Saturday 11 February 2017 12:15, UK
Arsenal will be looking to avoid a third straight Premier League defeat when they host a resurgent Hull on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD and Sky Sports Mix from 11.30am.
The Gunners followed up a 2-1 home loss to Watford with a 3-1 defeat at Chelsea that left them 12 points behind the league leaders.
Despite the sizeable gap, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has not given up on the title.
"It's never over - we cannot behave like that," he said. "Even if you think it is, I don't. We cannot even think like that.
"We look at the teams around us and we're all in a pack that is very tight, where the fight for every position will be massive like it has always been in the Premier League, maybe even more this season than ever before.
"The way we respond to our disappointing result last Saturday is vital."
While Arsenal's form has dipped recently, Hull's results have improved under new head coach Marco Silva.
The Portuguese has taken seven points from his four league games, including a 2-0 victory over Liverpool last weekend. That win lifted the Tigers just a point from safety.
Coverage on Premier League Live starts at 11.30am live on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports Mix with presenter Simon Thomas joined by Jamie Redknapp and Thierry Henry, and you can also watch all the action in UHD via Sky Q.
Not able to watch the game? Sky Sports still has you covered, with minute-by-minute commentary across all digital platforms as well as in-game clips, half-time and full-time highlights available on the mobile app and in the Football Score Centre with a free Sky iD.
Arsenal have doubts over the fitness of Hector Bellerin. The right-back appeared concussed when he left the field in last weekend's defeat at Chelsea and Gabriel will be on-call to replace the Spaniard against the Tigers.
Wenger has seen his midfield concerns eased by Mohamed Elneny's timely return from the African Nations Cup but Aaron Ramsey (calf) and Santi Cazorla (Achilles) remain sidelined and Granit Xhaka is banned.
Hull will be without skipper Michael Dawson and Abel Hernandez for the trip to the Emirates.
Dawson (calf) and striker Hernandez (hamstring) will be out for several weeks, while Curtis Davies, Markus Henriksen and Ryan Mason remain sidelined.
Midfielder Ahmed Elmohamady is back in contention following African Nations Cup duty with Egypt and on-loan winger Lazar Markovic, ineligible to face his parent club Liverpool last week, is available again.
Arsenal have won seven of their last eight Premier League meetings with Hull (D1) since losing their first game against the Tigers in the competition, back in September 2008 (1-2 at the Emirates).
Since that 2-1 victory, Hull are winless in 13 games against the Gunners in all competitions, losing 11 (D2) including the 2014 FA Cup Final.
Alexis Sanchez has had a hand in six goals in three league games against Hull (five goals, one assist).
This will be Silva's fourth meeting with one of the top six in the Premier League (Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool previously) in his first five league games as Hull boss. Of those previous three games, he's lost only one (0-2 at Chelsea), drawing 0-0 at Old Trafford and beating Liverpool at home on MD24.
Silva won on his only previous visit to the Emirates - 3-2 with Olympiakos in the Champions League last season. He's the only manager to lead a Greek side to victory away on English soil in the Champions League/European Cup.
Olivier Giroud came off the bench to score in Arsenal's last game against Chelsea, taking his substitute goal tally to four in the Premier League this season (level with Man City's Nolito). No Arsenal player has ever scored more than four substitute goals in a Premier League season (Kanu in 1999-2000 and Emmanuel Adebayor in 2007-08 also scored four).
Arsenal have won 15 of their last 17 Premier League games at the Emirates against newly-promoted clubs (D2) since losing 1-0 to Newcastle in November 2010.
Hull have failed to score in 11 of their 24 league games this season - more often than any other Premier League side.
This is typical Arsenal. They will win 3-0, everything will be great again and Arsene Wenger will be the best manager in the world. The pressure is on, though, as if they lose this game I don't see how he can keep his job. It would be that toxic that I couldn't see him staying. Hull are doing very well but Arsenal tend to beat these teams.
PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 (7/1 with Sky Bet)
Arsenal are 30/100 with Sky Bet to bounce back from their recent slump, with Hull 17/2 to claim another major scalp, while the draw is a 17/4 chance. Arsene Wenger's men drifted out to 50/1 to win the Premier League following their loss at Chelsea, while the Tigers remain odds-on for relegation despite beating Liverpool. Alexis Sanchez leads the first goalscorer betting at 11/4, closely followed by Olivier Giroud at 3/1, while Abel Hernandez, Dieumerci Mbokani and Oumar Niasse are tied at 12/1 apiece at the head of the visitors' side of the market.
Watch Arsenal v Hull City live on Saturday, 12.30pm, Sky Sports 1 HD
