When even Nicklas Bendtner is scoring goals, surely it is time to start believing Arsenal are genuine title contenders.

The striker has waited since March 2011 for a Premier League start in an Arsenal shirt, yet it took him just 90 seconds to score on Wednesday night.

Arsene Wenger admitted it was a gamble, but it was one that certainly paid off. Mesut Ozil added a second goal less than two minutes after the re-start and Arsenal’s dominance at the top of the table continued with their sixth straight home win in the Premier League. There was also another clean sheet — the Gunners’ sixth in their last seven matches — in a ruthlessly efficient performance.

There were more than a few eyebrows raised when Bendtner was named in Arsenal’s starting XI; one of five changes from the 3-0 victory at Cardiff last weekend.

The Dane, after all, has not started a league game for Arsenal for two-and-a-half years: a 0-0 draw against Hull manager Steve Bruce’s Sunderland after Arsenal’s 2011 Carling Cup final defeat. His miss in the subsequent Champions League game, the 3-1 defeat by Barcelona, arguably cemented a downward spiral from which Wenger’s side took more than a year to recover.

It was ‘Sod’s Law’, said Bruce, that Bendtner should strike against a boss who signed him on loan at Birmingham City and Sunderland and made inquiries about him again last summer. Yet Wenger was understandably coy about whether Bendtner has yet done enough to justify a new contract his current deal expires in June. ‘At the moment we are not as far as that,’ said the Arsenal manager. ‘He has good technical quality and he has quite good pace.

‘Was it a gamble (to play him tonight)? It is always with a guy who has not played for a long time. ‘His last performance was not convincing against Chelsea but he worked hard in training and deserved his chance.

‘We know when he has the mind of the game he has the qualities. I believe tonight he had a good game.’ Bruce also questioned the mentality of a player with whom ‘there is always a but’ but Bendtner showed glimpses of why both managers have persevered with a striker who envisages himself at ‘Real Madrid or Barcelona’ rather than on loan at Sunderland.

He was mocked by Arsenal fans for ‘scoring when he wants’, yet darted between two defenders to head in Carl Jenkinson’s excellent whipped cross after a beautiful pass from Aaron Ramsey. Bendtner duly fluffed his next opportunity minutes later but his goal – his first in the Premier League for Arsenal for three years – was clinically taken.

It also proved to be a lethal blow for Hull, fresh from their victory over Liverpool on Sunday. Bruce’s side simply could not get hold of the ball, despite stringing five players across midfield, as the red of the Premier League leaders swarmed forwards, weaving beautiful, intricate little patterns as they bypassed the blue shirts backtracking frantically in front of them.

Laurent Koscielny saw a header saved, while Bendtner skewed a rebound wide after Allan McGregor could only parry Ozil’s initial shot. Santi Cazorla snatched at a left-foot shot from the edge of the box, before Ramsey drew an excellent left-handed save from McGregor with a right-foot strike from 25 yards and Ozil headed over the bar after a delightful chipped cross from Bendtner. ‘It was breath-taking at times,’ purred the Hull manager, who had to withstand a steady stream of abuse from the stands last night.

Arsenal’s confident opening swagger, however, began to wane as the game approached half-time. The Gunners seemed to become more and more conscious they had allowed Hull to recover from their initial disappointment without delivering a second goal. Tom Huddlestone wasted a 30th minute free-kick but then delivered an inviting cross that rolled across the six-yard box before driving a shot that was blocked by Per Mertesacker.

A repeat of the Hull’s 2-1 victory at the Emirates in September 2008 — a memory Wenger called ‘painful’ — always looked unlikely, but the visitors stuck to their task. They were out early for the second half but, yet again, were stunned less than two minutes after the re-start.

The visitors were still appealing for a throw-in when Nacho Monreal found Ozil at the edge of the penalty area. The German played a quick pass to Ramsey who returned the favour with the cutest of through balls — a pass worthy of Ozil, the great assist-maker, himself — as Arsenal’s No 11 continued his run and slotted the ball into the bottom left-hand corner to score his third Premier League goal. That provided a cushion and allowed them to express themselves. They turned on the quality, dancing and dazzling, whether it was Cazorla, Tomas Rosicky, Ozil or Ramsey pulling the strings. McGregor made a brave block from Ramsey and Robbie Brady cleared off the line from Bendtner as Arsenal continued to surge forward.

It began to feel like a face-saving exercise for Hull City, who then had to see England stars Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott trot onto the pitch with 17 minutes remaining. With talents such as these two waiting in the wings, Arsenal’s title credentials do feel ever more real.

—Daily Mail