Arsenal 0-0 Hull City: Five talking points

Arsenal were held to a frustrating goalless draw today in their fifth Round FA Cup clash at The Emirates stadium by a stubborn Hull City. Arsene Wenger, who was taking charge of his 100th FA Cup game saw his team create chances aplenty but lack that killer touch to decide the game once and for all.The game saw the home side have 24 efforts on goal and enjoy 67% of the possession. But when it came to that decisive touch to put the ball in the net, the Gunners struggled to find a way. The best chance of the game, in fact, fell Hull’s way when Sone Aluko got at the end of a swift counter-attack from the Tigers only to hit the ball straight at David OspinaAn inspired performance from Hull City goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic made their job even harder as the Swiss went on to make 11 saves in the game, the highest any keeper has made against Wenger’s side this season.The result means that Arsenal will now have to seek their way through to the next round of the F.A. Cup via a win over the Tigers at the K.C. Stadium in a few weeks time.Here are the five biggest talking points from the game tonight at The Emirates.

#1 Heroic effort from Hull

Davies was a rock at the back for Hull City

Before discussing or analyzing any other point, the first thing that should be pointed out is the heroic effort put in by the Hull City to eke out the result. Right from the, get go till the end. And right from the top with Adama Diomande to Eldin Jakupovic in goal, Hull players gave it their all to eke out this result and that should be recognized and applauded.

In fact, if it was not for Sone Aluko’s tame effort near the end of the game, the Tigers would have roared out of The Emirates stadium with a fifth round victory over the mighty Arsenal.

Everyone in the black and gold shirt put in a shift today in North London. The back three of Bruce, Maguire and Davies proved to be a code too tough for Arsenal to crack. Even when they thought they had done so, the excellent Jakupovic came to Steve Bruce’s rescue.

Arsenal found little joy in the middle of the park as Meyler along with Shaun Maloney and Ryan Taylor put in a vigilant shift to stifle much of the creative forces in play. Even when the Gunners to utilize their prowess their wingers, the experienced head of El Mohammady alongside the 16-year-old Josh Tymon fought hard to see out any dangers coming from the touchlines.

Up front, even the lonely Diomande made himself a nuisance for Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker to deal with, using his pace and trickery to full effect.

#2 Not the best of outcomes for Arsenal heading into clash with Barcelona

Next up for Arsenal is Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League

In two days, we witnessed both Barcelona and Arsenal run circles around oppositions deemed to be not good enough to compete with them on paper. The difference? The final touches and the final score.

The difference in class in the final third between the two teams was quite evident in both the games. While Barcelona totally blew Sporting Gijon out of the water with their intricate passes combined with moments of individual magic, Arsenal failed to really create a pure goalscoring opportunity worthy of remembering. The final scorelines really did paint a worthy difference of the two sides going into the game.

Arsenal had the perfect opportunity of building on their last minute win over league leaders Leicester over the weekend, leading into the Champions League clash. However, they blew the opportunity to go into the game against the European Champions with their tails high.

Although one might argue that Arsenal hadn’t put their best team on the field today against Hull. But that was the case with Barcelona as well, who also rested Dani Alves and Andres Iniesta.

#3 Eldin Jakupovic to the fore

Jakupovic made 11 saves in the match

There are always some days that a player will always remember when it's time for them to hang up their boots and tell stories about the day to their grandchildren when they grow old. Eldin Jakupovic just had one of those games. The Swiss international was on hand to deny Arsenal what would have been the smoothest of passages through to the next round of the F.A. Cup.

Jakupovic produced 11 saves, keeping the Gunners at bay with his wide array of brilliant saves. He was in the form of his life. Whether it be deflecting a Joel Campbell free-kick on to the bar with his finger-tips, or pulling off an acrobatic reflex save from a deflected Danny Welbeck effort, the Hull City custodian triumphed against all challenges that was thrown at him.

Jakupovic after watching the replay of his fingertip save, heh! pic.twitter.com/C0xpc8Xijw

— Röhith Nair (@RohithNair) February 20, 2016

While the efforts of all the Hull players is praiseworthy, Jakupovic stole the day with his spectacular display. It is only because of his presence between the posts, the defending F.A. Cup champions will have to make an uneasy trip to the KC Stadium to advance further.

#4 Danny Welbeck looks meaner than ever

Welbeck was highly impressive in the match

While Arsenal might have struggled to pen down the bottom line in the encounter, one could have hardly not noticed the impact Danny Welbeck had on the pitch. After scoring the injury time winner against Leicester last weekend, Welbeck built on his heroics against the Foxes, putting in a mightily impressive shift.

Afforded the chance to lead the Arsenal front line in place of Wenger’s much favoured Olivier Giroud, the England international looked confident in his stride. Though he couldn’t find the back of the net, he passes, movement along with a searing boost in confidence made all and sundry stand up and notice.

His 46 touches on the ball were telling. By the end of his time on the pitch, Welbeck had had three cracks on goal and completed 96% of his passes. This was the kind of impact that Arsene Wenger had envisaged Welbeck of having when he signed him from rivals Manchester United and going into the game against Barcelona, his form would be a timely boost that Arsenal can do with.

#5 Arsenal need more from Alexis Sanchez

Sanchez is yet to hit the highs of his previous season in an Arsenal jersey

Arsenal and Arsene Wenger certainly need more from Alexis Sanchez for the rest of the season. The South American is yet to hit the highs that he hit in his debut season at North London last year, and the Gunner faithful would certainly be hopeful that their talismanic winger has certainly kept the best for last.

With the Premier League season reaching the final straight and their upcoming challenge of overcoming the mighty Barcelona, the Arsenal fans are certainly keeping high hope from Sanchez of seeing them through. The Gunners drew the sharp end of the stick when they drew Barcelona in the Champions League draw earlier this season. And if they are to even threaten the reigning European champions, they need a lot more from the Chilean than they saw tonight.

Alexis Sanchez was thrown in late in the game to sprinkle some magic after Arsene Wenger had made nine changes to his team from the weekend. But, Sanchez’s promise of deliverance soon fizzled out, as his efforts hardly troubled the Hull defence. He played as if his talent had been sapped by the Space Jam aliens.

Come midweek, everyone in North London would hope that he gets his footballing mojo back as they go against a side that has now gone 32 games unbeaten.