Arsenal succumbed to a 1-0 loss to Stoke City, thanks to a splendid goal by debutant Jese Rodriguez right after half time
Arsenal continued their poor record at Stoke as debutant Jese Rodriguez scored a decisive winner to pick three crucial points up for the Potters. Last weekend, the Gunners managed to pull through a late win against Leicester City. Against Stoke though, Arsene Wenger’s men failed to stage a comeback.
What makes things increasingly frustrating for Arsenal is the fact that they were well on top during the first-half. In fact, one might even say that they had a strong dominion over their opposition until half-time. Come second-half, though, all their good work seemed futile as Rodriguez scored the opening goal. It all went downhill from there.
Petr Cech seemed helpless and so did the Arsenal defence, as the youngster raced ahead to score. Arsenal thought they had leveled when Alexandre Lacazette fired in but the linesman’s flag denied the Frenchman. After a miserable match, the Gunners will have to start preparing for a trip to Liverpool next week.
Arsenal’s big guns are way off target
Mesut Özil remained quiet throughout the game and hardly had any sort of impact on the field. If not for the lineups, one might not even be aware of his presence in the game. Alexandre Lacazette, too, was kept quiet by a resilient Stoke defence for the majority of the time.
The offside goal was the only time that Lacazette appeared to be involved in the game. Beyond that, he almost felt invisible. When it comes to facing trouble in front of the goal, Danny Welbeck endured a miserable run as he squandered chance after chance.
Arsenal have plenty of big names and fire power at their disposal, but that did nothing to show that they can function without talisman Alexis Sanchez. Unless the aforementioned players – along with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey – fill the void left by Sanchez’s absence, the Gunners are going to struggle once again for a top four finish.
The Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Hector Bellerin conundrum
When the lineups were announced, people were not surprised to see Bellerin being deployed as the right wing-back. Once the game kicked off though, it was Oxlade-Chamberlain who started on the right and played the entire game in that position, while Bellerin was moved to the left.
The move may have brought out the best in Oxlade-Chamberlain but Bellerin clearly struggled after a brief good spell in the first half. Although he did get into the final third on a couple of occasions, the Spaniard simply couldn’t make the best of it as Stoke stood strong in the box.
As the game progressed, their contributions became few and far between – neither making an impact in attack nor defence. After Arsenal switched to a back four, Oxlade-Chamberlain looked clumsy as a right-back, and when he did manage to beat his marker and put in a cross, it only proved to be futile.
Kurt Zouma stars for Stoke City defence
Deploying troops with a back-three appears to be the flavour the season in the Premier League so far. Even Stoke lined up in a 3-4-2-1 formation to counter Arsenal. With Geoff Cameron, Ryan Shawcross and Kurt Zouma lining up at the back, Erik Pieters and Mame Biram Diouf patrolled as wing-backs on either side.
However, Chelsea loanee Zouma was undoubtedly one of the best players on the pitch. He successfully dismantled several Arsenal attacks. Although the defence, on the whole, was a solid affair, Zouma was central to it all on the right side with Welbeck and Bellerin seeing a lot of the ball on that flank.
Zouma’s services were all the more necessary as Arsenal continually got in behind Diouf – which is why Zouma was called into action more often. The 22-year-old Frenchman made three tackles, three interceptions and seven clearances in the game to cap off a solid performance.
Wenger’s choice to deploy Nacho Monreal as a centre-back
Over the last few years, Nacho Monreal’s career with Arsenal has faced several ups and downs. Till today, fans remain divided over his importance for the club. For a majority of them, the sight of Monreal in the starting line-up seems worrisome. When his name adorns the centre-back position though, it is nothing short of terrifying.
The back-three of Monreal, Rob Holding and Sead Kolasinac were brutalized against Leicester on the opening day of the Premier League. Even though Shkodran Mustafi returned against Stoke, there were still two left-backs in the Arsenal back-three – out of which, Monral looked more uncomfortable.
He looked downright nervous in the middle of the back-three. The Spaniard struggled to cope with any high balls being launched into the middle. Even when the ball was on deck, he failed to do anything as he allowed new signing Jese Rodriguez to dart past him and score the opener. Until this is addressed, Arsenal’s defence will continue to be weak.
With Laurent Koscielny set to return after a three-match ban though, things might take a turn for the better, paving the way for solidity at the back.
Alexis Sanchez is being missed immensely
The Gunners’ attack was not as poor as their defending, but one could clearly say that something was missing. Alexis Sanchez was an instrumental part of Arsenal’s fortunes last, and without him, the club seem to be struggling this time around. His future remains the source of intense speculation but Wenger is adamant that he will stay for another year.
Whatever it is, the Gunners need to address it immediately if they want to pose a serious title challenge this season. Arsenal had plenty of ball in and around the Stoke box as they went in search of an equalizer but they simply couldn’t find a way past the strong Stoke back line.
Wenger was clearly hoping for a moment of brilliance but it didn’t come – and that could be attributed to the fact that his star player was not on the field. Since some reports suggest that the Chilean will spend another season with Arsenal, he could be expected to play against Liverpool next weekend.
