Point a-piece at the Potteries

Stoke 1-1 Arsenal

Saturday’s battle away to Stoke followed a similar pattern to Arsenal’s recent matches, with the Gunners left extremely frustrated at the final whistle. While Stoke scored with their very first effort on goal, Arsenal played some exquisite football in the first half, but just could not get the second goal to seal all three points. Despite Stoke approaching the game as if it were a cup final, with their players and fans exuding  100% commitment, Arsene Wenger’s side were still able to demonstrate the vast chasm in class and ability that exists between the two sides, despite ultimately failing to win the game. The home support were in fact so pumped up for this game, they managed to leave all decency and decorum behind them as they entered the ground.   Throughout the game they decided to mirror their team’s ugly football by despicably booing Aaron Ramsey for having failed to get his ankle out of the way of Ryan Shawcross’ sickening tackle a couple of years ago. Their behaviour was simply disgusting.

The Gunners begin the game extremely well, pressing the ball high up the pitch and placing the Stoke defence, especially Ryan Shotton, under great pressure. It was Yossi Benayoun’s pressing which led to the first chance on goal in only the sixth minute of the game, as the Israeli stole possession from the Stoke defence before laying the ball off to Van Persie. The Dutchman returned the ball back into Benayoun’s path, however the man on-loan from Chelsea could not connect cleanly with the ball and his shot was easily saved by Begovic. A few minutes later Rosicky’s wonderful cross found the head of Van Persie at the back post, but his downward header was somehow saved by Begovic’s outstretched leg and went behind for a corner. At this stage of the game, with Arsenal moving the ball so slickly there appeared to be only one team who would score first, however a lapse in concentration allowed Stoke to take the lead against the run of play. Sagna, who has not been at his best recently, saw his loose forward pass intercepted and played out wide to Etherington, who had far too much time to pick out a cross. Peter Crouch meanwhile had drifted into the six yard box and was perfectly placed to head the ball past Szczesny, who didn’t even dive.

At a ground where Arsenal have come unstuck so often, it would have been easy for the Gunners to feel sorry for themselves, especially after such a promising start. However the away side refused to give in and continued to play their own game. Within five minutes parity would be restored. Having identified Shotton as a weak link in the Stoke defence, Benayoun pressured him into losing possession once again before releasing Rosicky with a wonderful reverse ball. The Czech international again produced a wonderful cross to pick out Van Persie’s forward run and this time the captain would not be denied, forcing the ball home to level the score.

Benayoun and Van Persie celebrate the captain's equaliser

Arsenal then took control of the game, creating a host of chances, the best of which fell to Gervinho. Bacary Sagna’s excellent cross into the box, only needed a touch from the Ivorian, but with Begovic rushing forward, Gervinho seemed to pull his head away at the last minute and the chance was gone. Then towards the end of the first half, Gervinho burst through on goal but showed a distinct lack of composure as he blazed his shot high and wide. The summer signing from Lille clearly needs to work on this aspect of his game in pre-season as his approach work is very promising; however he does not yet have a killer instinct when in front of goal and tends to miss extraordinary chances.

Although in the second half the Arsenal faithful would have expected their side to kick on and take all three points, the Gunners seemed to run out of steam. They created one glorious opportunity following another cross into the box, however Van Persie could not steer his header wide enough of Begovic and the Stoke goalkeeper was able to gather the ball with ease. Referee Chris Foy then became the centre of attention, missing a clear hand ball on the edge of the box by Shawcross and then denying Arsenal a penalty for a shove on Benayoun as he attempted to run onto a Van Persie pass. With the referee having a clear view of the incident I still cannot understand why he did not award the away side a penalty.

Benayoun appeals in vain for a penalty

Yet despite Chris Foy’s incompetency, Arsenal did not really do enough in the second half to win the game. The high tempo of the first half was no longer there and Van Persie became more and more isolated upfront, making it increasingly harder for him to maintain possession and so the ball kept on coming back at Arsenal. Whenever the Gunners did have possession, Stoke would bring everybody back and defend with ten or even eleven men behind the ball. In such instances it is imperative for Szczesny to release the ball quickly so Arsenal can hit the opposition on the counter attack. However time and time again, the young Pole seemed to hang onto the ball for far too long on Saturday, allowing Stoke’s players time to get back and defend. Also with the game becoming stretched in the final few minutes, Oxlade-Chamberlain should have been brought on to exploit his pace on the wing, yet Wenger opted for the safer option of Andre Santos instead.

In the end, a wonderful goal line clearance from Saga, following a long throw (what else?) from Rory Delap, enabled Arsenal to leave the Potteries with a point. It may well prove to be a vital point too, as the Gunners still have third place in their own hands. Win their last two games against Norwich and West Brom and third place is ours. One thing is certain however, Arsenal simply cannot afford any more slip-ups.