Hull City suffered their first heavy defeat of the season on Saturday at the hands of Arsenal, but it’s far from all doom and gloom.
Arsenal made it six wins from six games at Hull’s KCOM Stadium with a resounding 4-1 victory over the Tigers at the weekend. The scoreline was a harsh one, as was Jake Livermore’s red card, which effectively ended the game as a contest.
Despite not getting the rub of the green, Arsenal always looked bright and in command of the tie. But the Tigers ought to take no shame in that, Arsene Wenger’s side is one full of quality, and one which could give any defence a hard time when at their fast and flowing best.
The performances of Sam Clucas, Ryan Mason and Dieumerci Mbokani all gave reason for hope and optimism, and it is those three silver linings that we analyse here:
Sam Clucas
Sam Clucas in action for Hull City
Sam Clucas’ rise is an exceptional one. Away from Jamie Vardy and Michail Antonio’s journey from the eighth tier to the Premier League, or Yannick Bolasie’s meteoric rise from the ninth tier to a £25 million move to Everton; Hull City’s Sam Clucas has played at an even lower level than the aforementioned trio.
Having been released by Leicester City at 18, Clucas played for Nettleham FC in the Lincolnshire League, who are not even part of the English football league pyramid. In the last five seasons, Clucas has played in the Conference, League Two, League One, Championship and finally the Premier League, all in that order.
Despite a number of commendable performances as Hull won promotion last season, there were some who doubted Clucas’ ability to make the step up in class required to play in the Premier League. With just 13 fit senior players available however, Clucas was always going to play.
Deployed in an unfamiliar holding midfield position against Leicester, the 25-year-old was superb. It was his performance against Arsenal at the weekend that has drawn the most praise though, as Clucas put in a dominant midfield display.
From sniffing out danger and dispossessing the opposition regularly to displaying an excellent range of passing, Clucas was arguably the standout player on either team, despite Hull suffering a 4-1 defeat.
Ryan Mason
Ryan Mason battles with Tom Heaton for the ball
Having been given 20 minutes action away at Burnley, Hull’s record signing Ryan Mason was given half an hour to impress against Arsenal. Coming into the game at 2-0 down with 10 men wasn’t the easiest of home debuts for Mason, but he still showed glimmers of his ability.
It was his sumptuous through ball which put Dieumerci Mbokani through on goal, leading to Hull’s penalty and initial route back into the game. Through balls have been an all-to-rare occurrence in the Hull City team for some time now, and seeing Mason pull off such a precise one is cause for optimism for the clubs supporters.
Dieumerci Mbokani
Dieumerci Mbokani lies on the floor having been fouled by Petr Cech
Even brighter than Mason’s impact was that of second half substitute Dieumerci Mbokani. Last week we took a look at why he is an important signing for Hull City, and so the Congolese forward proved.
Pacy, powerful and direct, the Arsenal defenders seemed very wary of him when he came on, and his direct running led to Hull’s goal from the penalty spot. The 30-year-old didn’t have the chance to exhibit his shooting abilities, but every other aspect of his game looked very promising.
Adama Diomande struggled to get into the game once again, and with Mbokani almost certain to start in the cup midweek vs Stoke, should he impress, Mike Phelan may have to find a way to fit Mbokani, Hernandez and Snodgrass all into the Tigers starting XI.
There are still reasons to be cheerful for Hull City fans after Arsenal defeat
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