The fifth-placed Gunners needed two late goals at Hull last night to avoid slipping further behind three of their rivals at the top of the Barclays Premier League.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Aston Villa had all put extra pressure on Wenger's men by winning before the clash at the KC Stadium kicked off.

Hull looked like frustrating the Londoners for a second time this season when Daniel Cousin, scorer of the winner when the sides met last September, cancelled out Emmanuel Adebayor's opener after 65 minutes.

But the visitors finished strongly and snatched a victory that keeps them within six points of leaders United with goals from Samir Nasri and Nicklas Bendtner in the last nine minutes.

Wenger said: "There was extra pressure and you know that you cannot afford to drop points.

"The level of ambition, we are up for it. You can see this team is determined, has a strong resolve and we have to give absolutely everything to finish as high as we can."

Arsenal were not the only side to benefit from late goals as all three of the other top-five sides in action yesterday - Liverpool, not playing until tomorrow, being the exception - scored in the last 10 minutes.

Wenger sees that as proof of how competitive the Premier League is this season and he expects more twists and turns to come.

He added: "I believe there will still be a few surprises in this league. You could have had two or three yesterday.

"That shows that until the end you want to give absolutely everything to come back."

Arsenal's victory owed much to the impressive Robin van Persie, who created all three goals.

The Dutchman crossed from a corner for Adebayor, set Nasri up with a sublime pass and then played a neat one-two with Bendtner in the box.

Wenger acknowledged his performance but was keen to heap praise on the whole of his team.

"He was outstanding and all the team fought really hard and was very sharp," he said. "They gave absolutely everything."

But while Arsenal can still look upwards, Hull's form is now becoming a serious concern.

The heady days of September and October when the club overcame Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham and West Brom in succession now seem a long time ago after just one win in 13 outings.

The most recent five of those games have all been defeats and they are now just six points above the relegation zone.

Manager Phil Brown, however, is refusing to panic and remained upbeat after the match.

"There are a lot of positives to be taken from the game," he said.

"We probably showed Arsenal a little bit too much respect in the first half.

"In the second half I thought we got in their faces and denied them the opportunity to play any kind of fluent football.

"It was sticky for them and the body language when we equalised was looking like there was only one team going to win the game, and that us.

"But they saved the best until the last 10 minutes. They were sublime in certain patches and went on to win the game comfortably."

Brown will now look to further strengthen his squad before their next league game at West Ham on January 27.

New signings Kevin Kilbane and Manucho made their debuts against the Gunners but this month's recruitment drive is unlikely to end there.

A move for former Liverpool defender Steve Finnan appears to have broken down but the club are actively pursuing other targets.