At home, Arsenal had to wait until the closing stages to break down Hull City. Martin Ødegaard's goal gave the league leaders a hard-fought 1-0 Premier League win on Saturday.
Warned beforehand about Hull's stubborn style of play, Mikel Arteta's side still struggled to deal with it. Neither team could get going, with little threat at either end.
Arsenal had a slight edge but lacked sharpness in the final third, particularly Kai Havertz. Just before half-time, the German hoped VAR might intervene after he was clearly held in the penalty area. Havertz was offside at the time, though, so there was no penalty.
After the interval, Arsenal still couldn't find a breakthrough. Hull turned it into a physical battle, keeping the match in the balance at the Emirates Stadium. With 15 minutes remaining, Arsenal finally broke the deadlock.
Konstantinos Tzolakis made a fine save from a Noni Madueke shot, but Ødegaard struck on the rebound to make it 1-0. The Norwegian had a touch of luck as his effort deflected off a Hull defender.
Refusing to accept defeat, Hull pushed forward late on. The visitors left more and more space for Arsenal to exploit, and Madueke came closest to putting the game to bed after a fine backheel from Mikel Merino. The former PSV player squandered the chance.
Arsenal faced no serious trouble after that and took another three points. They head into the international break as league leaders and in good spirits.