Arsenal finished off a great week by coming from a goal behind to beat Stoke 3-1. After a Charlie Adam penalty had put the Potters ahead, strikes from Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil, and Alex Iwobi gave Arsenal the three points, leaving them safely in second place after Chelsea’s win over West Brom.
After a rotated team had breezed past Basel in midweek, Arsene Wenger stuck with the same side that beat West Ham last week. Cech returned in goal, Mustafi slotted in beside Koscielny after being rested in midweek, Monreal came in for Gibbs, and Gabriel continued to deputize at right back with Bellerin being fit enough to be named among the substitutes. Xhaka and Coquelin formed the midfield axis behind a front four of Ozil, Sanchez, Walcott, and Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Stoke lost Jonathan Walters to a training injury, so Marko Arnautovic moved to the center ahead of Joe Allen and Xherdan Shaqiri to provide the attacking bite for the visitors.
The opening period was evenly matched, with half-chances coming for both sides. Arsenal were pressing from the front, with Alexis profiting from loose passes a couple of times but failing to convert the turnovers into anything meaningful. For Stoke, Arnautovic was playing off the last defender, running in behind to passes over the top before bringing others into play. One such layup for Joe Allen was inviting, but the diminutive Welshman blazed over from inside the box.
With Stoke playing a back three, there was room for Arsenal’s wide men to make runs in behind the center backs. Mustafi found Walcott with a pinging pass on one such occasion, and the Englishman’s smart shot across goal was parried by the keeper.
The game was on a knife edge, and Stoke drew first blood in the 27th minute. Shaqiri passed it to Allen in the box, who miscontrolled but was elbowed in the face by Xhaka as the Swiss international was trying to shield the ball. The referee pointed to the spot, much to the consternation of Arsenal and their manager. Charlie Adam tucked away the penalty with no fuss and the home side was left to lick their wounds and plot a comeback.
To their credit, Arsenal shifted up the gears almost immediately in response to going behind. This was in large part due to the introduction of Hector Bellerin after Mustafi suffered a hamstring injury and had to be taken off. Bellerin slotted in to his right back role seamlessly, bombing up and down the wing and creating an overload for the Stoke backline to deal with.
On the other end, there was a hairy moment for Arsenal as Joe Allen fed Arnautovic in the box and the Austrian jinked his way past two defenders but had his shot blocked. With Arsenal pushing men forward, Stoke could profit from swift and direct counters.
As the first half drew to a close, Arsenal kept probing with passing swinging one way and then the other, in an attempt to find a chink in Stoke’s armor. After one such interplay of passes between Chamberlain, Bellerin, Xhaka, and Alexis, the Chilean released Bellerin with a sweet reverse pass. Bellerin’s quick low cross was met with an astute toe poke at the near post by Walcott, and the ball flashed past Grant in goal to draw Arsenal level.
The Gunners were clearly charged up by the equalizer and came out in the second half with much more gusto than their opponents. Four minutes in, Chamberlain spotted Ozil’s run and found him with a well-weighted ball from deep. The German’s looping header was unconventionally majestic, the ball rising and falling almost in slow motion behind the keeper and nestling in the net. Arsenal had turned the game around and Stoke were finding it difficult to cope.
Mark Hughes’s last throw of the dice was to send on experienced frontman Peter Crouch, and the lanky striker almost headed in the equalizer with his first touch. No Arsenal defender marked him on the corner, and his punt at goal was parried away decisively by Cech to keep Arsenal ahead.
A few minutes later, the game was sealed. Iwobi – who had come on for Chamberlain – fed the ball into Sanchez, who tricked his way into the box but was tripped by a trailing Stoke leg. Iwobi was fastest to react to the situation, gliding past Charlie Adam with the ball and planting a low finish at the far post. After the contentious awarding of the penalty in the first half, the referee redeemed himself as he played advantage for Arsenal’s third.
The win leaves Arsenal well placed before a hectic festive period. They face Everton in midweek, always a formidable opponent at home. Stoke, despite their defeat, gave a good account of themselves and will hope to continue the good run through Christmas.
