Arsenal responded with two late goals.
The first half saw Arsenal dominate and one goal was little reward. The goal itself came from a cross whipped in by Walcott which the keeper palmed out to Iwobi. He hammered a shot on goal which took a nick off Sanchez and went in.
Arsenal should have doubled the lead when Livermore was red carded after hand balling a Coquelin shot. Sanchez surprisingly took the penalty and his effort was rather pathetic and Jakupovic made the save.
Arsenal had a number of other half chances, but poor control or shooting let them down.
The second half continued as the first and Arsenal finally scored the decisive second goal when Theo Walcott, played a one-two with Iwobi, who made an audacious back heel which cut open the Hull defence and Walcott scored his 100th professional goal.
Hull were awarded a penalty when Cech brought down Mbokani, who looked suspiciously offside and who appeared to drop his feet down to touch Cech (at least to me). The referee was first unconvinced, but the linesman made the call. Snodgrass converted and suddenly Arsenal were under some pressure.
Arsenal responded and minutes later Alexis Sanchez sent Walcott through on goal, the goalie made a good save, but the rebound fell to Alexis who slammed the ball home.
In injury time Granit Xhaka unleashed a howitzer from about thirty yards away and it beat the keeper who never expected it.
Player Ratings:
Cech 6. He had little to do. Did he foul Mbokani? Possibly, but I thought he might have got away with it.
Bellerin 7. A good game for Hector. He helped get back and snuff out some attacks and he attacked relatively well, but he is reluctant to produce crosses when Giroud is not in the lineup.
Mustafi 7. Was lucky when an awkward bounce allowed Hernandez to beat him and head to goal, but Koscielny helped out. I think he was the one who lost track of Mbokani as well. He passed well and generally was very safe.
Koscielny 7. He helped clear up Mustafi’s error in the first half and he made several key interventions in the second half.
Monreal 7. In the first half he made a key takeaway from Snodgrass in the box. He had to deal with Elmohamady and didn’t get much help from Iwobi at times. Looked better than he has the last few games.
Coquelin 7. Made a sloppy giveaway in the first half. His shot at goal earned Livermore a trip to the locker room. Wenger appears to be giving him more license to roam as defences key on Ozil and Cazorla.
Cazorla 7. First half yellow card had me on edge, especially given referees often feeling they should even things up. I was actually surprised Wenger kept him in so long after the referee spoke to Santi early in the second half. Offensively, he was playing well and was pulling the strings of the attack.
Ozil 7. Missed hitting an open goal in the first half. Ozil was generally good, but he could still be better. His passing and control were sharper than they’ve been the past two games.
Walcott 8. Some good moments in the first half, mainly with good crosses and passes from the edge of the box. Was involved in the buildup for the opening goal with a sharp cross. He scored the second, a well taken goal, and he was involved in the third, after being sent through on goal by Alexis. Despite the good things, he found time to also be wasteful, but he is in good form right now.
Sanchez 8. Scuffed an early chance from a Walcott cross, then scored off Iwobi’s drive. His penalty kick was a joke, not worthy of someone who feels he’s at Messi or Ronaldo’s level. In the second half he continued to show glimpses of greatness and he finally capped it off when he scored the key third goal. Should’ve had a hat-trick today.
Iwobi 7. Defensively, he could have helped Monreal more. Offensively, he has a knack of finding space and was at the centre of most of the first half action. Had several shots and might have had the goal without the deflection from Alexis. In the second half he continued to play well and his back heel to Walcott was sensational.
Substitutes:
Xhaka 7. Came in and showed some of his good long passing skills and then unleashed a thunderous shot into the roof of the goal.
Lucas n/a. Wasn’t on long enough, but had a couple of good touches.
Elneny 6. Helped to add some defensive stability.