Arsenal 2-0 Hull City - Statistical Analysis

Nicklas Bendtner

Arsenal maintained their four-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a comprehensive 2-0 victory over Hull City on Wednesday night.

Nicklas Bendtner finished a silky smooth move to put Arsene Wenger’s men ahead after only two minutes. It was the Dane’s first Arsenal goal since his hat-trick against Leyton Orient in March 2011.

Mesut Ozil then doubled the hosts’ advantage two minutes into the second half as the home team eased to victory at Emirates Stadium.

Hull never looked likely to recreate their heroics from Sunday’s win over Liverpool, as Arsenal maintained their four-point advantage at the top of the Premier League.

Key Stats

The stats from this fixture were frightening. Arsenal dominated possession throughout, finishing the match having had control of the ball 63% of the time.

Their superiority is hard to dispute. Wenger’s men registered a pass completion and tackle completion rate of 90% (717 out of 795) and 100% (11 out of 11), respectively. This compared to the 79% (passing) and 75% (tackling) of Hull.

The Gunners simply outplayed the visitors and this is further proven with the number of shots each side took. Arsenal attempted 20 strikes on goal, with seven on target, meanwhile Hull had just seven attempts, with just two hitting the intended target

Performance Score

Arsenal outplayed their opponents from the outset and Hull never came close to challenging Arsenal for a share of the points. The performance graph is the most unequal I have seen for a very long time and it provides an obvious sign of the home side’s absolute superiority.

The Gunner’s finished the match with a performance score of 533 points, meanwhile Hull registered a final total of 61.

Man of the Match

Despite failing to score, Aaron Ramsey put on a fine performance for Arsenal in this match. The young Welshman registered a performance score of 91 points as his brilliant early season form continued.

Ramsey assisted Ozil’s strike and played a key role in the build up to Bendtner’s opener. He also attempted a total of 88 passes, with a 90% success rate.

Key Observations

Although their passing game is fantastic, Arsenal are often frustrating to watch. Their build up play is simply sublime, but sometimes it is just a shame that they do not take more shots from the edge of the box. Just five of the club’s 20 attempts came from outside of the penalty area, with three of these long range efforts coming from Aaron Ramsey. The rest of the side seem very shy when it comes to striking the ball at goal and it would be great to see this aspect of the team’s game change slightly. This way perhaps they would have added to the two goals they managed versus Hull.

Prior to the match, Nicklas Bendtner’s selection caused confusion throughout the footballing world. However the Dane responded to his critics by scoring an early goal, he then backed this with a strong performance. Although he obviously isn’t 100% match fit, he had three chances on goal, made 33 passes and completed one take on. We could see him feature more regularly in the future, Wenger probably sees him as the only viable back up for Frenchman Olivier Giroud.

Mesut Ozil also had a brilliant game. Arsenal’s record signing netted the club’s second goal of the evening, finishing the match with a Performance Score of 75 points. He successfully completed 85 passes, at a success rate of 91% and he accomplished three of his six attempted take ons.