair amount of resilience and creativity – look no further than the win at Bolton for that.

But the defence is another issue. Namely, the heart of the defence. We have the best full-back pairing in the world, but the same cannot be said of the central duo. Far from it.

The key to a defeat is how you react to it. No doubt the lads will show passion and fighting spirit as they did after Fulham, but if we can’t adequately defend a corner or long-ball, then what use is attacking vibrancy and midfield steel?

Johan Djourou has not put a foot wrong all season. The same cannot be said of the two current incumbents of the central-defensive positions.

UPDATE: just read both managers’ reactions to the game. Phil Brown admits that Hull targeted corners as a potential source of riches. Arsene admits that we have issues defending corners. There’s no point in admitting it if we don’t act upon it. If I was Johan Djourou, I’d go up to Le Boss and quote the singer Lemar: “If there’s any justice in the world, I would be your man.”