Arsene Wenger admitted his Arsenal side needed a bit of luck to earn all three points against 10-man Hull on Saturday.

The Gunners boss was serving the last of his four match touchline ban, and will have been delighted with Alexis Sanchez's brace which ended the club's winless run in the league.

Controversy at the Emirates

Sanchez scored Arsenal's first of the day in the 34th minute, but there were question marks over whether the goal should have stood. Kieran Gibbs' shot was blocked by Hull's Andrew Robertson, the ball then fell to Sanchez who attempted to prod it home, but the ball deflected off goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic onto the hand of Sanchez and into the goal.

When asked if his team needed a slice of luck considering recent results, Wenger said: "Of course. When you lose two games on the trot at Arsenal you face a good storm."

He added:"There is only one answer: to win the next game, or you face even more. I’m at Arsenal for 20 years, I know that. When you will look one day if I lost three Premier League games on the trot, you will be surprised."

Hull were again on the receiving end of a controversial decision in the 54th minute.

Wenger named Gibbs at left back in the place of Nacho Monreal, and the 27-year-old was perhaps lucky to stay on the pitch. Hull's Lazar Markovic was running onto a long ball from deep toward Arsenal's goal, when he was barged over by Gibbs, who was the last defender.

Referee Mark Clattenburg spotted the incident, but deemed Gibbs' challenge yellow card worthy, rather than sending the Arsenal man off.

Arsenal seal it late on

Hull enjoyed a greater share of possession on Arsenal's home patch, which is a rarity for any visiting teams. Wenger claimed Arsenal retreated somewhat to protect their 1-0 lead, with recent poor results in the back of the players minds.

"We became a bit more protective to protect the result." said the Frenchman."After that we were playing a bit more to not concede a goal and that’s what the game was about because we knew that was absolutely vital to win today."

On a day where major decisions went against Hull, events in stoppage time will have only compounded their disappointment. Midfielder Sam Clucas saw red in the 91st minute, conceding a penalty in the process, after intentionally blocking substitute Lucas Perez's goal-bound header on the line.

Sanchez stepped up to take the penalty and drilled it low beyond Jakupovic, taking his tally to 17 goals for the season, making him the Premier League's leading marksman.

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