Arsenal Lead League With Top Four’s Lowest Attack — SkimNews
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- Arsenal defeated Hull 1-0 when Martin Odegaard bundled home from close range in the 72nd minute, taking the team into the international break as Premier League leaders with nine wins from 10 league matches.
- Arsenal recorded their 34th 1-0 under Mikel Arteta, matching the 27-point return from their first 10 Premier League matches in 2022-23; no team has won more 1-0s since Arteta's 2019 appointment.
- Arsenal have won their past 10 home matches in all competitions with eight clean sheets; they also hold the league's best defence but the lowest scoring total among the top four, having not scored more than twice since beating Coventry 3-0 on opening day.
- Farai Hallam attended the pitchside monitor for Arsenal's first-half penalty appeal, but the decision pivoted to an offside against Kai Havertz and a free-kick to Hull; Michael Oliver's VAR assessment turned on whether Havertz could become involved in a second phase.
- Harry Kane was awarded a late penalty while offside in a north London derby in February 2019, whereas Dango Ouattara's penalty against Leeds was ruled out through VAR last December, exposing the interpretation behind the Havertz controversy.
- Mikel Arteta said Arsenal needed to be “more efficient,” “more pragmatic” and “more chaotic” against low blocks and to score earlier, after the side went one-on-one with Hull's goalkeeper twice.
- Bukayo Saka is out with a quadriceps injury, leaving Arsenal without its talisman and established right-side pairing with Ben White and Martin Odegaard. Havertz has not reached the same level since a hamstring injury, Tzolis has not looked the same threat after his own hamstring injury, and Viktor Gyokeres remains second choice.
Why it matters: Arsenal’s nine wins from 10 and eight clean sheets in their last 10 home matches leave them leading the Premier League at the break. Yet their league-best defence sits alongside the top four’s lowest attack: they have not scored more than twice since beating Coventry 3-0 on opening day.
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