Hull City 1 Arsenal 3: Five things we learned from the KC Stadium as Gunners run riot

Hull City 1 Arsenal 3

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Arsenal can be true title contenders next season

Arsène Wenger insists that Arsenal's biggest challenge next season will be to close the gap - 13 points after tonight - on runaway champions Chelsea.

The Frenchman's bitter foe José Mourinho has used his third Premier League title as a vehicle to mock his managerial enemies, including Wenger's fellow purist Pep Guardiola.

Nothing would give the Gunners boss a greater sense of satisfaction than to strip Mourinho of his title next May.

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“Chelsea is a very strong side, I don’t deny that,” the Arsenal manager said. “What will be interesting, let’s get a new start and see where we stand next year. We feel we have made up some ground, – that will be the challenge of next season from the start; let’s show we are there and capable to fight for it.”

As Wenger admitted this weekend, however, he may have to sell before he can strengthen this summer.

Mathieu Flamini, 31, and Tomas Rosicky, 34, are likely candidates to be first out the door. If 70 points, their highest total since 2009/10, isn't enough to win the league, more summer surgery needs to be done.

The night is dark and full of errors

Spare a thought for the Hull City supporters who were missing Game of Thrones to watch this. One Twitter user rather neatly summed it up by posting: 'The night is dark and full of errors.'

If you're not a follower of Sky Atlantic's fantasy thriller, we've not really got the time to explain - but rest assured, it's a killer play on words. Amid enough off-field scandals to last a lifetime - the 'Hull Tigers' saga was just the beginning - Hull have woken up from their mid-season slumber in recent weeks.

Sparked by the 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace and added to by last week's win over Liverpool, their renaissance has perhaps been lost in the shadow cast by Leicester City's five wins in six matches.

Level on points with the in-form Foxes, Hull are still very much in a fight until the last breath. While the endeavour and ambition on the pitch remains undiminished, their goal difference now puts them below Nigel Pearson's men as they drop down to 17th - one spot above Sunderland.

Tom Huddlestone proved against the Reds last Monday how invaluable he is for Steve Bruce's men, marshaling Philippe Coutinho so assuredly, but he was unable to repeat the feat with Alexis Sanchez this evening.

After a short period of respite from relegation anxiety, the worrying times return for Bruce in East Yokshire.

'£5bn and what do we get? £64 a ticket'

Just a week after Liverpool fans staged a particularly dramatic exodus (in protest against the price of away tickets at the KC Stadium), Arsenal fans were at least able to sell their full allocation. But not without a parting swipe at Tigers chairman Dr Assem Allam.

The Egyptian-born businessman is a controversial chap at the best of times (we're back onto 'Hull Tigers' already) but he caused another stir this season when he set the price for visiting supporters at £64. You know it must be on the steep side when Gunners fans complain about ticket prices.

The visiting contingent unfurled a banner at kick-off which read: '£5bn and what do we get? £64 a ticket'. Making reference to the £5.2bn television deal - split between BT Sport and Sky Sports - it will be interesting to see if any of the latter's cameras gave it the time of day during their live broadcast. You imagine not.

Arsenal without an Englishman again, but should we care?

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It was a sight to satisfy the cynics. As the visitors struggled to cut through a resilient Hull midfield in the opening stages, the likes of Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott were perched on Wenger's bench.

Those detractors, mind you, had fallen silent after just 33 minutes.

The French boss has given young English talent a chance in recent years but Francis Coquelin and Héctor Bellerín represent the flip side of that coin. Buying youth from abroad remains the most economically viable option - and the more likely of routes to continued success.

Former Daily Mirror editor and leader of the Wenger Appreciation Society, Piers Morgan, even seemed pleased by what he was watching too.

Wilshere's future at the Emirates, meanwhile, continues to be tricky to predict. The England star remains an enigma at the best of times, possessing the talent to be a world-beater but lacking the mentality to follow it through, but (like Walcott) may consider his options in the summer.

While Brendan Rodgers is a long-term admirer of Walcott's exploits, rumours of Manchester City's interest in Wilshere never seems to be far away. Watch this space in the summer.

Sanchez is Arsenal's main man, closely followed by their Welsh wizard

Both of the opening goals were undoubtedly handed two very healthy slices of luck, of course, but Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey remain Wenger's most reliable sources of inspiration when the going gets tough.

Despite their stunning form of late, nine victories in ten, the 0-0 draw with Chelsea effectively handed their London rivals the Premier League title and Mourinho's subsequent jibes in the media have hit hard.

Step forward Sanchez and Ramsey. While there might not be an 'SOS' style acronym to describe their impact in North London, any title bid which they may (or may not) launch next season will be built on their talents.

The Chilean's 28th minute free-kick was sublime while his second of the evening was made to look easy. It may have taken £35m to secure his services last summer, but it has been worth every penny of Wenger's precious Emirates Stadium reserves.