Arsenal kept their four point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Hull at the Emirates. Here are five things we learned from the game.
1) Bendtner can score
Much of the pre match conversation was directed towards the fact Nicklas Bendtner was taking the place of Olivier Giroud in the Arsenal attack – and it wasn’t all positive talk. However, it took just two minutes for the big Dane to put the ball past the Hull City goalkeeper.
2) Flamini is brilliant
The Frenchman was again on song, doing all the scrappy bits of the game so the more creative Arsenal players could strut their stuff. He made seven clearances, won 6/8 of his headers and made three interceptions. He also completed 91% of his passes.
3) Arsenal’s passing is extraordinary
Which matched the Gunners’ overall pass completion rate. They completed 708 of their 781 attempted balls, 11 of which were classed as key passes.
4) It’s criss cross at the Emirates
There was obviously a message from Wenger to whip the ball into the penalty area towards Nicklas Bendtner as the north London side attempted 26 crosses throughout the 90 minutes.
5) Wenger’s tinkering works
Wenger decided to rest Giroud, deploy a rusty-looking Bendtner and also brought in Carl Jenkinson, Nacho Monreal and Tomas Rosicky – all of which helped claim the three points.