Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
One team has lost their last two matches going into this game while the other comes into this encounter having won 4 points from a possible and beating Liverpool in the process. If you did not know better you would have thought Arsenal would be the latter and Hull the former, but you would be very wrong.
That’s because back to back defeats for Arsenal have seen them drop to 4th and more importantly 12 points behind league leaders Chelsea. A gap that for many is insurmountable and that means that Arsene Wenger may very well have missed out on a last opportunity to win another Premier League title.
Whether or not he stays on as Arsenal boss remains to be seen but that decision could be made up for him should they not finish in the top four and miss out on Champions League Football for the first time in 20 years, a feat that is almost unthinkable at The Emirates.
After the shock defeat to Watford last Tuesday it perhaps came as no real surprise that they were second best in the London derby last Saturday Lunchtime as Antonio Conte’s Chelsea cruised to a comfortable 3-1 win. A victory that quite possibly seals the title for the West London side.
That’s an accolade that Arsenal could only dream of right now and more importantly they need to make sure it does not end up being three successive defeats in a row as a resurgent Hull under new boss Marco Silva make the long journey to North London looking to claim another scalp.
That’s because they have already disposed of Liverpool this month thanks to a 2-0 win at The KCom Stadium last Saturday. A win that has helped Hull’s hopes of survival no end while delivering a massive blow to Liverpool’s top four ambitions.
Since Marco Silva took charge of The Tigers he has managed to pick up 7 points in his 4 matches in charge and Hull travel here as not only one of the form teams but also just a point from safety as they currently find themselves 18th with Swansea well in their sights.
And should they be able to pull of an upset of some magnitude this Afternoon then they would be out of the dropzone for 24 hours at least as Swansea are not in action until Sunday when they host Leicester in what is earmarked as a relegation ‘6 pointer’
Hull though need only worry about the job in hand for them and that is picking up a result against an Arsenal side that is low on morale and arguably there for the taking. Can Hull complete the task though and crank up the pressure further on Arsene Wenger.
Earlier in the season this would have been a home banker but now you cannot necessarily be so sure, Arsenal fans will demand that their side turn in a performance worthy of three points later on. Then again they may not care how they play as long as they do come away with Maximum points.
I think this might just be one upset too many for Hull as I can’t see Arsenal losing for a third successive game in a row. For me they will bounce back and the Wenger Out brigade will be silenced for at least a couple of days, it’s a home win for The Gunners.
