Champions Arsenal will be looking to solidify top spot in the Premier League in their final game before the latest international break.
The Gunners ceded the lead to Manchester City for a couple of weeks but regained it recently thanks to four consecutive victories. A fifth in a row, against plucky Hull City at the Emirates, would guarantee Mikel Arteta’s men sit top of the tree before the break, given they currently have a three-point buffer over City.
Arsenal will be especially keen to avoid any upset given how their last game before an international break went. Arteta’s side were utterly outclassed 3-0 away at Brighton and as such the Spaniard is keen to avoid a similar scenario.
“We want to attack the game tomorrow, right from the off,” Arteta said.
“We know the momentum we have right now, and we need to increase it, especially going into the international break, because we know what is coming after.”
Arsenal head into this game with mixed injury news. Bukayo Saka looks likely to remain sidelined for “a while” as he continues to recover from the quad injury he suffered against Bayern Munich recently.
Better news, however, is that both William Saliba and Ezri Konsa should be available to face the Tigers. The former has yet to feature at all this season.
Hull will be aiming to repeat one of the greatest results in their history on Saturday. It was way back in September 2008. Back then, in their first-ever season in the top flight, they stunned the Gunners on home soil with a 2-1 win to move up to the heady heights of sixth in the table.
Whilst a victory this time around would not be as unexpected as that aforementioned result, it would still represent a major upset in the current climate.
As such, manager Sergej Jakirovic has big aspirations for the trip to the capital.
“We know how difficult it is in the Premier League, so I want to thank all supporters,” he said. “Currently Arsenal are playing the best football, [along] with Paris St-Germain.
“I have watched a lot of Arenal’s game and tried to find something, but they are brilliant and a very strong team. No matter who is on the pitch, they create a very difficult game for us. It has to be front-foot and aggressive because Arsenal have very high quality.”
Hull started the season brightly with back-to-back wins but are on an eight-game winless run across all competitions with their last success coming away at Coventry in late August.
