Arsenal Round-Up, Saturday 7th November: Odegaard Winner Sees Off Stubborn Hull Amid VAR Storm
Arsenal made it six wins on the spin in the Premier League as Martin Odegaard's 72nd-minute strike saw off a stubborn Hull City at the Emirates, with the Gunners six points clear at the top of the table (Evening Standard) (Sky Sports) (The Guardian) (BBC Sport). It was a tense, scrappy afternoon in which Arsenal dominated possession but struggled to create clear-cut chances before Odegaard's quality shone through (Evening Standard) (BBC Sport) (BBC Sport). The result also means Arsenal have equalled their best-ever start to a Premier League season, according to talkSPORT (talkSPORT).
The win didn't come without controversy, though. Arsenal felt they should have had a penalty when Kai Havertz had his shirt pulled by Hull's Nobel Mendy, but VAR ruled the chance out for offside in what the Evening Standard called a "very controversial VAR intervention" (Evening Standard) (Evening Standard) (talkSPORT). Fans were left furious, with many feeling "robbed" by the decision (Evening Standard). Even pundits seemed to side with the Gunners - Martin Keown was scathing about how the incident was handled (talkSPORT), while former referee Mike Dean admitted Arsenal should have been given the spot-kick (Sky Sports), though Dean and Paul Merson also argued the process itself was followed correctly once the offside was spotted (Sky Sports).
Arteta made six changes to his starting line-up for the visit of Hull, with Ezri Konsa and Havertz among those recalled (Arsenal.com) (Football.London). Konsa in particular caught the eye, with Football.London picking out three moments that underlined why he's shaping up as the signing of the season (Football.London). Player ratings from the Standard and Football.London both singled out Odegaard as the star man, though a few players on jittery afternoons were marked down to 5/10 (Evening Standard) (Football.London) (BBC Sport). Arsenal.com also noted another clean sheet to enjoy for goalkeeper Gabriel (Arsenal.com).
There was a slightly nervy moment when Declan Rice was substituted just after the hour mark with the game still goalless, but Arteta moved to ease any worries afterwards, confirming it wasn't an injury concern (Evening Standard). In his press conference, Arteta also reflected on his side's attacking play, saying Arsenal must stop searching for "the perfect goal" and instead be more direct in front of goal (ESPN) (Football.London) (Football.London) (Arsenal.com) (Arsenal.com). Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic gave his reaction to the defeat too (BBC Sport), while Arteta spoke to BBC Sport after the win (BBC Sport).
Elsewhere, William Saliba has been left out of the first-team squad and will instead turn out for Arsenal's Under-21s against Aston Villa on Sunday as he continues his comeback from a back injury, Mikel Arteta confirmed (talkSPORT). Christos Tzolis, meanwhile, says he remains confident that his goals will start flowing for Arsenal following his summer move from Club Brugge, despite being yet to open his account (Sky Sports). Arteta also played down concerns over a hectic run of away fixtures, joking he's looking forward to the international break to catch up on some sleep (Sky Sports).
On the transfer front, Football.London reports that Arteta's recent comments on the January window could hint at how a deal for Antonio Nusa might work, potentially with Martin Odegaard's role in mind (Football.London), while TeamTalk claims Arsenal are in pole position for a £60m move for the Leipzig winger, who impressed despite his side's Champions League defeat to Manchester City in midweek (TeamTalk).
In the academy, the youthful theme continued with the Under-18s thrashing Sunderland 3-0 (Arsenal.com).
Arsenal's lead at the top was further boosted by Manchester City's shock 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest, with Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards debating whether City can still mount a serious title challenge (Evening Standard) (Sky Sports).
This round-up is written with the help of AI, using only the day's headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
