Bendtner grabs last gasp winner for Arsenal

Mar 13, 2010 - 8:44 PM By NEIL RICHARDS STATS European Football Writer=

LONDON (SE) - Nicklas Bendtner's injury-time winner gave Arsenal a 2-1 win at the KC Stadium to take the Gunners level with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League and deal a hammer blow to Hull's survival hopes.

The Tigers had been hanging on manfully with ten men after the dismissal of George Boateng just before the interval, but were undone by a blunder by Boaz Myhill three minutes into six minutes of added time.

The Hull goalkeeper had difficulty handling a swerving long-range shot from Denilson and palmed the ball straight into the path of Bendtner, who finished clinically.

Arsenal were in front and seemingly in cruise control thanks to a classy finish from Russia international Andrey Arshavin after 14 minutes.

But Hull levelled out of the blue 14 minutes later when Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink collected the ball in what was clearly an offside position before being felled by Sol Campbell inside the area. Jimmy Bullard, who had been involved in a public fracas with team-mate Nick Barmby on Monday, showed more composure from 12 yards to blast his equalising penalty past Manuel Almunia.

Bendtner, though, was to have the last say, following on from his Champions League hat-trick against Porto in midweek. It was the fifth time in their last four games that Arsene Wenger's side have scored in stoppage time.

"We were a bit jaded physically and mentally," Wenger admitted. "The pitch was difficult as well.

"We keep on going, and as I say many times, this team has mental strength and if you look at the number of goals we score in the last 15 minutes that shows that there is some special strength in there."

The dreadful state of the pitch helped neither side, though it was Arsenal who drew first blood.

Samir Nasri and Bendtner combined to set up Arshavin on the edge of the area. He darted into the smallest of gaps between Bernard Mendy and Boateng and after collecting a lucky ricochet, producing a clinical right-foot finish past Myhill.

It was Arsenal's 100th goal of the season in all competitions and the 800th of this Premier League campaign.

Wenger added: "I believe we started well, but when we went 1-0 up we lost our focus, it became a bit too easy and straight away we got punished."

There was a suspicion of offside over the build-up to Hull's goal, but having been allowed to play on the home side could rightly contend that Campbell should have been dismissed for a professional foul on Vennegoor of Hesselink.

As it transpired, it was Hull who were left to play the entire second half with only ten men after Boateng was shown his second yellow card just before the break for a bad tackle on Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna which would have merited a straight red card from some referees.

That negated Brown's plan to attack with two strikers in Vennegoor of Hesselink and Jozy Altidore and suddenly the best the Tigers could realistically hope for was to hold out for a point.

Only once in the second half were they opened up, when substitute Theo Walcott got clear down the right and centred via Nasri for Arshavin, who wastefully fired over an open goal from ten yards.

With Hull having conceded the most goals in the Premier League in the last ten minutes and Arsenal having scored the most, there was always the feeling that the game might have a cruel late twist and it came courtesy of Myhill's mistake.

"It's not consolation you are after, it's positives," Brown said, knowing that Wolverhampton's win at Burnley earlier in the day had left his side three points from safety.

"There have been question marks about the fight and the spirit and the commitment at this football club and it was there for everybody to see.

"If we get that for nine more games we'll be fine. Today was an outstanding performance from more or less everybody in the team."