Sergej Jakirovic declared that he was proud of his Hull City side despite their narrow 1-0 defeat at Arsenal on Saturday, which left the Tigers without a win in the Premier League since late August.
Martin Odegaard’s 72nd-minute goal after Kostas Tzolakis had beaten away Noni Madueke’s strike proved the difference on an afternoon where City once again delivered a really good account of themselves.
While the champions dominated possession and notched up the chances in the closing stages, City were not without their own moments, which the Croatian admitted were costly misses. Jakirovic was also unhappy with the decision of referee Farai Hallam in the second half not to send off Christos Tzolis for a last-man foul on Mohamed-Ali Cho.
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The City boss opted to go with a 5-3-2 setup, bringing in Lucas Gourna-Douath for just a second start, with him going into midfield, whilst handing Cho a first Premier League start up front with Oli McBurnie.
“Yes, I’m, I’m very proud of how we performed; of course, it’s not easy,” the City chief told Hull Live in the capital, suggesting his team can take big lessons from the way they stuck at their task.
“Defensively we were good, and we tried to close the middle, because Arsenal are doing everything to overload the midfield zone, and also with (Nobel) Mendy and Semi (Ajayi), they can help our midfield players. We had the extra midfield players, and also (Mohamed) Ali Cho; we wanted him to join Oli (McBurnie), so we had better pressure there, especially at the beginning of this game, because we know that they will start stronger.
“They will search for the first goal very, very quickly. We started strongly and also maybe with some better decisions in the counter-attack, better decisions when we are in possession; maybe we need more quality in this phase.
“Maybe faster players or quicker players, but it’s also Arsenal’s quality. They’ve conceded just two goals in their home games. That’s seven clean sheets; now you see how it’s difficult, but when they offer you something, you should use this, and then they will be much more nervous.”
John Egan headed into the side netting inside the opening couple of minutes, while Elliot Stroud saw a shot saved by David Raya. Jakirovic admitted that his side needed to make the most of the opportunities that came their way.
“I know, yes, so that was one. It was a good action from John (Egan) on the second post and good delivery, good cross from Regan Slater, but unfortunately they stopped it. I also think (Elliot) Stroud had a very good shot in the first half. Maybe the second ball, like the goal they scored against us, Tim (Iroegbunam) is quicker to the second ball, and maybe he could score. This is also their quality.
“I’m very, very pleased with our performance, and it’s a big experience for us to come here and play against Arsenal. For me, with Man City, they are the best team in this league. We can take lessons from this game and also improve some things so we can perform even better in the future.”
Jakirovic, meanwhile, revealed after the game that influential defender Semi Ajayi was withdrawn with a cramp, and nothing more sinister than that.
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