A late Nicklas Bendtner strike gave Arsenal a vital win in a bad tempered and stop-start match against Hull, which sees the visitors go joint top of the Premier League table.

Andrei Arshavin's early strike gave the visitors the lead, but Hull equalised after Sol Campbell brought down Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in the penalty area, allowing Jimmy Bullard to strike from the spot. There followed a series of bad challenges that culminated in a red card for George Boateng for a terrible tackle on Bakary Sagna, but Arsenal took until the 94th minute to restore the lead through Bendtner's stinging volley.

The home side began brightly, a confident response to the 5-1 drubbing at Everton midweek, and Phil Brown's men created the first real opportunity of the game when the ball fell to Jozy Altidore, but the American's shots presented no challenge for Manuel Almunia as it dragged wide of the Spaniard's goal.

But it was the visitors, fresh from thumping Porto on Tuesday night, who opened the scoring with their hundredth goal of the season after 12 minutes of relative inactivity for the Hull backline.

Intricate play between Samir Nasri, Denilson and Nicklas Bendtner found Andrei Arshavin on the edge of the area, and the Russian jinked between and burst beyond two Hull defenders before slotting the ball beyond Boaz Myhill with the outside of his right foot – a cool finish to the away side's first attack of note.

Arsenal very nearly capitalised on some sloppy defending soon after with Emmanuel Eboue's cross was allowed to bobble across the face of the goal before being turned away in haphazard fashion for a corner, from which Thomas Vermaelen should have turned into the back of the net when unmarked at the far post.

And the away side, seeking a win to sustain a renewed title challenge, were, as happened against Burnley last week, soon frustrated and punished for their profligacy in front of goal. Dean Marney's looping ball found Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, perhaps in an offside position, in the box and the Dutchman was checked by a sluggish Sol Campbell, leaving referee Andre Marriner with little choice but to point to the spot and produce a yellow card for the veteran defender.

Whilst the match officials' oversight in not spotting the offside would no doubt have infuriated Arsene Wenger, the French boss was awarded clemency as Campbell, in denying Vennegoor of Hesselink a clear goalscoring opportunity, could well have seen red.

Up stepped Jimmy Bullard – making only his eighth start in over a year for Hull – to blast the ball into the roof of the net and level the game.

The home side's confidence and assuredness on the ball was allied with a physical approach that unsettled Arsenal, and Wenger was soon bemoaning the match officials as Andy Dawson's clattering challenge on Denilson drew a yellow card, soon followed by handbags on the halfway line between George Boateng and Bendtner with the Dutchman poking the Dane's face.

Both players found themselves in the book for their part in the scuffle, reflecting the stop-start pattern that the game had fallen into before the break, with only two misfired efforts from Arshavin adding to the tally of shots on goal.

Petty petulance, however, soon gave way to recklessness as Boateng inexplicably launched his right foot studs-up into the knee of Bakary Sagna as the French fullback challenged for a bouncing ball. The experienced midfielder could well have been awarded a straight red for the first offence, and Sagna was lucky not to have suffered serious injury.

Boateng's shameful behaviour overshadowed a first half that began brightly as both sides took up a cavalier approach, but the sending off reflected the depth to which the quality of the game had plummeted by the time Marriner signalled for both sides to return to their dressing rooms for half time.

Hull came out for the second half as they had the first, with a powerful run by Altidore creating space for a shot, but the on-loan Villarreal striker elected to pass to a clearly offside Vennegoor of Hesselink rather than to take a chance on goal.

If the home side's physicality had unsettled Arsenal in the first half, it certainly didn't prevent the Gunners from aping the approach. A surging run from Kamil Zayatte was halted by a full-blooded Campbell challenge that saw the Englishman clear the ball but injure the Guinean with the follow through.

Despite the man advantage, the away side struggled to create chances in the second half as many moves broke down as a result of incessant Hull harrassment – led by the exuberant Bullard - and skewed final balls, with Wenger's side lacking the quality shown in the Champions League thrashing of Porto whilst Hull threatened with strikes from afar that came close to testing Almunia.

The introduction of Theo Walcott to replace Eboue should have yielded the breakthrough as the pacey winger intercepted the ball down Hull's left and slid the ball into the box to Arshavin, who had time to steady himself for a placed shot with the goal gaping, but the Russian hastily sliced wide.

Walcott's injection of pace had the Tigers scratching their heads as the Englishman provided an extra threat down the right, drawing attention away from Arsenal's other creative players. A swinging cross from Gael Clichy found Bendtner, but the Dane acrobatically hammered the ball over Myhill's bar from short range, preceding the introduction of Eduardo for Nasri to provide greater finesse in front of goal.

But the Croat, nor any other red and white shirt, anticipated the low cross of Walcott that zipped to the far post and would have provided an easy opportunity for an Arsenal attacker to restore the lead, instead it was left to Bernard Mendy to raise a rare second half cheer as he booted the ball out of the stadium for a corner.

Creative play from Arshavin through the middle of the pitch allowed Walcott to assume a wide position from which he turned the ball into the path of Bendtner, whose hesitance afforded Mendy the time to block the low effort from eight yards.

Arsenal continued to waste their advantage in front of goal, looking a different side to the one that scored five in midweek, with Myhill scarcely called upon as the Hull defence stifled many of the away side's attacks with relative ease, but the visitors' possession still created anxiety.

The home support sighed collectively as six minutes of added time were announced, and sighs turned to jeers as the visitors finally breached Myhill's goal after a long distance strike from Denilson was turned straight into the path of Nicklas Bendtner who volleyed powefully beyond the Welshman to earn the Gunners a vital win.