Arsenal vs. Hull City: Arsene Wenger's Key Pre-Match Press Conference Comments

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on Thursday described Chelsea's first goal in their 3-1 victory over the Gunners in the Premier League as "absolutely scandalous."

Marcos Alonso opened the scoring for the Blues on Saturday before Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas put the game to bed at Stamford Bridge—Olivier Giroud netted a late consolation. The Spanish wing-back took out Hector Bellerin as he rose to head home, forcing the Arsenal star to be substituted with a head injury and Wenger to label the clash "100 per cent a foul" after the match, per the Express' Liam Spence.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal's home clash with a resurgent Hull City on Saturday, Wenger was clearly still irked by the incident and said it could have made for a different result had Alonso's goal been disallowed, per The Independent's Miguel Delaney:

As a result of the clash with Alonso, Bellerin remains a doubt for the Hull game, but Mohamed Elneny is available after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, per the Press Association's Mark Mann-Bryans:

In the wake of the damaging loss to Chelsea, former Arsenal defender Martin Keown backed Wenger to stay with the club past the end of 2016-17, per BT Sport (h/t ESPN's Mattias Karen).

However, reports continue to circulate that he could be replaced in the summer, perhaps by Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri, per Mediaset Premium (h/t Jack Wilkinson of Sky Sports).

Wenger was coy on his future ahead of the Tigers clash, per the Mirror's John Cross:

Having lost to Watford before the Chelsea defeat, Arsenal desperately need to beat Hull to avoid potentially dropping out of the top four.

However, the KCOM Stadium side are in fine form under new manager Marco Silva and have taken four points from their last two matches—against Liverpool, whom they beat 2-0, and Manchester United.

Despite being 12 points behind league leaders Chelsea, Wenger said that winning the title is not beyond Arsenal, per Mann-Bryans: "It is never over—at least, we have to behave like that. If you think it is over, I don't—we are in a pack that is tight. If it is over for us, it is over for everybody else."

If Arsenal fail to beat Hull, though, you suspect even Wenger would struggle to stay positive about the title race and that the Gunners could end up struggling to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League.