Arsenal 2 Hull 0

Arsenal just keeps on winning and the pundits keep on questioning their title chops. Sure Man City and Chelsea are better on paper, but neither has played with the consistency or verve of Arsenal from one game to the next. Today they dominate a Hull City fresh off a 3-1 scalping of Liverpool from the kick off until the end, securing their 7^th clean sheet in their last eight games.

Their first goal came from the most unlikely of sources, a mere two minutes in, when Ramsey passed off to the charging Jenkinson, who sent a picture perfect cross that Bendtner headed home, splitting two Hull defenders. This is the same Bendtner who missed a clear cut chance to draw the game at Man United a few weeks ago, the same Bendtner who looked downright awful in the Capital One Cup loss to Chelsea, the same Bendtner who has only started one game since his galling miss at Barcelona two and a half years ago that sent the Gunners on a long tailspin that they are just awakening from now (in a 3-1 second leg loss that would have gone the other way if he had finished a clear chance). But Bendtner showed some real quality today, from his opening goal to a lovely chip that Ozil failed to finish – though he fluffed two clear chances, one that almost any striker in the league would have finished 9 times out of 10.

It was Ramsey who shined again, with several fine saves from Hull goalie McGregor keeping him off the score sheet, though he added the assist on the second with a lovely sliding pass through to Ozil who squared in his third in the EPL this season. The two appear to be finding the kind of understanding that one rarely sees outside of Spain and that floundering Barcelona team of yore. But Arsenal largely dominated the game from beginning to end, but for a 10-15 minute letup right before halftime. After scoring the second within two minutes of the second half whistle, Hull was lucky to keep the game to 2, with Arsenal showing the kind of flair and skill that will leave a lot of teams ruing their game against the current leaders. And this was with three changes to the side, with Jenkinson on for the injured Sagna, Bendtner up front and Monreal in for Gibbs on the left. Arteta also sat out most of the game, as did Wilshere and Walcott – though all three came on for second half cameos.

Szczesny continued to impress as well, confident and mistake-free for the recent run of games that now has the Gunners with the best defensive record in the league. The only blip in the game was Cazorla, who seems to have lost his poise in front of goal, missing several opportunities, though his play from the back continues to impress. Arsenal’s tight control and passing around a Hull side that sat back from large chunks of the game (the final possession stats were 67-33%) was truly spectacular and some missed opportunities and poor finishing, together with some quality saves from McGregor was the only thing that stopped Arsenal putting in five or six. In fact, if there is one complaint about the team so far this year it is not putting away opponents they are dominating until late in games. Sure Arsenal had all but sewed up the points right after the break, but they should have done so earlier and more convincingly when all is said and done.

And this has happened on several occasions this year. In fact, the game against Napoli would be an afterthought if the Gunners had taken a few more of their chances in the preceding UCL ties, particularly the missed Ozil penalty in their last game (even if the Marseille keeper was off his line early). But as long as they don’t lose by three, they are through – and a victory would garner them first place in the group of death. The game is sandwiched by two weeks of tough fixtures, starting with Everton at home this Sunday followed by Man City on the road, before Chelsea visits on the 23^rd. After those four tough matches, Arsenal have five winnable games in a row and could well build on their lead by the turn of the new year if they keep their consistency up.

The rest of the teams around them generally kept up with them today, with Chelsea pulling out a thrilling 4-3 win, City holding on for a 3-2 victory after ceding two late goals, Liverpool winning big behind four from Suarez and Tottenham maybe saving AVB’s job by coming back with two second half goals. But the flailing Manchester United season continues to go south after losing to Everton 1-0 at Old Trafford, the first time the Blues have won there in 21 years. COYG!