Arsenal vs. Hull City: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Danny Welbeck scored a late equaliser as Arsenal came from behind to draw Hull City 2-2 at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
It took until the first minute of second-half stoppage time for the Gunners to ensure themselves of at least a point on their own patch, although they opened the scoring after just 13 minutes when Alexis Sanchez found the back of the net.
But goals from Mohamed Diame and Abel Hernandez looked to have Hull on course for an unlikely victory in north London—that is, until Sanchez weaved his way through their goalmouth and set up Welbeck for the fourth goal of a topsy-turvy encounter.
Following are some of the winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Abel Hernandez, Who Scored an Unlikely Go-Ahead Goal
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Abel Hernandez wasn’t supposed to start Saturday’s match, but the Uruguay forward suddenly found himself in manager Steve Bruce’s starting line-up when Nikica Jelavic went down with an injury during his warm-up.
His involvement proved to be providential for Hull City.
Just 40 seconds after the restart, Hernandez outjumped Per Mertesacker and headed Tom Huddlestone’s cross past Wojciech Szczesny to put the guests 2-1 up at Emirates Stadium.
Winner: Alexis Sanchez, Who Scored a Goal and Picked Up an Assist
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Alexis Sanchez was Arsenal’s most important attacking player on Saturday, and the Chile international demonstrated his worth to the club by scoring a goal and setting up the equaliser.
Just 13 minutes had ticked off the clock when Sanchez beat Steve Harper to the far corner for the opener, and only five minutes remained in second-half stoppage time when he dribbled into the Hull goalmouth and passed the ball to Danny Welbeck for the all-important equaliser.
Loser: Jack Wilshere, Who Was Booked and Then Forced off Through Injury
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Arsenal’s injury crisis claimed another victim, Saturday, when Jack Wilshere limped off the field in the 69th minute.
Moments before the England midfielder’s exit, he had thrown himself into a rash challenge on Gaston Ramirez, for which he was shown a yellow card.
But after sticking his leg into the Hull attacker, Wilshere remained on the ground and was shortly substituted after being unable to continue.
Winner: Mohamed Diame, Whose Power Produced Hull’s First Goal
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Hull’s first goal of Saturday’s contest was not without controversy.
Mohamed Diame seemed to foul Arsenal’s Mathieu Flamini as he powered his way into the opposition goalmouth, but referee Roger East allowed play to continue and the Hull midfielder proceeded to slip the ball into the far corner of the net.
The goal came just four minutes after Alexis Sanchez had opened the scoring for the Gunners.
Winner: Michael Dawson, Who Threw Himself in Front of the Arsenal Barrage
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Michael Dawson played much of Saturday’s match in some discomfort and was eventually substituted in the 84th minute.
But while he was on the pitch, there was hardly a more committed Hull City player, and without him the guests might have been on the end of a hiding it looked, at times, as though they’d receive.
Mere seconds after Abel Hernandez put the guests in front, Dawson bailed out Tom Huddlestone, who had given the ball away in dangerous space, and he followed a vital block on Santi Cazorla in the 75th minute with another on Joel Campbell in the 83rd.
Winner: Danny Welbeck, Who Potted the Equaliser
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It’s hard to imagine where Arsenal would be without Danny Welbeck.
Given the injury to striker Olivier Giroud, the England international has started most of Arsenal’s matches since joining the club from Manchester United, and on Saturday again underlined his importance to his new side.
In the first minute of second-half stoppage time, the 23-year-old latched onto Alexis Sanchez’ pass and beat substitute goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic with a clean finish.
