Arsene Wenger this evening (Sunday) praised his two prize ”fighters” Alexis Sanchez and Francis Coquelin after seeing off Hull for a place in the FA Cup fourth round draw tomorrow night. 

 

The Arsenal boss said goalscorer Sanchez was showing no signs of “fatigue” and that midfield general Coquelin had made a “very positive impression”.

 

He said both were “strong in the fight” adding that the mix of technical ability and determination was what he wanted his players to aspire to.

 

On Sanchez, he said: “Look at his change of direction. He is incisive and penetrating. He has a fighting spirit. Good fighting, and technical skill is the combination we want to see here.”

 

He revealed he was “tempted to rest him” but that the Chilean “recovers very quickly” and “doesn’t look to have any fatigue problems”, adding: “When a player is confident it it important to keep him in the game”.

 

On Coquelin, he said: “He has matured and he is very strong in the fight. For me he has a very positive impression of his last three games. Right now I am more interested in defensive stability, we do not have a problem scoring goals.”

 

He said midfielder Flamini could be back next week and “possibly” Ramsey but Arteta “will be longer”.

 

Wenger also acknowledged that Podolski had left for Inter Milan because he “was frustrated because he didn’t get the chances he wanted”. 

 

He hinted that Sanogo also wanted to leave because of a desire to “gain more experience in the top league”, adding that he would prefer him to stay in the Premier League than leave England.

 

A back post header from Per Mertesacker and a long rang curler from Sanchez saw the Gunners get back to winning ways after the disappointment at Southampton on New Year’s Day.

 

Mertesacker climbed highest in the box to meet an in-swung corner to the back post from Sanchez and nod Arsenal in the lead on 20 minutes.

 

A minute later, Sanchez rounded Harper after a gasp-drawing run and perfectly-rolled pass from the  brilliant Tomas Rosicky.

 

Next Theo Walcott – back in the starting line up after almost a year through injury – was sent clear on goal by Cazorla with a cheeky scooped ball over the defensive line. 

 

His firm shot was blocked in what would turn out to be a frustrating but encouraging return for the Arsenal Number 14.

 

With Hull’s resilience weakening on 82 minutes, Sanchez showed typical skill and composure to curl into the bottom corner, after collecting a pass from Cazorla on the edge of the box. 

 

After the match manager Steve Bruce said: “It was a fair result.”