Where to begin? Well, let’s start with the winning goal. Last touch in the build-up came off the Hull keeper’s hand. Was Gallas interfering with play in the nano-second in which an Arsenal head nodded the ball goalwards to be thwarted by the keeper’s hand? A tough call for linesman and referee that one as it all happened so fast. I’ll give the linesman the benefit of the doubt and assume he had clear sight of the keeper’s touch and decided that for this reason Gallas was not offside. Hell, Arsenal had enough bad luck with the rub of the officiating green in the concluding three months of last season, it’s about time something went the Gunners’ way.

Mike Riley had the strangest of games. The simplified version is he gave everything to Hull before the interval and everything to Arsenal after it. Of course, it wasn’t that simple, but at times it felt that way.

Phil Brown is a former assistant of Sam Allardyce. He learnt well. Especially the bit about how to blame everyone but himself and his team when things don’t go their way. He blamed Arsene Wenger for getting his keeper booked for timewasting! Of course Wenger had a right to complain, but it is the ref’s decision when the time has come to do something to cease the repetition. People pay good money to watch a game of football. Over recent years, I have become a firm believer that the game would benefit from basketball-style timekeeping. Ball goes dead, clock stops. Each game is 30 minutes each half of actual ball in play. It would cut out so much of the stuff we were forced to endure from the visitors when the score was 1-0 (and the feigning of injury when other teams visit).

As for the spitting incident, it seems like Fabregas spat on the floor in the direction of Horton. I suspect it was deliberate, but a gesture rather than an intention to spit on the man. Things then got lively in the tunnel, but I think it’s fair to say that if the incidents were caught on Arsenal’s in-house CCTV, the tapes will mysteriously disappear at a rate of knots. That’s home advantage. At least the fracas and bad feeling indicates the passion with which the players treated this game – even the non-playing ones. Good. I hope Fabregas did not spit in a provocative way at the Hull staff, but frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me. And on the basis that we castigate El-Hadj Diouf for behaviour along these lines, I can’t defend it in an Arsenal player. But it is something that no-one is ever going to prove and I am certain – as Wenger has insinuated – that all kinds of things we don’t hear about happen in the tunnel out of sight of the broadcast cameras. To decide to make an issue of it marks Phil Brown out as a sore loser. I doubt Brian Horton will lodge a complaint with the FA.

On the subject of castigation, I was taken to task after Monday’s editorial by a reader for my assertion that Nicklas Bendtner was not good enough. Rob Instone’s email read as follows –

A few words for Kevin Whitcher. Not good enough. You are the reason I stopped buying this fanzine. Your increasingly negative comment is very disheartening. I am certain Nicklas Bendtner is good enough for Arsenal. Perhaps you would get off his back and get behind the team.

The crux of my point was that he had proven too often that, for a striker, he was not clinical enough when presented with goalscoring opportunities. And on that basis, Arsenal were handicapping themselves by persevering with a player who I do not believe will improve with age in this regard. There are others that believe he will get better. I hope time will prove me wrong, but until then, if I feel criticism is merited, I will express it. There’s always arsenal.com for those that want to take the rose-tinted spectacles view. In the piece Mr Instone specifically targeted, I did also state, “He (i.e. Bendtner) is capable of some wonderful football,” and in the creation of the equalizing goal, he demonstrated this part of his game. Subsequently, when it fell to Arshavin, rather than blast it, he chose to tee up the captain for the night Robin van Persie. We’ve seen so many square balls played across the area when a player should have shot, but finally, here was one played by an intelligent and cool-headed footballer who was able to assess the situation in an instant and choose the option most likely to lead to a goal.

It was significant that – in spite of the stitches in his foot – the manager chose to start the number 23. And at times last night, not only was he obviously head and shoulders above the players asked to contain him, he also looked a class apart from his team-mates. The more I see of him, the more I think of him as Dennis Bergkamp’s successor. An intelligent link man that can transform the players around him with his brilliance. Suddenly, Arsenal are confident again and it’s all down to Arshavin.

Forgetting the timewasting and the ingracious post match ravings of the Walrus Mk II, in fairness to Hull, they wanted to win the cup tie as much as Arsenal did and acquitted themselves well. You can see why they achieved the points they did earlier in the season. Certainly, something about playing at the Grove seems to inspire them, and I suspect they have enough in reserve to stay in the top flight. They were certainly well organized and afforded a limited amount of chances to their opponents.

However, Wenger’s players can put that behind them now and await a trip to Wembley in a month’s time. Cup football can throw up surprises, and although Chelsea will be clear favourites, they haven’t faces an Arshavin-inspired Arsenal yet. And the Gunners know they can beat their opponents after victory at Stamford Bridge before Christmas. It will be our number 23’s only chance of a trophy this season, due to his Champions League ineligibility.

Before that, Arsenal face a two-legged quarter final in Europe. There is a one in seven chance that will be against Chelsea. Football being football, I wouldn’t be surprised if we have four matches against them before the season’s out.