Gunners back on form at home

Arsenal 2-0 StokeCity

Arsenal finally ended their dismal home record on Saturday with an excellent performance which saw them defeat Stoke City by two goals and keep a third consecutive clean sheet.

The Gunners came into this game following the international break, having failed to score in their previous two home games since the start of the new season.

It was therefore imperative that this run should come to an end and Arsenal did just that as they completely dominated the game from the very first whistle. In fact had it not been for the heroics of Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland, this would have been a score line approaching double figures.

The goalkeeper turned in a man of the match performance, thwarting the Gunners time and time again. First he produced a wonderful reaction save to tip Alexis Sanchez’s header onto the post, with the whole stadium expecting the ball to hit the net, before acrobatically pushing Koscielny’s long range effort over the bar and then also denying Cazorla, all within the first 45 minutes.

Arsenal were in inspired form. In their previous two home games, the opposition had sat back, deep inside their own half and the Gunners had lacked movement, speed in their passing and ultimately ideas. On Saturday the home crowd saw a completely different team. Although Stoke sat back, Arsenal were able to play through the lines and slice through their defence at will, creating numerous chances. Sanchez saw a fine effort come back off the post, Walcott should have scored with a free header when picked out perfectly by Bellerin, before the opening goal finally arrived in the 31^st minute.

Although Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil received much of the plaudits for the goal, with Walcott converting following Ozil’s beautiful pass, the goal owed much to Francis Coquelin. The Frenchman has simply continued where he left off last season, turning in a number of impressive displays as he shields the Arsenal back line with a combination of strength, guile and aggression which has won him many admirers. With Stoke in possession and having entered the Arsenal half, Coquelin pounced, unleashing a thunderous tackle to win the ball back for the home side. The Gunners were now in the perfect position to launch a counter attack. Ozil picked up the loose ball and spotted Walcott making a run in behind the Stoke defence. A perfect looped pass over the top, enabled the Englishman to control the ball before slotting a shot under the advancing Butland. It was a wonderful goal from Walcott, but Coquelin’s role in the quick turnover of possession cannot be underestimated.

Arsenal were now in complete control, but as with any game of football, the Gunners needed that second goal to make sure of all three points. However the home crowd were made to wait for the second as the Gunners created a number of chances in the second half, but struggled to convert. Ramsey was found in acres of space by Ozil, but as he took the shot, he slipped and the ball sailed high and wide of goal. Ozil should have scored from a tight angle but failed to do so and Walcott was released inside the area, but took far too long to take the shot, allowing Butland to smother his effort.

Olivier Giroud was introduced in place of Walcott as the game entered the final stages and he too spurned a glorious opportunity. A mix-up in the Stoke defence allowed Giroud to profit as the ball rolled towards him with the Frenchman only having the goalkeeper to beat, but he could only direct his effort wide of goal. It seemed as though Giroud was suffering from a lack of confidence, with the Arsenal striker having also missed a number of chances for France and then been jeered by the French supporters while on international duty.

However in the 85^th minute, Giroud did manage to get himself on the scoresheet, getting his head onto a Santi Cazorla free kick to divert the ball past Butland from close range and seal all three points. Even then there was time for Koscielny to be denied by yet another fantastic save from Butland.

At the final whistle Arsene Wenger could reflect on an excellent performance from his side, however he must be slightly worried by the lack of a clinical edge amongst his players. Going into this game, Arsenal were already the side who had created the highest number of goal scoring opportunities and converted the least of those, and Saturday’s game will only have increased those figures further. It was interesting that once Walcott did score his goal, the next time he was presented with an opportunity, he hesitated again rather than having the confidence to take the shot first time. Wenger must encourage Walcott to make more runs in behind the opposition and improve his movement off the ball to create space for his teammates, as his game is completely different to that of Olivier Giroud. Walcott cannot hold the ball up, he does not have the physique to do that and therefore must do the things that Giroud struggles to do, such as running in behind the opposition.

Ultimately, Wenger needs his strikers to regain their confidence in front of goal. At Arsenal, one thing is certain, the strikers will have plenty of goal scoring opportunities created for them, they just have to be clinical enough to take them.