Too close for comfort for Arteta despite Arsenal's fifth win in a row

LONDON, Nov 7 : Arsenal earned a sixth Premier League victory by a single-goal margin as they edged a dogged Hull City 1-0 on Saturday but while his side have opened a healthy lead at the top of the table, Mikel Arteta would prefer a little less jeopardy.

Martin Odegaard's 72nd-minute goal after Noni Madueke's shot had been parried by Hull keeper Konstantinos Tzolakis was enough to break Hull's resistance and secure a ninth win for the champions from their first 10 games.

It was not a comfortable afternoon for Arteta, though, as his side had 21 goal attempts but only converted once.

"To be more efficient," Arteta told reporters when asked what his side need to do to win by healthier margins.

"We are one against one against the keeper. That's happened twice today. There is a penalty there, there is another situation inside the box where the ball is bouncing. So many shots that have been deflected, blocked.

"We need to find ways to be more efficient, sometimes even more pragmatic, he added.

"We need to be much more chaotic than that, and that's it. And open, I think, score much earlier because obviously that's going to change the course of the game."

Arsenal were not firing on all cylinders on Saturday but will head into the international break in a dominant position after five successive league wins since losing to Brighton & Hove Albion ahead of the first international stoppage.

They are six points clear of stuttering Manchester City and look to be overwhelming favourites for back-to-back titles.

"I think it is time to praise my players. What they have done not only today but after the international break is remarkable because of the games," Arteta said.

"We are not in a really strong position. We know that we can improve in a lot of areas and we'll analyse in this break how we're going to do that. And I will know what to expect afterwards because it's going to be super difficult."