Stoke vs Arsenal has become a fixture to look forward to in recent seasons. The Brittania is a tough place to go and pick up points. Pulis sets up his team in such a way that makes it difficult to beat them. Everyone hates their style but it's efficient and works for them.
Arsenal fired blanks against Sunderland last week and this game was like a fresh start to get the team going. Wenger stuck with the same line-up with only one change: Giroud on and Theo off. I thought that was a good decision as Theo struggles against teams that pack the bus.
Gervinho started on the right with Poldi on the other wing while Giroud lead the line. Arsenal quickly imposed their style on their hosts without creating any clear-cut chances. It's hard to do that when you have ten men behind the ball. Stoke was content to sit deep and counter when they had a sniff. They are truly a boring team to watch.
Gervinho was lively early on but lacked that end product. Poldi and Santi bossed the midfield alongside Arteta. Diaby - well, he's still Diaby, talented but never seems to impose himself on the game. He slows the game down when it's simpler to just give a pass. We really don't need another Song. Arteta and Cazorla were excellent in the middle. Jenks really impressed me a lot. He's playing with confidence now and commanded that right side of the defence pretty well.
Chances were at a premium. Giroud still hasn't come to terms with the quickness of the EPL. He clearly was off pace today, only came alive late on with the introduction of Ox and Theo. There are a lot of positives to take from this game. The team looks well drilled - defensively. There's good organization when they lose the ball. Steve Bould has obviously brought some accountability to the team. Two clean sheets out of two games.
Attention now shifts to the offensive side of the team. There's an obvious lack of understanding and sharpness in the final third. I would be surprised if Wenger didn't move for another striker, especially with Chamakh - who's no good and Park lined up for loans. Le Boss admitted he's still in the market for at least a defender and a 'completely defensive midfielder'. On the evidence of what we've seen from these two games, a top striker should be a priority.
At the end of the week we could have any of Tiote/M'Vila/Capoue/Yanga Mbiwa and a totally unknown striker.There's still a lot of work to be done on this team.
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