Arsenal face a replay at the KC Stadium after playing out a goalless draw in a game which saw the Gunners dominate from start to finish but fail to find a breakthrough against the Championship leaders.
Hull’s stand-in keeper, Eldin Jakupovic, was man of the match during a frustrating afternoon for Arsenal fans. Time and again he denied the home side with a series of crucial blocks and world class saves.
Both managers rung the changes for this Fifth Round encounter. With one eye on their game against Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, Wenger started only two players who defeated Leicester in last weekend’s victory over the Premier League leaders.
Hull, for their part, made ten changes aimed at stifling Arsenal’s attacking play. And while the visitors managed the occasional chance on the counter attack, it was Wenger’s men who controlled the game with 13 goal attempts off target and 11 on target, compared to Hull’s six shots, only one of which was on goal.
In the first half, Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott and Arsenal’s19-year-old academy graduate Alex Iwobi, who impressed in the No. 10 role, all saw goal-bound efforts saved by the Tigers’ keeper.
Young Egypt international Mohamed Elneny, who Wenger had drafted into a defensive midfield role, and Mathieu Flamini were also both denied in the early stages.
The second half saw the Gunners maintain the pressure, with Walcott and Iwobi both threatening before Joel Campbell saw his curling free kick tipped onto the post by the inspired Jakupovic.
Arsenal also had two valid penalty claims: the first early on when Elneny’s shot was blocked by Alex Bruce’s arm and later when David Meyler tripped Calum Chambers.
A number of commentators had predicted prior to the game that match ref Mike Dean – who’s record when officiating Arsenal games has established him as an unpopular choice among Gunners fans – could act as Hull’s twelfth man. His refusal to give either penalty will only increase fans’ suspicions about Dean as Metro have reported.
Speaking in the post match press conference as reported by the Official Arsenal Website, Wenger paid tribute to Hull’s defensive organisation: “The replay is not especially good news but Hull defended very well.”
He added: “We were not incisive or accurate enough in our passing in the final third. We had 20 shots, 70% possession, but no goals.”
Arsenal Player Ratings (Out of Ten)
Ospina 6
Chambers 6 (Booked)
Mertesacker 6
Koscielny 6 (Booked)
Gibbs 6
Flamini 5.5
Elneny 7.5
Campbell 7 Substituted for Giroud (6) on 67 mins
Iwobi 7 Substituted for Oxlade-Chamberlain (6) on 73 mins
Welbeck 7 Substituted for Sánchez (6) on 67 mins
Walcott 7
Unused Subs
Monreal
Bellerín
Coquelin
Macey
With the 1/4 final draw for the Emirates FA Cup having happened after the Chelsea vs Man City game, Arsenal know that if they can beat Hull City in their replay their reward will be a home-tie against Watford.