Arsenal beat Hull City 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, Martin Ødegaard scoring in the 72nd minute to keep his side top of the Premier League in gameweek 10.
It was a response to defeat. Arsenal had lost 0-3 at Brighton in their previous league game, but they controlled this one from the start and finally got their reward after an hour of pressure.
The decisive moment
The match was goalless until Ødegaard scored for Arsenal in the 72nd minute. Hull City, who named an unchanged-looking back line of Egan, Ajayi and Coyle in front of Konstantinos Tzolakis, had held out until then but could not find an equaliser.
Hull's afternoon was also a bad-tempered one. They collected five yellow cards: Lewie Coyle (34 minutes), Lucas Gourna-Douath (48), Brooke Norton-Cuffy (61), Elliot Stroud (75) and Nobel Mendy (87). Arsenal were not booked. Hull committed 15 fouls to Arsenal's six.
What the numbers say
The statistics show a clear gap. Arsenal had 67% of possession and 21 shots to Hull's seven. Ten of Arsenal's shots were on target, against two from Hull, and a further six were blocked. Arsenal also won seven corners to four and were flagged offside four times to Hull's once.
That volume is in line with Arsenal's season. Expected goals data via Fantasy Premier League, which measures the quality of chances created, has them averaging 1.65 per game and allowing 0.81, compared with 1.02 and 1.48 for Hull.
Arsenal made the most of it without Bukayo Saka, who was not in the starting line-up. FPL lists Saka as injured with a thigh problem and a 0% chance of playing, with no return date given.
For Hull, the afternoon extended a difficult run. They went into the game without a win in their last five league matches, having drawn three and lost two, and left north London with the same record.
What it means in the table
Arsenal now have 27 points from 10 games, with nine wins and a goal difference of plus 10. They average 2.7 points per game and have conceded 0.5 goals per game this season.
Hull City are 13th with 11 points from 10 games, two wins and a goal difference of zero. They average 1.1 points per game, and 1.1 goals scored and conceded per game.
Arsenal are top of the table. Hull are in mid-table, but their form leaves little margin for comfort.
Add MFF as a preferred source on GoogleSee our stats first in Google's Top Stories and AI answers