Hull City made a strong start to their first Premier League campaign after winning promotion from the Championship in the 2007-08 season, but they faced a difficult trip to Arsenal in their sixth game of the season.
Having lost just once in their first four outings, the Tigers sat seventh in the table ahead of their visit to the Emirates to take on an Arsenal side that had won four of their first five fixtures.
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Arsene Wenger's side looked the more likely in the opening 30 minutes, with Cesc Fabregas dictating the pace in midfield, while Emmanuel Adebayor had the ball in the back of the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for a foul on Paul McShane in the build up.
Despite controlling the match in the first half, the sides went into the break level after some resilient defending from Phil Brown's side.
The home side soon broke the deadlock in the second half though as Theo Walcott crossed the ball in for Fabregas, setting up the Spaniard to lift the ball over McShane, who could only knock the ball into his own net while trying to clear the effort.
Arsenal's lead last for just 10 minutes, despite Robin van Persie and Adebayor both having chances to double the hosts' advantage, as Geovanni unleashed a curling effort into the top corner from outside the box after carving out some space for himself.
The Emirates crowd was stunned four minutes later when Hull took the lead, as Andy Dawson delivered the ball from a corner, setting up Daniel Cousin for a header into the top corner.
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Wenger went all-out attack to try to get the game back on level terms inside the last 25 minutes, sending on Carlos Vela and Nicklas Bendtner, but it was Van Persie who came closest to leveling the scores when his driven effort finished just wide of Boaz Myhill's post.
Myhill had to be alert in stoppage time as Fabregas unleashed a powerful 20-yard effort, but the Wales international made a diving save to parry it clear, ensuring the Hull held on for their third win of the season.
The result started a run of four straight wins for Hull, moving them up to third in the table until the end of October, after which they won just twice more throughout the rest of the season, narrowly avoiding relegation.
Cousin was on the scoresheet again when Hull hosted Arsenal in the reverse fixture later in the season, but Adebayor, Bendtner and Samir Nasri ensured that Arsenal made amends for their earlier defeat.
Despite losing to Manchester United on the final day of the campaign, Hull retained their spot in the top flight for a second season, finishing the season with one point more than Newcastle United, who were relegated.
Sian Cowper
