Abby Brammell

By Ian Ladyman

Saint Nicklas: Bendtner scored in the 93rd minute to give Arsenal all three points


Some teams have a look about them that suggests they may be champions. Others look ready for a survival fight they believe can be won. So both Arsenal and Hull can afford to take something from their tense meeting at a fevered KC Stadium.

Arsenal certainly can win the Barclays Premier League. Teams who score late goals often do. Arsene Wenger's team are playing with belief and fire and have a friendly fixture list ahead of them.
Hull, meanwhile, don't look like a team ready to surrender their place in the top flight just yet. Their players may have fought on the fields beneath the Humber Bridge to the horror of onlooking members of the Women's Institute last week, but they fought here, too. That is more important.


Saint Nicklas: Bendtner scored in the 93rd minute to give Arsenal all three points


One in the eye: Nicklas Bendtner feels the fickle finger of George Boateng


Late on Saturday night, after the dust had settled on 96 minutes of intrigue and controversy, Hull chairman Adam Pearson was still feeling the pain of a defeat that came two minutes into added time.'A point would have been terrific for us,' he winced


Spot on: Bullard blasts his first half penalty past the diving Almunia


Dismissed: Boateng was sent off after receiving a second booking for a dangerous tackle on Sagna


On the Arsenal team bus heading south, meanwhile, Wenger and his players were feeling the benefit of Nicklas Bendtner's late goal

'If you give up after 80 minutes, you cannot be a player,' said the scorer of the winner. 'I always believe right until the last minute that we can do it because I've seen it so many times. We pass it around, people think it's over and then we score a goal out of nothing.'

Arsenal scored early through the terrific Andrey Arshavin and looked set to roll Hull over. But a clumsy tackle by Sol Campbell - he probably should have seen red - gave the superb Jimmy Bullard the chance to level things up from the spot and from then the game was much more balanced.

George Boateng's afternoon ended prematurely after a dreadful tackle on Bacary Sagna just before half-time but only in the final 15 minutes did Arsenal make their numerical advantage tell.


From Russia with love: Arshavin gave Arsenal the lead early on in the first half


But just as Hull looked set for a point, keeper Boaz Myhill made a mess of Denilson's long-range shot and Bendtner prodded the rebound into goal. It was a moment that could prove decisive for Arsenal's challenge.


Great Dane: Arsenal players mob goalscorer Bendtner after his late winner

If Wenger's team could stop moaning for just one minute about the strong tackling that they feel comes their way, they may reflect on this day as one that won them the title in a few weeks.


Bendtner added: 'It was a poor challenge on Bacary. You can see Bac's knee and it's got stud marks up the knee. It could have been serious. I think the refs have to come together and say, 'What do we do in these incidents, when these things happen?'

Suggestions that there is now a vendetta against Arsenal is absurd. Hull manager

Phil Brown, meanwhile, has his team's Premier League survival to ponder. It is perhaps between Hull, Wolves, West Ham and Wigan for the final relegation spot and, although the form of Brown's team is poor, their fixture list could be worse.

'All my chairman was looking for was a response from last week's poor performance and I think he got it,' said Brown.




source: dailymail