Arsenal beat Hull 1-0: Ødegaard scores from a rebound in the 72nd minute and Arsenal go six points clear

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Arsenal beat Hull City 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday 7 November, kick-off 16:00 CET. Martin Ødegaard scored the only goal in the 72nd minute, from a rebound after the Hull goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis had saved from Noni Madueke. Arsenal have 27 points from ten games, and by the end of the evening, after Manchester City lost 3-1 at Nottingham Forest, their lead at the top of the Premier League was six points.

How it happened

Arsenal played without Bukayo Saka, injured, and Max Dowman, suspended, as this site’s preview explained on Saturday morning. Hull had the first chance: ESPN, carrying the Press Association’s report, says John Egan headed a corner into the side-netting inside two minutes. Sky Sports says David Raya made a full-stretch save from Elliot Stroud in the 19th minute. At the other end Gabriel’s glancing header went just wide, Declan Rice shot narrowly wide, Kai Havertz wasted a one-on-one with Tzolakis in the 40th minute, and Christos Tzolis blazed over after a cut-back from Jurriën Timber.

The first half ended with a long check by the video assistant referee (VAR, the official who reviews key decisions on a screen). ESPN describes it this way: the referee, Farai Hallam, was sent to the pitch-side monitor and announced that Nobel Mendy had fouled Havertz, then added that Havertz had been offside and gave Hull a free-kick instead of a penalty. Sky Sports reports that Mikel Arteta said afterwards that Arsenal had not yet been given a clear explanation of the decision. The half-time score was 0-0.

Arsenal kept pressing after the break. Tzolakis kept out a shot from Madueke with his legs and held a curling effort from Tzolis, ESPN says. The goal came in the 72nd minute: Tzolakis saved Madueke’s shot and Ødegaard, in ESPN’s words, reacted quickest to tuck in the rebound. It was his fifth goal of the season. Late on Madueke rounded Tzolakis, but Brooke Norton-Cuffy cleared from under the crossbar, so the margin stayed at one. There was no red card and no penalty in the game. Sky Sports reports that Hull’s head coach, Sergej Jakirović, said his side had been brave, above all in defence.

What it changes

Arsenal have 27 points from ten games: nine wins and one defeat, with no draw. Manchester City, second, have 21 from ten after losing at Forest in the late game, so the gap is six points. Brighton, third on 19 from nine, play Brentford on Sunday at 15:00 CET. ESPN says this was Arsenal’s seventh home league win in a row; Sky Sports says it was the 34th 1-0 win in the league under Arteta, more than any other side in that time, and a seventh clean sheet in ten league games.

Hull are 13th on 11 points from ten games: two wins, five draws and three defeats. Their last league win was in August, as the preview noted, and they are four points above the relegation places, with Manchester United, 18th on seven, playing Aston Villa on Sunday at 17:30 CET. The international break follows: the data this site uses lists no Premier League match after Sunday.

What the market said

A betting price is a crowd’s opinion written as a number, and dividing 1 by the price gives a rough chance. The last price BettingBeast’s feed captured before kick-off, at 15:23 CET, made Arsenal a very heavy favourite at 1.17, about an 85% chance. The draw was 9.20, about 11%, and Hull 27.16, about 4%. Arsenal, the favourite, won. The price barely moved all week: when the feed first carried the game, on 31 October at 21:38 CET, Arsenal were 1.19, about 84%, and Hull 18.93, about 5%. The goals line at the close was 3.5, with over at 2.27 and under at 1.79, and the game had one goal.

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