The deciding factor was, is, and will be … Cesc Fabregas. Losing Robin van Persie was a huge blow for the season but, if we lose Fabregas, the top four will be out of the question.

We had some chances before Cesc but he showed the determination to make it happen.

Denilson came out in the 57th minute and Super Cesc arrived. He made his arrival known right away. In the 65th minute, a free kick from the top of the box was placed perfectly in te left top corner, away from Brad Friedel’s reach. The second was a break away by Walcott in the 81st minute, who served up a nice dish for an onrushing Fabregas. Unfortunately, on that same play, Cesc came up with a bad ankle and would go out.

He came, he scored, he left ….

Mikey Stafford (The Guardian) gives the best all-around synopsis of the match.

Gill Clark (goal.com) gives accolades to Denilson and Abou Diaby for their performances.

David Young (ESPN Correspondent) calls the team’s performance pragmatic and efficient rather than spectacular and breathtaking. Young points us to the next four games, where 3 of them are at home. Then, starting on Jan 31, we face Man United, Chelsea, and Liverpool within a space of 11 days.

In the postgame interview, when asked about the first goal, Arsene admits that Denilson wasn’t going to take the free kick. Sure glad he did!

Abou Diaby redeemed himself in this game. He’s gotten back into the starting line-up because of injury. He seems to have gotten his confidence back, after the atrocious own-goal against Manchester United.

Samir Nasri excelled at controlling the ball. Slowly but surely, Nasri has shown some grit this season. In last bit of the second half, there was an incident where it was alleged that Nasri purposely stepped on Richard Garcia’s foot, after Arsenal were awarded a free kick. The Hull players shouldn’t have been standing there in the first place and Garcia made a meal out of what looked like an accidental toe step. After a long scuffle, Stephen Hunt and Nasri were both given yellow cards. Hunt’s tactics in this game were scandalous. He tried to push guys off the ball whenever the chance arose. In one person, he’s what Wenger calls “anti-football”. The fact that he was involved in the melee should tell you where the blame lies (just ask Petr Cech).

The first goal was scored by a Denilson freekick right before half time. It was a wonderful display of power and pace. If you’re going to pick any place for a freekick, that was the place to take it.

Steve Bennett, the referee, did a terrible job in this match. I can’t believe he claimed that Silvestre was holding a Hull City player’s shirt. I understand that a referee might want to make amends for something he missed, but to fabricate a penalty when there wasn’t one is just lame. In the 56th minute, Almunia saved the ensuing penalty kick, taken by Marcio Geovanni. Justice was served.

Eduardo did lots of hard work but couldn’t put any of his chances away. Finally, he was gifted a cross right in front of the goal by Diaby in the 59th minute. Song and Diaby worked some magic to get into the box with the ball, then it was up to Eduardo to not mess up the tap-in.

Abou Diaby had to score the final goal. He just had to get on the scoresheet. If there was anyone who deserved to score in the game, it was him. In the 80th minute, he got the end of a through ball into the box, outmaneuvered the defender and slammed it home.

Hull City play a very good style of football. With the exception of Stephen Hunt, Hull are a very entertaining team and I wish them all the best in staying in the Premiership.

This victory moved us back into 3rd place. Next up will be Aston Villa and the game that I think will decide how we finish this season. Its a deciding moment. We play them again at the end of January. More on that later.

When Abou Diaby is playing well, I have to remind myself that he’s not Patrick Vieira. His wide gate and prowling maneuvers in midfield sure give the impression that Vieira has returned in prime form. In the post match press conference, Arsene Wenger highlighted his Vieira-like ability to move from box to box very quickly. With Denilson playing the defensive mid role, along with Diaby, there will not be many midfields we do not control by the fact that both have such an awareness of space and positioning.

The troubling thought during the match however was that, even with a 3 to 1 lead, the game was still questionable. We are great at going forward and attacking. The problem seems to be with shutting down oppositions and being able to hold the ball when we’re not going forward. Pompey’s attacks were sporadic but, every time they went forward, its worth asking how they were getting through our defense. These are the mistakes we tend to make when the win becomes too easy.

It’s also time to start asking questions of Almunia. I think its time for a better decision maker between the posts. That Pompey goal should never happen and its one of the reasons why the game never seemed out of reach for them.

After two Premiership games, Arsenal 10, opposition 2.