London: Holders Arsenal edged past Hull City 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to six points.Hull frustrated Mikel Arteta's side with a disciplined defensive display, keeping Arsenal at bay despite the hosts dominating possession. The Gunners struggled to find a breakthrough in the first half, with goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis making several important saves to keep Hull in the game.Arsenal finally broke the deadlock in the 72nd minute. Martin Odegaard was quickest to react after Tzolakis saved Noni Madueke's effort, slotting home the rebound.
The Gunners nearly doubled their lead late on when Madueke broke through on goal. However, Tzolakis stopped the winger, and the ball fell to Hull defender Nobel Mendy before Brooke Norton-Cuffy cleared it off the line.Arsenal finished with 66.9% possession and 21 shots, 10 of which were on target. The victory was their fifth consecutive league win since a 3-0 defeat to Brighton in September, which remains their only dropped points of the season.
Getting it over the line ✅ Enjoy the highlights from our win over Hull City 📺 https://t.co/lHTK5Jo5jZ
Meanwhile, Manchester City's title hopes suffered a major blow as they slumped to a third consecutive Premier League defeat, losing 3-1 to Nottingham Forest. Enzo Maresca's side fell two goals behind inside the opening 20 minutes at the City Ground against a Forest side who started the day 19th in the table, having picked up just one point from their previous five games. Jair Cunha and Liam Delap both scored in the first half to put the hosts in control.
Rayan Cherki pulled one back early in the second half, but Forest held firm before Delap scored his second of the game in the 73rd minute to send the home fans into a frenzy. It was Forest's first home win in the Premier League this season. City had won their opening seven league matches of the campaign before suffering a 2-1 defeat away to Aston Villa and a 1-0 loss at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Unbelievable. 🤯 https://t.co/DcpRNPQ5t2
Reflecting on the defeat, Maresca admitted his side had failed to match Forest's intensity and win their individual battles. "In the first half, when you don't match the intensity, when you lose all the duels, it's difficult, and then when we want to react, it's too late," Maresca told Sky Sports.
"In these kinds of games, first of all, you need to match the intensity. You need to try to win duels – otherwise, it's always complicated. I think (in the) first half we were not good enough in terms of duels. Second balls, we lost all of them, and then when we try to react, we were 2-0 down, and in football, it's always complicated."
City had won their opening seven league matches of the campaign before suffering a 2-1 defeat away to Aston Villa and a 1-0 loss at home to Brighton & Hove Albion. The result leaves City second in the table, six points behind leaders Arsenal. Forest, meanwhile, moved up to 16th, two points clear of the relegation zone. The defeat also pushed Manchester United into the relegation zone for the first time at this stage of a Premier League season.