Arsenal Vs Stoke City: Recap, highlights and analysis

Arsenal travelled to Stoke City for the Saturday evening kick-off. Here is the full recap, all the highlights and analysis from the 4-1 win.

What a crucial and convincing win that was for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger made a few, acute changes to the line-up, adding the physicality of Francis Coquelin and Olivier Giroud to handle the pressures that a trip to Stoke City brings.

Related Story: Arsene Wenger's Best Starting XI

But other than a second half wobble thanks to the hand of Peter Crouch, this was a relatively comfortable win, as the 4-1 scoreline would suggest, that pulls the Gunners to within one point behind Liverpool with just two games remaining. The top four race is still difficult, but it is undoubtedly on.

The first half started in predictable fashion. Arsenal dominated the play, fizzing the ball about with pace and precision, opening up Stoke on a number of occasions. The first chance came through an improvised Shkodran Mustafi header, trying to loop it up and over Jack Butland, who did well to parry it over the bar, from a near post corner. The second was a Nacho Monreal header that was planted against the upright after sneaking in at the far post. And the third fell to Mesut Ozil, who failed to get a shot off thanks to a last-ditch sliding challenge.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park

However, as the game progressed Stoke began to pose a greater threat. Marco Arnautovic curled a freekick just over the bar, Xherdan Shaqiri drew a foul from Shkodran Mustafi just as he was about to pull the trigger, while Joe Allen drove into the penalty area and saw the ball nicked away from him at the vital moment.

There was a growing nervousness in the Gunners’ side as they struggled to engineer any meaningful opportunities. And then the crucial piece of play took place. Mustafi nodded the ball down to Granit Xhaka, who played an accurate pass into the feet of Coquelin. On the half turn, Coquelin span into the space between the lines, fed a sliding pass into the right channel for Hector Bellerin, who duly set up Olivier Giroud with a square pass for the Frenchman to simply knock the ball into the gaping net. It came just before half-time and settled any nerves entering the break.

And there was assuredness and confidence about their play, with the second goal coming not long after the restart. Mesut Ozil picked up the ball deep on the left flank, played a simple pass inside to Alexis Sanchez before darting forward. He continued his run, being found by an inch-perfect, sliding pass, took one touch and poked the shot past Jack Butland and into the top corner. It was a lovely worked goal, indicative of the importance that the pair have to the state of Arsenal’s fortunes.

But the goal did not have the calming effect that would have been hoped for, and that is thanks to Peter Crouch. Marco Arnautovic drove to the byline on the Stoke left wing, fired a cross that flashed through the six-yard box, onto the arm of Peter Crouch and past Petr Cech. It was undoubtedly a handball, but at the pace that it took place, it is difficult to blame the referee for missing the decision.

After a nervy period, during which Stoke pressurised the Arsenal backline on a number of occasions, a half-injured Alexis Sanchez ended the game. He was signalling to come off only moments before, but after picking the ball up from Hector Bellerin and wandering into the penalty area unchallenged, he unleashed a low shot across goal, flicking off the legs of Ryan Shawcross and nestling into the net off, clipping the post on the way. It was an important goal given the state of the game at that time and ensured that Arsenal would return home from Stoke with their first win since February 2010.

The fourth goal came for the Gunners not long after. Aaron Ramsey, who replaced Sanchez after the goal, made a run down the right channel. He was found by a terrific Mesut Ozil pass and played a lovely, low cross into the box, not before seemingly fluffing his efforts with a speculative back heel attempt. Olivier Giroud was at the other end of the cross and slid the shot home confidently.

Next: Arsenal: 30 Greatest Players In History

That was the final goal of a game that was entertaining and unpredictable. Stoke were passive for much of the game, other than a second half burst. But a couple of moments of quality from the Arsenal attackers, namely Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, keep their top four hopes alive. Here’s hoping West Ham can do us a favour.

Highlights