Arsene Wenger saw Arsenal maintain their Premier League title challenge with a 2-1 win at Hull and was then further buoyed by the imminent return of midfield star Cesc Fabregas.

Nicklas Bendtner's injury-time goal sealed a hard-fought win at struggling Hull to seal a fifth consecutive league victory and keep the pressure on title rivals Chelsea and Manchester United.

The dramatic finale mirrored Arsenal's recent success at Stoke City, and has seen them develop a reputation for leaving things uncomfortably late.

Wenger said: "We're leaving it late at the moment, exactly as we did at Stoke. Maybe it isn't good for my heart but as far as the title is concerned, it's not bad."

The London club's hopes of ending United and Chelsea's Premier League dominance has been written off several times this season but after this latest win saw it draw level at the top with the neighbors from across the capital, Wenger insists it would be unwise to rule the team out with less than two months of the campaign remaining.

His confidence was bolstered by the news Fabregas, who has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury, should be fit to face West Ham on Saturday.

Confirming Fabregas was well ahead of William Gallas, who has been troubled by a calf problem, in his injury rehabilitation, Wenger said: "Fabregas has a chance to be ready for next week, but Gallas hasn't."

The 60-year-old Frenchman said: "We're in the fight and we have eight games to go.

"We're in there, so why shouldn't we believe? What I do believe is that we'll give absolutely everything to keep challenging and we've seen that again here.

"The team spirit is there, it's special and you can see that."

Andrey Arshavin gave Arsenal an early lead but that was canceled out by Jimmy Bullard's penalty after Sol Campbell's foul on Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink - an offense for which Hull manager Phil Brown claimed the veteran Arsenal defender should have been sent off.