A very good, enjoyable and convincing evening at the office for the Gunners who looked assured at the back and attacked well throughout.
Arsenal even scored from a corner. That wasn’t a typo. Per Mertesacker towered above the Tigers defence to hand the Gunners the advantage.
Alexis Sanchez doubled the lead late on after a superb turn and shot from the edge of the box in what was another exciting display from the energetic Chilean.
Hull barely threatened and Arsenal’s rotated back line can take positives from a well earned clean sheet. Onto the next round and one step closer to Wembley.
Here are the player ratings:
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Ospina 7.5: Some good, confident collections in the box and simple saves from the Colombian. A reasonably easy clean sheet however.
Bellerin 7.5: A strong showing from the youngster. Got forward well, put in some good tackles and held up Brady well. Needs to practice his shooting however!
Chambers 7.0: One notable good interception from the England international but was barely tested.
Mertesacker 8.0: Brilliant header to open the scoring. Superb. Wasn’t tested a whole heap but was strong in the air and can be happy with the clean sheet.
Monreal 6.5: Struggled a little with Ince’s pace but grew into the game. Had plenty of help from Campbell which kept Ince quiet in the second half.
Coquelin 7.0: Very lucky not to pick up an early booking for a nasty tackle on Quinn’s ankle, nice ball for Theo shortly after suggests he actually can knock a long ball. But overall he played well putting in some good tackles. He’s certainly taking this opportunity with both hands. Needs to keep his passing simple though and be a bit smarter with his challenges.
Rosicky 7.5: Superb run through half of the Hull side to send Alexis through on goal and was a constant menace. Excellent tempo and agility from Little Mozart who looks 24, certainly not 34.
Cazora 8.5: Played well in a deeper role and pulled the strings throughout. Some superb through-balls which unfortunately were not finished by Theo, and set up Alexis’ goal with an explosive run through the middle.
Campbell 6.5:
Nice driving run early on and excellent exchange with Alexis but poor finish when one on one. Although he worked hard and put in some good defensive work, he failed to stamp his authority on the game. Another abysmal shot on the 60th minute.
Alexis 9.5:Lead the line well tonight despite not having too much support. Was at the centre of most attacks and worked tirelessly. Unlucky not to score on a couple of occasions, but dealt well with Hull’s physicality at the back. Such a tenacious player. Finished off the game with a superbly taken goal and earned a rest for the final 10 minutes
Walcott 7.0: Some sloppy touches and missed two superb opportunities when put through by Santi. Grew into the game and scared Hull’s back line. Clearly lacks sharpness but encouraging for him to get some minutes under his belt and getting into some promising situations.
Substitutes:
78′ Ox 6.5: Brilliant defensive work from the Ox and looked exciting going forward. But hammered his knee in a collision, hopefully nothing serious.
83′ Akpom 6.0: N/A – Barely touched the ball
89′ Maitland-Niles 6.0: N/A – late introduction.
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