Hull City boss Phil Brown says his half-time rant at the Emirates was the catalyst for his side's shock 2-1 defeat of Arsenal.

With the score at 0-0, Brown was furious with his players at the break for not believing they could win.

His no-nonsense team-talk clearly worked as Daniel Cousin's winner denied Arsene Wenger a return to the top of the Barclays Premier League table and ended Arsenal's unbeaten run at the Emirates Stadium, which had stretched back 17 months.

The hosts had led through Paul McShane's own goal before Geovanni found the top corner from 30 yards, then Cousin added the decider as Arsenal wasted their possession and opportunities, a criticism they have faced after going without a trophy since 2005.

After the finest result in the club's history, Brown felt he was rewarded for his positive approach, fielding Marlon King and Cousin in attack, with Geovanni supporting.

"We picked a team to come here and cause them problems," Brown said.

"We have a drive, an endeavour and a belief that we can come to places and get a result. I was disappointed with our display in the first half when we came off at 0-0 because I wanted to win.

"To say I was harsh in my criticism would be an understatement.

"It's one of my greatest results - Wembley and Newcastle were great but we're proving people wrong all the time. We've got the same number of points as Derby (achieved in all of last season) with 32 games left so it's a fantastic day!"

Hull captain Ian Ashbee told Setanta Sports: "We went for it, we played with three strikers.

"We could have come and try to shut up shop but we knew that would be difficult against Arsenal."

Cousin's goal was his first for Hull since joining from Rangers last month, and the Gabon international said: "I'm happy for the team and for my first goal for Hull. We played well together."