Arsenal boosted by victory, Fabregas return

Nicklas Bendtner claimed a dramatic stoppage-time winner to push Arsenal level with Premier League leaders Chelsea thanks to a hard-fought 2-1 victory at struggling Hull on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger’s men looked like they would have to settle for a point against 10-man City, until Bendtner pounced when goalkeeper Boaz Myhill could only parry a shot from Denilson.

Relegation-threatened Hull were up against it from the moment their skipper George Boateng earned a fully-merited second yellow card in first-half injury time.

But Phil Brown’s side almost held out until Bendtner, who along with Andrey Arshavin had been guilty of wasting a string of presentable second-half chances, sealed a fifth consecutive league victory to leave the hosts in deep trouble at the bottom.

Chelsea’s resounding 4-1 victory over West Ham earlier in the day ensured that it would take a five-goal winning margin for Arsenal to usurp their rivals at the top ahead of Manchester United taking on Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Having been forced to separate the warring Jimmy Bullard and Nick Barmby earlier this week, Brown continued the theme by handing the former his first home start since a three-month injury lay-off, while the latter had to settle for a place on the bench.

Arsenal enjoyed the majoriy of possession early on and territorial advantage when they made that dominance pay after 14 minutes.

A neat three-man build-up found Bendtner on the edge of the Hull box.

The Dane’s square pass to Arshavin found him confronted by Bernard Mendy and Boateng, but with the help of a kind bounce, the Russian wormed his way into a shooting chance, which he duly dispatched with an exquisite angled finish, fashioned with the outside of his right boot from 15 yards.

Hull striker Jozy Altidore’s turn and shot from the edge of the area trundled harmlessly wide.

Bullard’s speculative effort from a partially cleared corner succeeded only in disturbing Arsenal’s travelling supporters behind Manuel Almunia’s goal, but the returning midfielder was afforded a rather less difficult way to find the net from the penalty spot shortly before the half hour.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink appeared marginally offside as he set off in pursuit of Dean Marney’s hopeful punt into the Arsenal area.

The Dutchman took a touch with his head before he was unceremoniously bundled over by Sol Campbell.

Referee Andre Marriner pointed to the spot, although he declined to issue what many felt would be the subsequent red card to the Arsenal defender.

Bullard needed no second invitation to find the top corner from 12 yards despite Almunia guessing the right way.

There was precious little time for the hosts to celebrate as Boateng, who had earlier been booked for a petulant confrontation with Bendtner, failed to make it to the interval after earning a second caution with an ugly knee-high challenge on Bacary Sagna.

Hull’s defeat means they stretched their unwanted run to one win in 15 games.

Arsene Wenger saw Arsenal maintain their Premier League title challenge with a 2-1 win at Hull and was then further buoyed by the imminent return of midfield star Cesc Fabregas.

Nicklas Bendtner’s injury-time goal sealed a hard-fought win at struggling Hull to seal a fifth consecutive league victory and keep the pressure on title rivals Chelsea and Manchester United.

The dramatic finale mirrored Arsenal’s recent success at Stoke City, and has seen them develop a reputation for leaving things uncomfortably late.

Wenger admitted: “We’re leaving it late at the moment, exactly as we did at Stoke. Maybe it isn’t good for my heart, but as far as the title is concerned, it’s not bad.”

The London club’s hopes of ending United and Chelsea’s Premier League dominance have been written off several times this season, but after this latest win saw them draw level at the top with their neighbours from across the capital, Wenger insists it would be unwise to rule them out with less than two months of the campaign remaining.

His confidence was further bolstered by the news that Fabregas, who has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, should be fit to face West Ham on Saturday.

Confirming that Fabregas is well ahead of William Gallas, who has been troubled by a calf problem, in his injury rehabilitation, Wenger said: “Fabregas has a chance to be ready for next week, but Gallas hasn’t.”

The 60-year-old Frenchman added: “We’re in the fight and we have eight games to go.

“We’re in there, so why shouldn’t we believe? What I do believe is that we’ll give absolutely everything to keep challenging, and we’ve seen that again here.

“The team spirit is there, it’s special and you can see that.”

Andrey Arshavin gave Arsenal an early lead, but that was cancelled out by Jimmy Bullard’s penalty after Sol Campbell’s foul on Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink – an offence for which Hull manager Phil Brown claimed the veteran Arsenal defender should have been sent off.

The visitors failed to fully capitalise on their numerical advantage once Hull skipper George Boateng earned a second yellow card for a foul on Bacary Sagna in first-half stoppage time.

They were thankful for Danish forward Bendtner following up to score after goalkeeper Boaz Myhill failed to hold a shot from Denilson.

Brown, whose side are in grave relegation danger after just one win in 15 games, insisted: “The pivotal moment was undoubtedly in favour of Arsenal. I admire Sol Campbell, he’s a colossus of a lad, but he should have been red carded, it’s as simple as that.

“He’s denied a goal scoring opportunity.”

Wenger failed to concur, and he added: “Sol wasn’t lucky to stay on. I felt the foul was on him. Hesselink went in Sol’s way and he had no other option but to touch him.

“There was no intention there and he wasn’t in a position to score.”