Arsenal’s tests shift to England’s Northeast from its Northwest with
Sunday’s visit to Stoke City. It’s a challenging fixture under any
circumstances—Arsenal have just one win in seven Premier League matches
there—and so soon after Wednesday’s grueling, frustrating draw at
Liverpool, Stoke is a truly trying trip.
The good news is that the
Gunners move on from disappointments much more quickly than their
supporters do. We’ve seen recent evidence of this, when the 4-0 pasting
at Southampton led not to a collapse as 2015 turned to 2016 but instead
to three victories in short order.
And even if the legs remain
weary, the prospect of Alexis Sanchez’s return is energizing. Although
results have been solid in his absence (W7, D1, L1), Arsenal could
certainly benefit from the Chilean’s infectious verve. A midwinter match
at Stoke City seems like the perfect occasion.
In this occasion,
as in all, perfection may elude us. Manager Arsène Wenger would be
taking a major risk by immediately calling on Alexis. A re-aggravation
of his hamstring injury, a problem related to compensating for his
original injury, or consequences of Stoke’s infamously physical play
could restrict last season’s star man from contributing substantially to
Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge.
Wenger is well aware of the difficulty of this decision. He told his pre-match press conference:
Alexis,
I would say has a 60:40 chance to be available and be back in the
squad. He has two decisive days - Friday and Saturday. He is fit, he has
worked very hard, and the decision we have to take is whether to take a
gamble or not on his injury.
One of the manager’s
clear considerations is the threat Alexis adds to Arsenal’s attack.
Without him, opponents can focus on playmaker Mesut Özil, even
man-marking the league’s top provider out of the game, as Southampton
did. Alexis’s unpredictability, quickness, and determination will punish
a team structured to stop anyone else.
Equally important is
Alexis’s contribution to the Gunners’ efforts without the ball. He’s the
key to Arsenal’s press in forward areas and forms an effective
partnership with left back Nacho Monreal when opponents advance. Alexis
can also help defend the middle of the pitch, where the midfielders
Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini have shown they’d benefit from
additional cover.
Despite the myriad ways in which Alexis
strengthens this Arsenal team, the feeling here is that the manager will
deploy him as a substitute. Wenger fancies a gamble, but perhaps not
now with a prize asset he needs for as many of the remaining 16 league
matches as possible.
Key Matchup
Joel
Campbell against Erik Pieters. Arsenal’s once forsaken Costa Rican has
risen to impressive form of late, creating danger with timely runs and
clever passes from the right of Arsenal’s attack. He’ll need all his
decisiveness and skill to outmaneuver Stoke’s well-drilled defensive
unit and experienced and physical left back.
Where to Worry
Stoke
have bombed Arsenal with crosses in the past, and the Gunners will need
to limit that supply. But this season, the Potters have added speed and
creativity to their weaponry, as their quick strikes against Manchester
City showed. Keeping playmaker Bojan Krkic in check and marking the
runs of Marko Arnautovic will be extremely important.
Match Verdict
It
takes little perspicacity to see this match as a physical and mental
gantlet. Even without the tricky Xherdan Shaqiri, Stoke have enough in
attack to hurt Arsenal. And the Potters still deploy a solid, physical,
potentially frustrating defense. But this Arsenal team has a way of
succeeding despite the obvious obstacles, and we think they’ll do so
again.
Players to Watch:
Arsenal. Olivier Giroud. The
front man took a beating against Liverpool, got patched up, and
returned to score two exquisite goals. That increased his total to 18 in
all competitions this season. If he can outwit (not difficult) and
outmuscle (more difficult) head Orc Ryan Shawcross, Arsenal will
succeed.
Stoke City. Ibrahim Affelay. Several
Stoke players may grab the camera’s attention more than the Dutch
midfielder does, but his deployment will dictate the match’s dynamic. If
he works deeper in the midfield, he’ll be assigned to control Özil,
meaning manager Mark Hughes is placing the priority on defending. If he
takes a more advanced role, that will reveal Hughes’s attacking intent.
Arsenal dominated Stoke Saturday but had to wait until Olivier Giroud's 85th minute header to secure a 2-0 home win.
The
Gunners struggled in front of goal, with several shocking misses among
the 27 attempts that did not find the net, but that's no revelation at
this point. Here are three things we learned instead.
Maybe atypical goals should become the objective
When
Arsenal's goal-scoring form wanes, the team often intensifies its
efforts to execute the perfect pass-and-move action. We saw this in the
last Premier League outing against 10-man Newcastle, which Arsenal won
by virtue of an own goal.
There were a few occasions against Stoke
when similar attacks were unsuccessful, most notably the one-two
between Santi Cazorla and Mesut Özil that sent the German through with
only Stoke keeper Jack Butland to beat. Özil tried unsuccessfully to
coax the ball past Butland at the near post.
Arsenal succeeded,
though, with different approaches. The first goal was a long-range
counterattack, commenced by a Francis Coquelin tackle in the Arsenal
half and served up by a wonderful long pass from Özil to Theo Walcott.
Walcott exploited Stoke's relatively high line, found just enough space,
and rolled the ball under the onrushing Butland.
The second goal
came from a Cazorla free kick and an accurate header by Giroud, who had
eased between two dozy Stoke defenders. The free kick resulted from
muscular play by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who drew a foul from Stoke's
Phil Bardsley in a threatening area.
Again, the source of the play
was not an intricate Arsenal move. Perhaps this diversified approach to
goal is worth more attention.
Gabriel brings the pain
The
Brazilian earned his third consecutive start in the center of the
Arsenal defense and gave as good as he got with Stoke's physical
forwards. The highlight, of course, was his second-half tussle with
villain Marco Arnautevic, the culprit in Arsenal right back Mathieu
Debuchy's shoulder separation last spring.
This time, Arnautevic
fared worse. He clearly initiated the set-to with Gabriel, throwing an
elbow and then a forearm into Gabriel's face as they chased down a ball.
Gabriel fended off the second blow and, in one motion, clocked
Arnautevic across the face.
The arm of justice.
It was just
the most notable of Gabriel's successful interventions. He and Laurent
Koscielny marshaled Stoke's rare attacks well, save for one loose headed
clearance by Koscielny. Their quickness and physicality give opposition
forwards a tough time.
On these performances, Per Mertesacker
faces a real challenge to break back into to the starting lineup,
especially if Koscielny's passing continues to improve. The Frenchman
was Arsenal's top passer against Stoke, completing 75 of 83 passes.
(Stats via FourFourTwo's StatsZone app.)
Arsenal have two point guards to lead a transition offense
The
selection of Theo Walcott at center forward, coupled with Stoke's
decision to push defenders slightly higher up the pitch, created
excellent conditions for Arsenal's two skilled playmakers to shine.
Santi Cazorla and Özil did.
Playing deep in midfield, Cazorla
shook off some indifferent recent performances and showed his quality,
particularly in the first half. He spotted runs by Walcott and Aaron
Ramsey and launched pinpoint long passes to each of his teammates.
In
the second half, Cazorla was at his dancing best, avoiding the
inevitable Stoke challenges, getting himself into dangerous positions,
and launching four shots, two quite threatening. His assist to Giroud
and a similarly precise free kick to Koscielny in the waning minutes
were two of the seven chances he created for teammates.
Meanwhile,
Özil made the decisive impact with his assist for Walcott's opening
goal. That pass, so quickly made after Coquelin had won the ball, caught
Stoke off guard because they had moved slightly forward, thinking the
biggest risk was a more involved Arsenal build-up. It was the most
eye-catching and important of the eight chances Özil created in the
match.
Extra Time: Arsenal's fullback combination is tough to beat
When
Stoke manager Mark Hughes sent Xherdan Shaqiri and Arnautevic out as
his wide forwards, he handed the initiative to Arsenal's fullbacks
Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal. They took it and ran.
Bellerin
attempted 20 passes in the final third, completing 17 of them (85
percent) and creating four scoring chances for teammates. His cross to
Walcott in the first half really deserved a better finish.
Monreal
posted less impressive attacking numbers, but he identified the gaps in
Stoke's defense and made runs to exploit the openings. His work in the
air, winning three of three duels against an historically airborne
opponent, suggests that he could also be a worthy outlet (as Bacary
Sagna was) for the goalkeeper's kicks in Giroud's absence.
