Stoke no match for Gunners

Arsenal 3-0 Stoke

Arsenal made up for last month’s disappointing 3-2 defeat away to Stoke, on Sunday, with quite possibly their best performance of the season so far, against the same opposition.

At the Britannia Stadium the Gunners were second best all over the pitch, but in the reverse fixture Arsenal came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders. It was as if they wanted to prove a point to the visitors, as Arsene Wenger’s men refused to be outmuscled in any way shape or form. The Gunners fought for every ball, matched Stoke’s physical approach and let their superior football do the talking. Stoke simply never stood a chance.

Arsenal have been slow starters this season but on Sunday, they took the game to the visitors from the very first minute and opened the scoring as early as the sixth minute. Yet had it not been for the heroics of Asmir Begovic, the Gunners would have been two goals up before Laurent Koscielny opened the scoring. Two minutes in, Alexis Sanchez brought the best out of the Stoke goalkeeper, with a curling effort which was destined for the bottom corner of the net, before Begovic managed to get a hand to it. Moments later and the Bosnian was at it again, this time thwarting Thomas Rosicky, following an excellent run into the box by the Czech international and a low cross shot.

Arsenal would not be undone however and took the lead in the sixth minute. A poor corner from Sanchez was cleared at the near post, but the ball fell to an Arsenal man, who played it wide to Sanchez. The Chilean made no mistake with his delivery this time, finding Koscielny perfectly in the box, the Frenchman was completely unmarked and simply couldn’t miss.

The Gunners were producing a wonderful performance, getting the Emirates crowd on their feet with excellent, flowing, forward play of the highest calibre. Only Begovic stood in their way and the Bosnian produced the best save of the match in the 19^th minute. As the ball was cut back to Giroud from the by-line, Stoke defenders were obscuring Begovic’s view, but he somehow managed to get firm hands onto Giroud’s powerful first time effort, to not only make the save, but turn the ball behind for a corner.

Just before the half hour mark, Arsenal got their just reward for a dominant display, as they doubled their lead. Alexis Sanchez has been a revelation since signing for the club and it was somewhat poignant that Thierry Henry was in the stands on Sunday watching the game. Sanchez is in the same mould as the great Frenchman, when he picks up the ball and runs at the opposition, it is impossible not to get excited as he gets the crowd on their feet.

The Chilean’s first goal was outstanding. He played a quick one-two with Thomas Rosicky, rode the reckless challenge of Steven Nzonzi, when most players would have gone to ground and drove into the penalty area. Once there, Sanchez fired home, beating Begovic at his near post. The Emirates rose as one to salute their new hero.

Having taken an early lead in the first half, Arsenal repeated the trick in the second, with another early strike. In the 48^th minute Sanchez stepped up to take a free kick on the edge of the box. It was too close to be able to get the ball up over the wall and down again, so the Chilean elected to go underneath the wall in an attempt to catch the goalkeeper out. Sure enough as the Stoke wall jumped, the ball arrowed underneath them and Begovic, seeing it late, could only parry it onto his post and into his own net.

The game had been over as a contest since Koscielny’s opener and Arsenal were in the mood for more. Excellent play between Oxlade-Chamberlain and Cazorla saw the Spaniard advance on goal, but his attempted chip over Begovic unfortunately came back off the crossbar. Then in the 80^th minute Theo Walcott, introduced midway through the second half, was sent clean through on goal but dragged his shot wide of goal.

This was a fine performance from the Gunners, with Sanchez’s unrelenting work ethic finally rubbing off on his teammates. To a man Arsenal worked their socks off, chasing the ball down and being strong in the crucial aerial duels. The only negative of the afternoon was the confirmation that Mathieu Debuchy faces another long injury lay off, this time with a dislocated shoulder, following a needless barge in the back from Arnautovic as Debuchy shielded the ball out. Losing such an experienced player is always a blow, especially in a department where Arsenal are already short, yet Hector Bellerin produced his best performance in a Gunners shirt yesterday, defending extremely well and providing good support to the attack too.

Francis Coquelin also performed well once again. His re-introduction to the first team came as somewhat of a surprise at the start of the festive period, yet his performances may just have convinced Wenger to stick with him. Coquelin is an upgrade on Flamini, he does all the things his compatriot does such as shielding the back four and throwing himself into tackles but is also more mobile than Flamini and is more efficient in his passing too. If he can add the discipline required to become a top defensive midfielder, Arsenal may finally have a gem on their hands in this position.

The defence will come under particular scrutiny in the Gunners next league game away to Man City, but if Arsenal can produce a display on a par with that produced on Sunday, full of hard work and commitment, then they are still capable of beating any side. With Sanchez on your side, you always stand a chance.