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Arsenal v Hull City – 11 things you should know

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Arsenal host Hull City tomorrow afternoon, a game both teams must win for very different reasons.

With that being said, here are, courtesy of OPTA, here are 11 things you should know about both sides ahead of kick-off:

1. 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).

2. 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.

3. Alexis Sanchez has had a hand in six goals in three league games against Hull (five goals, one assist).

4. Sanchez is one of three Arsenal players to average two-plus goal involvements per game in the Premier League against a particular opponent (minimum of three appearances against them) – Ian Wright against Ipswich (eight goals and three assists in five games) and Lukas Podolski against West Ham (four goals and four assists in four games).

5. This will be Marco 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 Matchday 24.

6. Silva won on his only previous visit to the Emirates – 3-2 with Olympiacos 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.

7. Hull have kept two clean sheets in as many games in February, as many as they’d kept in their previous 26 Premier League games combined – they haven’t kept three in a row in the Premier League since October 2008.

8. 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).

9. 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 – indeed, one of only three clubs to beat the Gunners at the Emirates were Hull City in September 2008.

10. Arsenal have won 41% of the games Francis Coquelin has started in all competitions this season (9/22) – without him in the starting XI, they have won all 13 (100 per cent).

11. Hull have failed to score in 11 of their 24 league games this season – more often than any other Premier League side.

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