Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has singled out Noni Madueke for special praise following his side's hard-fought 1-0 victory over Hull City at the Emirates. The Gunners boss highlighted the winger's professional transformation during the international break as a key factor in his recent run of explosive form.
Arteta praises Madueke's elite mentality
Reflecting on the player's recent rise, Arteta said: 'He's a great example for the rest of the group because before the first international break he wasn't playing. And what he did is instead of going on holidays he went to Portugal and got somebody to train with him and got in better shape and condition and immediately he got back into the rhythm. You can see now he is full of confidence and trying things and getting past players and he's impacting games with goals and assists and we are very happy with that.'
The winger's impact was evident against Hull, as it was his initial effort that led to the only goal of the game when Martin Odegaard slotted home the rebound in the 72nd minute following a Konstantinos Tzolakis save. Madueke nearly doubled the lead late on after breaking through, only for Tzolakis to make a tackle that ricocheted off Hull's Nobel Mendy before Brooke Norton-Cuffy made a dramatic clearance off the line.
Persistence pays off at the Emirates
Arsenal were forced to be patient against a stubborn Hull City side that refused to buckle for large periods of the afternoon. Nevertheless, the victory extended the Gunners' impressive home record to 10 consecutive wins in all competitions with eight clean sheets - their longest winning streak at the Emirates since a run between April and November 2022 under Arteta.
10 - Arsenal have won each of their last 10 home games in all competitions, keeping eight clean sheets in that time; they've only enjoyed a longer winning run under Mikel Arteta between April and November 2022 (12).
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 7, 2026
Fortress. pic.twitter.com/lARdLGtVhR
Speaking to Sky Sports about the performance, Arteta explained: 'Consistency and keep going. We talked about this that it will happen at some point to break them down. We had some big moments that in my opinion we should have scored some goals but we don't hit the target, we don't get the final pass. So many situations where if you don't do that you have to rely on generating so much volume and at some point relying that you will get them down and that's the way we won the game.'
Confusion over VAR and penalty decisions
Arsenal were denied a penalty against Hull City after a VAR review spotted Kai Havertz in an offside position prior to being brought down by Nobel Mendy. Home supporters had briefly celebrated when referee Farai Hallam initially pointed to the spot, but Hull were instead awarded a free-kick, leaving Arteta furious on the touchline during a tense first half at the Emirates Stadium.
Arteta expressed his bewilderment regarding the incident, stating: 'I don't know, I was confused because when the referee went to the monitor I thought it was because it was a clear penalty. But they made a different decision based off the offside so I don't know, we don't have any clarity yet about the decision.'
Maintaining momentum at the summit
The victory marks Arsenal's fifth consecutive league win since their disappointing defeat to Brighton in September, which remains their only blemish in an otherwise stellar domestic campaign. Arteta's side will now aim to carry that momentum forward when they travel to face Newcastle on November 21 following the upcoming international break.
'It's something that is happening a lot, and a few games as well we have been 1-0 down very early and we still manage to do that,' Arteta added when discussing the team's grit. 'Getting results is very, very important and I think we need to praise our players for the way they go about every single game. We have done really well from the international break up to this point.'