When Arsenal’s conductor-in-chief Cesc Fabregas is laid low, what better man could you ask for to pick up the baton than Robin van Persie? The Dutchman set up all three goals for Arsenal last night and was imperious throughout, even when his colleagues appeared briefly to lose their heads and it looked for a period as if they were about to throw away another victory from a game they had dominated.

Arsenal were cruising until the 65th minute, when Daniel Cousin’s equaliser rocked them, but Van Persie kept his nerve and set up two late goals, for Sami Nasri and the substitute Nicklas Bendtner. having earlier teed up Adebayor for the first goal. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger was finally able to relax, but for his Hull counterpart Phil Brown there is no such luxury, his side having now lost five league games on the trot, though he refused to entertain talk of a relegation battle.

“There was extra pressure because we knew we could not drop points,” Wenger said afterwards. “You can see that this team is determined and that there is a strong resolve. I believe there are still some surprises to come this season. Van Persie was outstanding but the whole team were up for it. We gave absolutely everything today.”

Hull’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates stadium in September did much to derail Arsenal’s season — even Wenger admitted as much — and at one point Hull again swung a wrecking ball in their direction. Brown complained bitterly about referee Alan Wiley’s decision not to award a penalty against Johan Djourou for what he called an “assault” on Manucho at a time when Arsenal were rocked back.

The Londoners dominated the first half and took the lead on 30 minutes with a headed goal from Emmanuel Adebayor that he took with languid ease. It came from a corner on the right, swung in viciously by Van Persie to the edge of the six-yard box, where Adebayor simply outjumped Michael Turner and headed back across goal into the net. From that point until half-time, Hull hardly got a touch of the ball and were fortunate to go into the interval merely one goal down.

The one-way traffic continued unabated when the game resumed, though a frisson of excitement was generated by the arrival on 54 minutes of Manucho, the Manchester United player on loan at the KC, in place of Peter Halmosi. Sir Alex Ferguson is reported to have telephoned Brown and offered him the player, for reasons best known to himself. Firstly, Manucho won a free kick on the edge of the box and then Djourou clattered his head into him with a clumsy tackle that could have yielded a penalty, but instead only left the big Angolan nursing a sore head.

Then, on 65 minutes, Hull equalised with their first proper effort on goal. Gael Clichy failed to get close enough to Bernard Mendy on the Hull right, and when the cross was launched, the Arsenal full-back’s outstretched leg only succeeded in deflecting it between the two centre-halves and to Cousin, who planted his header firmly past keeper Manuel Almunia.

But Van Persie never lost his poise and set up two goals in the last eight minutes. Firstly he teed up Nasri, who shot powerfully past Boaz Myhill from a narrow angle, and then he crossed for Bendtner to put a nice gloss on the result for Arsenal.

“In the second half we got in their faces and denied them the opportunity to play their football,” Brown said. “Their body language when we equalised made it look like there was only one team who was going to win the game and that was us. They saved their best for the last 10 minutes.”

Star man: Robin van Persie (Arsenal).

Yellow cards: Hull: Ashbee. Arsenal: Clichy.

Referee: A Wiley.

Attendance: 24,924

Hull City: Myhill 6, Doyle 5, Turner 5, Ricketts 6, Kilbane 5, Mendy 6, France 5 (Fagan 83min), Ashbee 5, Halmosi 5 (Manucho 53min, 6), Geovanni 5 (Garcia 87min), Cousin 6.

Arsenal: Almunia 6, Sagna 7, Toure 6, Djourou 5, Clichy 6, Eboue 6 (Bendtner 69min), Diaby 7, Denilson 7, Nasri 7, Adebayor 7 (Song Billong 87min), Van Persie 9.