Soccer
Odegaard strikes in the 72nd: Arsenal edge Hull 1-0 and move six points clear at the top
For 71 minutes, the Emirates held its breath: Hull City, newly promoted and stubborn, were standing up to the defending champions. Then Noni Madueke struck, Konstantinos Tzolakis could only push the ball into the path of Martin Odegaard, and the captain did the rest. The 1-0 win on Saturday, November 7, gives Arsenal a ninth victory in 10 league games and a six-point lead at the top.
The goal that broke the deadlock
The breakthrough arrived in the 72nd minute. Madueke, on as a substitute, drove a powerful shot that Tzolakis could only parry. Odegaard, first to the rebound, finished from close range: the Greek goalkeeper got a touch on the follow-up too, but could not keep it out. It is the Norwegian's third league goal of the season, all of them scored at the Emirates. Late on, Madueke danced around Tzolakis once more, but Brooke Norton-Cuffy hacked the ball off the line.
Hull made the champions sweat
Arsenal expected no stroll, and Hull did not offer one. In the first half, the visitors even created the better chances: John Egan saw a header fly just wide of the post, David Raya had to get down to parry an angled effort from Elliot Stroud, and Declan Rice had to race back to put Tim Iroegbunam off on the rebound. Referee Farai Hallam was also sent to the monitor for a possible penalty, after Nobel Mendy pulled Kai Havertz's shirt inside the area — but the German was offside. After the break, Ezri Konsa had to make a last-ditch lunge on Mohamed-Ali Cho, and Lucas Gourna-Douath fired straight at Raya.
A defence of iron
If Arsenal won without sparkling, it is because their defence will not budge. The Gunners have kept a seventh clean sheet in 10 league games — only three teams in Premier League history have managed more at this stage of a season (eight). They have now gone four league games without conceding, their longest run since a five-match streak between late December 2005 and mid-January 2006. Hull produced only 0.34 expected goals (xG) from seven attempts. Arsenal, for their part, generated just 1.08 xG from 21 shots — proof of a difficult afternoon in attack, rescued by their captain. It was also Arsenal's 34th 1-0 win under Mikel Arteta, the most of any side since he took charge in December 2019.
Top until the break
With 27 points from 10 games, Arsenal are guaranteed to stay top through the international break. The lead is six points over Manchester City, who played the late kick-off at Nottingham Forest. The captain keeps proving his touch against promoted sides: 18 goal involvements in his last 22 league games against a promoted team (12 goals, six assists). Arsenal have also won their last 10 home games in all competitions — only a 12-match run in November 2022 was longer under Arteta. Elsewhere on Saturday, Leeds beat Tottenham 1-0 and Fulham drew 1-1 with Newcastle. For Hull, the winless run goes on: eight league games without a victory after a bright start to the season.