Arsenal vs. Hull City: Winners and Losers from FA Cup Game

Arsenal started their FA Cup trophy defence with a professional 2-0 victory over Hull City on Sunday—the team they beat in the final to win the 2014 edition.

Per Mertesacker headed home from a corner in the first half to start proceedings, then Alexis Sanchez rounded off a dominant display for the hosts with a sweet curling effort late on.

Here, Bleacher Report picks its winners and losers from the game at the Emirates Stadium.

Loser: Joel Campbell, Who Flunked a Rare Chance

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We're willing to cut Theo Walcott some slack for a lackluster performance after an injury-hit nightmare year, but Joel Campbell struggled given his big chance against Hull City.

Yes, the Costa Rica international can argue he's rusty too, but we've seen better showings from him this season, even if they are few and far between.

Campbell snatched at all his chances and dragged all of his shots wide of the mark, despite taking up great positions. His passing was a little off too, and that negated his strong work rate and tracking back.

Winner: Harry Maguire, Who Excelled

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We were going to honour Francis Coquelin here following a sterling performance that almost made Arsenal fans forget about Mathieu Flamini, but his late, two-footed lunge changed things.

Instead, we congratulate Harry Maguire, Hull's young centre-back, who put in a number of key blocks and headers to stem the flow of the Gunners' play.

Given the quality and depth of the centre-back stock at the KC Stadium, Maguire has had to be patient since moving from Sheffield United over the summer, but he really turned heads here.

Loser: Per Mertesacker, Who Struggled Defensively Again

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Forget the goal. It doesn't excuse this display.

Some will suggest Per Mertesacker answered his critics with the headed goal in the first half, but his critics aren't suggesting he doesn't score enough goals. His critics, rightly, suggest the German giant is a clear weak link in the defence. And against Hull City, he looked uneasy and nervy again.

His passing was iffy, his clearances were very poor (sometimes landing behind him, sometimes coming off his shin) and he lost way too many headers given how tall he is.

Winners: Usual Suspects Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez

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Once again, Santi Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez were the shining lights in Arsenal's performance. The two attackers, who've been in phenomenal form, ripped Hull City to shreds and did all the damage in an easy win.

Cazorla grabbed an assist for Alexis' late goal and threaded two beautiful passes into the path of Theo Walcott that should have been converted. Meanwhile, his Chilean counterpart was man of the match, sealed the victory and drove at Hull's defence all game.

The Gunners took inspiration from these two wizards and upped their game to match.

Speaking about Alexis' display in his post-match press conference, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said:

"

He always looked dangerous. He took the corner, he scored a goal and he gave a good chance to [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain. He’s lively and always dangerous with his change of direction, his incisiveness and how penetrative he is.

He’s interesting to watch because he has a good fighting spirit. He has a good combination of what you want to see from top players - that means that he is ready for a fight and also has talent.

"

Loser: Hull's 'Plan'

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Hull set themselves out to be difficult to break down, playing a flat, cautious 4-4-2 formation that tried to close out space in the attacking third. There were a few close calls (notably Joel Campbell's early chance), but the plan worked in open play.

Then they went 1-0 down via a set piece, and the onus shifted to Steve Bruce's men to create, press for opportunities and, critically, score. The response, frankly, was near-nonexistent; Hull barely upped the tempo, didn't break out of their banks of four and rarely threatened Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina.

Bruce replaced both strikers (Sone Aluko and Yannick Sagbo), but nothing systematically changed. No support was given to the forward line, the midfield remained too timid and the Tigers fared absolutely no better. It's like Bruce didn't want to win.