This
is a headline I’ve written in five of the past six years, and one that just
might keep coming up until fundamental changes are made in the side. To be
fair, Arsenal largely dominated this game and should have won easily but for
some poor refereeing decisions and even worse finishing. Yet a good chance to
head to Liverpool with maximum points from their first two games is gone and
that matchup next weekend takes on even greater urgency. For Stoke, it was a
win over a team in the top half of the table, a feat they only accomplished
once all last season.
Three
thoughts on the game:
1.
Refereeing Was Downright
Awful … and One Sided
Each
of the decisions that went against Arsenal was tight, from the offsides call on
Lacazette’s equalizer to the three or four penalty claims that were ignored by Andre
Marriner and his assistants. The most obvious of all the decisions was a clip
on the back of Welbeck when he was about to shoot on goal from close range. If
that wasn’t a penalty, I'm not sure what is. In the first half, Bellerin was
clearly fouled by Diouf as he charged toward the goal from the left. His touch
might have been a tad too heavy, as it is certainly possible Butland would have
gotten to the ball anyway, but that’s not really the point. He was taken out
with a chance to slot in, inside the box. The Welbeck penalty claim was even
more obvious. And there were two other instances when a penalty could have been
called.
On
top of this, Arsenal somehow accrued more fouls throughout the match, 11 to 6,
even with 77 percent possession and Stoke leaving Gunners flattened across the
pitch. The days of referees clearly favoring Arsenal’s opponents have withered
in recent years, but this was a poor performance by Marriner that was about as
one sided as any match I’ve seen in recent years. Marriner, by the way, booked
more Gunners last season than any other team …
2. Awful Finishing by Gunners
The
poorly refereed game should not be cited as the sole, or maybe even primary,
reason for this disappointing loss. Besides bossing possession to the tune of
almost 80 percent, the Gunners outshot Stoke 18 (6) to 11 (4). They created
chance after chance, particularly in the second half, but were truly inept in
front of goal. Welbeck missed four good chances beside the penalty claim,
Ramsey missed three of his own (though one was excellently blocked by Butland,
who had a great game in goal) and Giroud missed a great opportunity to save a
draw with an open header in extra time. This was less of a problem last season,
but with Sanchez still out injured and Lacazette surprisingly short of supply
in a game so dominated by Arsenal, it was left to players whose scoring records
are suspect, to say the least.
Welbeck
has never been a prolific scorer and while he has improved marginally since
leaving United for Arsenal, he continues to lose his cool at the most
inopportune of moments. Forwards need to be able to finish one of every two or
three chances to be value for money, and Welbeck is substantially below that
throughout his career. Ramsey had actually been on a hot streak coming into the
game, having scored in his last three competitive appearances, the bookend
matches of Everton last season and Leicester this one, with an FA Cup goal
sandwiched in between. Before that, however, he went 28 appearances without a
solitary goal. Yesterday, he had every chance to continue the hot streak, but
blew it. Giroud, to be fair, has been excellent off the bench, but missed his
one great chance and scorned another half one.
Ultimately,
the poor finishing of the forwards, a below average game from Ozil (who was eviscerated
by pundits including Steven Gerrard) and the same defensive frailties that keep
coming up, all led to Arsenal losing a game they clearly should have won. The
Brittania has often been a bogey visit for the Gunners, but they had eked out a
draw and an impressive 4-1 win in their last two trips to the Northwest.
Dropping points like this could well be the difference between returning to the
Top 4 and spending another year in the doldrums of Thursday night football.
3. Stoke New Additions Shine
Mark
Hughes has been trying to change the identity of Stoke for most of his four
plus years in charge. While he has made progress, with three straight finishes
in ninth position, they took a step backwards last season, slotting in at 13th.
To seek to address that drop in form, Hughes has brought in a number of new
faces, including José (via PSG after years with Real), Darren Fletcher (of Man
United lore), Bruno Martins Indi (from Porto) and Zouma (from Chelsea).
Ironically, Stoke now have more Champions League winners in their side than any
other team in England, though one should mention that most of them never got
off the bench in those Finals.
In
any case, Stoke were dominated for much of this game, but looked bright on the
counter, defended stoutly and saw Butland put in another impressive
performance, as he seeks to further his case to become England’s number one.
Arsenal bossed possession, as I mentioned, but Stoke stayed compact, played a
physical game that reminded of Pulis’ time in charge, and found ways to stop
attack after attack with last second interventions (though three or four were
likely penalties if the referee had not blinked his way through the most
important moments of the game).
Hughes
has a decent side and could improve on last season’s form, but moving into the
Top 7 appears to be too big an ask. A cup run? That seems the only likely path
to glory for these stalwarts of the midtable since their arrival in the
Premiership in 2008.
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