Arsenal dominated proceedings virtually from start-to-finish against Championship side Hull City, but were unable to find the all-important goal, which would've given them confidence to push on and progress into the quarter-finals of this year's FA Cup competition.

Encouraging displays from Elneny and Welbeck in particular

Starting with a strong side fielded, the likes of Mohamed Elneny and Danny Welbeck were given the opportunity to start and feature for prolonged periods where they haven't done so in this current Gunners' set-up for contrasting reasons. Both excelled, Elneny worked tirelessly in midfield and effectively usurped his midfield partner - Mathieu Flamini's impact on the game itself with a combination of important interceptions, tackles and overall contribution going forward too.

Elneny in possession against Hull | Image: Getty
Elneny in possession against Hull | Image: Getty

Welbeck, who scored a late headed winner to seal all three points against League leaders Leicester City last weekend, was direct and a tricky customer for the visitors to deal with upon occasion - where he linked up well with Alex Iwobi in the final third.

Jakupovic forced into a string of good saves

31-year-old second-choice goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic, who would've been told before kick-off that he'd need to be on top form to keep a clean sheet at the Emirates, was alert and made a number of important saves in both halves to keep Hull in the game at times.

His diving fingertip stop to deny Joel Campbell's swerving free-kick from nestling into the bottom corner was probably the pick of the bunch, but he was also forced into making sharp saves to thwart Welbeck and Theo Walcott amongst others as the Gunners cranked up the pressure in the final third.

Jakupovic goes over to celebrate his hard-earned clean sheet, with his daughter (far left) | Picture source: BBC
Jakupovic goes over to celebrate his hard-earned clean sheet, with his daughter (far left) | Picture source: BBC

Ultimately, the Tigers defended well as a unit and fought hard to force a much-dreaded replay - where they'll host the Premier League title contenders at the KC Stadium in the not-too-distant future, hoping to seal the ultimate revenge after two successive Cup defeats in previous campaigns.

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About the author
Mosope Ominiyi
Writer and editor - European football analyst, youth enthusiast. Email: [email protected]