Big Dane back on the score sheet

Arsenal 2-0 Hull

In the aftermath of Arsenal’s excellent 3-0 victory away to Cardiff, Arsene Wenger declared his intention to rotate his first team selection over the coming weeks, due to an incredibly heavy schedule up ahead. However, the manager’s decision to replace Olivier Giroud with the infamous Niklas Bendtner for last night’s match at home to Hull, resulted in a series of groans from the Arsenal faithful as they entered the Emirates Stadium. These were wholly justified of course, given the Dane’s lacklustre performance in his last starting berth against Chelsea, but the groans soon turned to cheers as Arsenal got off to yet another excellent start thanks to that man Bendtner.

Having last scored a goal in Arsenal colours back in March 2011, it took the big Dane only two minutes of last night’s match to get himself on the score sheet. It was a move which owed much to excellent passing and movement amongst Rosicky and Ramsey to release Carl Jenkinson on the right flank, before the Arsenal right back delivered a wonderful cross into the box, for Bendtner to head home with consummate ease. The manner of his celebration indicated a great relief at having finally registered once again in the red and white of Arsenal and who knows, this may well be the start of a new dawn for him.

Although it dominated the pre-match discussions, Bendtner’s inclusion was not the only change to the side that had controlled proceedings so admirably against Cardiff. In fact Wenger made a total of five changes to his starting line up with Monreal and Jenkinson replacing Gibbs and the injured Sagna respectively, while Flamini came in for Arteta at the base of the midfield and Rosicky replaced Jack Wilshere. It was a sign of how far this club has come over the last couple of years, that having made so many changes to his starting eleven, Wenger could still field a very strong line-up. Of course the jury is still out on Bendtner’s ability to fill the void up front should Giroud succumb to injury, but in every other position, the Gunners appear to have sufficient cover, enabling the manager the luxury of being able to rotate his squad, without diminishing the quality of the starting line-up.

The pundits will once again point to the opposition and declare that this Arsenal squad can only be truly assessed once they have faced the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City, but let us not forget that this was a Hull City team who had just defeated Liverpool and were therefore bursting with confidence. Yet from the minute Bendtner’s header hit the back of the net, the Gunners were once again in complete control of proceedings and dominated the game in a manner which has not been present for a number of years at the Emirates. In previous seasons, Arsenal would struggle to overcome a so called lesser team who would be extremely organised and sit deep in the hope of achieving at least a draw. But so far this season, the Gunners have managed to start games extremely well, build a platform and then more often than not, dominate their opponents, regardless of their style of play.

The only criticism which could be labelled at Arsenal last night, was their apparent lack of ruthlessness in front of goal. Hull were there for the taking and Arsenal could have scored as many as they wished, but repeatedly fluffed their lines in front of goal. In the first half alone the Gunners registered fourteen attempts on goal. Koscielny’s header from a Cazorla corner could only be gathered in by Alan McGregor at the second attempt, then the Hull goalkeeper spilled Ozil’s shot at the feet of Bendtner, but with the goal seemingly at his mercy, the big Dane’s touch let him down and the chance was gone. Ramsey then forced McGregor into an excellent full stretch save with a powerful long range effort before Ozil headed over from Bendtner’s cross just before halftime.

At the interval it was hard to believe that the score was still only 1-0 and therefore Hull were theoretically at least, still in the game. However, with only two minutes played in the second half, the Gunners sealed the victory thanks to another wonderful move. Monreal just managed to keep the ball in play on the left flank and fed Ozil, who laid the ball back to Ramsey. The Welshman then played a magnificent through ball to Ozil in the penalty area and the German international finished superbly, giving McGregor “the eyes” and slotting the ball home at the near post.

From this moment on, the Gunners relaxed and were able to see the game out in relative comfort. Bendtner’s headed effort from a corner would come closest to increasing Arsenal’s lead further, as it was just cleared off the line.

At the final whistle Wenger could feel justified in having taken the gamble, as he described it, of selecting Bendtner in place of Giroud. It had not only paid off, but may also have relieved the burdens of criticism and pressure from the Dane’s shoulders. His performance last night may not have been great but was much improved and showed that if given the opportunity he has the ability to do a job for the team. With the Gunners entering a difficult period in which tough games come thick and fast, a return to form for Bendtner could prove crucial.