THAT’S HANDY!
Lucky break for Wenger as Sanchez gets away with a ‘handball goal’ and Arsenal beat Hull to lift the gloom
WHEN Arsene Wenger required a helping hand he knew he could rely on Alexis Sanchez.
Sanchez scored twice for Arsenal to apply the soothing balm of a victory against Hull and end the minislump which had been making life so uncomfortable for Wenger.
It was not a vintage display of fluent football by any means.
Indeed it was a scratchy performance in an anxious atmosphere but Wenger’s team enjoyed the fortune of the key decisions going in their favour and the relentless energy of Sanchez.
The Chilean striker converted the first goal with his gloved right hand and added the second in stoppagetime after Sam Clucas had used an arm to block a goal-bound header by Lucas Perez.
Clucas was sent off and Sanchez, booked for a dive in the second half, beat goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic from the spot.
A hand in both goals. Oh, the irony. Oh, the relief, at least for Wenger as he looked on from his perch in the stands, where he served the final game of his four-match ban.
He saw relegation-haunted Hull expose his team’s frailties without finding the clinical touch in front of goal. This was all about the win, as Wenger noted, but Bayern Munich are unlikely to be quaking in their lederhosen before their Champions League tie on Wednesday.
Yet again, Sanchez proved to be the difference, the only player capable of elevating Arsenal beyond the ordinary with his bottomless reserves of desire and will to win on days when others appeared cripplingly bereft of confidence.
He has been in diva-mode in recent weeks. He can be petulant when it does not go his way. His first goal should have been ruled out for handball and yet his contribution was decisive. Not only did he score twice but he provided the break and the cross for Perez which led to the penalty decision.
Hull made for lively and dangerous opponents, having enjoyed a bounce since changing their manager and refreshing the squad in last month’s transfer market.
They lacked the touch of a lethal finisher but had plenty of opportunities and were still pressing forward in search of an equaliser when the clock ticked past 90 minutes.
Substitute Adama Diomande missed the target with a free header from a corner. It would prove the final chance before Sanchez stretched the lead. The pace of Lazar Markovic, on loan at Hull from Liverpool, caused Arsenal problems.
Kieran Gibbs was fortunate not to be dismissed for a last-man foul on Markovic in the second half when he barged him over. Gibbs, preferred to Nacho Monreal at leftback, was booked.
Oumar Niasse was denied by Petr Cech with a save in each half.
Arsenal’s best spell came early in the game. Hector Bellerin, Sanchez and Mesut Ozil wasted good chances before they scrambled a way through in untidy fashion. A low drive by Gibbs made it through a crowd before it was hacked from the goal-line by Andrew Robertson, only as far as Sanchez, who turned the ball back towards goal.
Goalkeeper Jakupovic reacted quickly to make a low save but the rebound shot up into the air, struck Sanchez on the right hand as his momentum carried him forward and it flew into the net from close range. Hull protested and referee Mark Clattenburg consulted his assistant Jake Collin but decided to award the goal. Sanchez did not punch the ball deliberately into the net a la Diego Maradona but his arm was in the air, not by his side, making his body bigger.
Had it been a defender preventing an attempt at goal from reaching the net there would have been a valid appeal for a penalty and a red card, as Clucas would later discover. ‘It was an illegal goal, a handball,’ said Hull boss Marco Silva and Clattenburg admitted he got it wrong, apologising to Hull’s players as they prepared to start the second half.
The referee told them he could not have been certain and therefore could not rule out the goal by Sanchez. Perhaps this sense of injustice inspired Hull’s positive start to the second half. They forced Arsenal back and created more chances and tempers frayed. Theo Walcott wanted to pick a fight with centre-half Harry Maguire and Gibbs was fortunate to see a yellow card rather than a red one for his last-man foul on Markovic.
Arsenal were more solid when Mohamed Elneny came on for his first appearance since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Alex Iwobi went close before Wenger’s team settled the game in stoppage time when Sanchez sped on to a pass from Ozil and skipped around Jakupovic as the ‘keeper dashed recklessly from his area.
Sanchez delivered a cross to Perez who headed on target but Clucas blocked the effort with his elbow.
This time Clattenburg and his team spotted the offence and Sanchez scored his 19th of the season, and his seventh in four games against Hull, from the penalty spot.