Sergej Jakirovic praised his Hull City side’s defensive organization and attacking threat despite a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, singling out the reigning champions for their exceptional play in the final third.
Hull City’s disciplined resistance in north London was finally broken with a little under 20 minutes remaining when Martin Odegaard reacted quickest to Konstantinos Tzolakis spilling Noni Madueke’s shot to score his third league goal of the season. The narrow loss extended the Tigers’ winless run to eight matches, though they are guaranteed to be out of the relegation zone heading into the international break.
Tactical Approach at the Emirates
Jakirovic deployed a 5-3-2 setup, handing Mohamed-Ali Cho a first Premier League start up front alongside Oli McBurnie and bringing Lucas Gourna-Douath into midfield for just his second start. The tactical adjustment aimed to crowd the center of the pitch and neutralize Arsenal’s midfield overloads, with Nobel Mendy and Semi Ajayi stepping out to cover players in the spaces between the lines.
I’m very proud of the way the lads performed, the way they played and the way they fought. It is not easy against this Arsenal team because they have high quality in every position, but from the beginning we tried to press them whenever it was possible.
The Hull manager noted that his side executed their defensive plan effectively in the opening stages, attempting to press high whenever possible and playing on the front foot to give the hosts less time on the ball.
Praise for the Champions
Reflecting on the match in his post-match press conference, Jakirovic highlighted the sheer quality of Mikel Arteta’s squad across every position on the pitch, noting that the reigning Premier League champions have managed seven clean sheets.
They’re the best in the league with their attacking third combinations.
He added that while his team created early moments through John Egan heading into the side netting and Elliot Stroud seeing a shot saved by David Raya, execution in possession and during counter-attacks needed to be sharper to secure a result against opponents who have proven exceedingly difficult to break down.
