Hull shocks Arsenal in huge Premier League upset

In the biggest upset of the season so far, Hull City shocked Arsenal 2-1 at Emirates Stadium on Saturday. The loss was Arsenal’s first at home in over 17 months. The setback was particularly costly for the Gunners as the rest of the EPL’s top teams—Chelsea, Man U and Liverpool—all won meaning that the team’s short stint in sole possession of first place had come to an end.

Despite dominating the game statistically, Arsenal looked lethargic during a scoreless first half. It seemed as they considered a victory against lowly Hull a foregone conclusion and thought that they could simply go through the motions along the way. That view received further validation early in the 2nd half when Arsenal went up 1-0 by virtue of an ‘own goal’ by Hull’s Paul McShane.

The Arsenal lead was short lived, as Hull’s talented Brazilian import Geovanni finally scored at the 62 minute mark after a couple of near misses earlier in the game. With Arsenal still back on their heels after the Rangers drew level, the plucky visitors continued their attack and quickly found the back of the net again as Daniel Cousin headed home the eventual game winner. Hull withstood a furious barrage by the home side late in the game and held on for the upset.

Arsenal’s “technical superiority” was evident on the scoresheet, where they outshot Hull 25 to 9, took 15 corner kicks to Hull’s 4 and had a sizable 63% to 37% time of possession advantage. Despite this statistical mismatch, they were unable to translate their advantages into goals en route to the loss.

The Gunners’ defeat left Chelsea and Liverpool deadlocked for top spot in the Premiership, as both sides posted victories on Saturday. Chelsea defeated Stoke City 2-0 at Stamford Bridge, while Liverpool won the 208th Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park as they beat Everton by an identical 2-0 tally. Defending champions Manchester United continued clawing their way back up the EPL standings table as they prevailed 2-0 over Bolton at Old Trafford.