Source: Daily_Mail
Arsenal 2 Stoke City 0: Victory tainted by injuries to Rosicky and Eduardo
Never mind shaking hands, Arsene Wenger was left shaking his head in disbelief as the gloss was removed from Arsenal's return to winning ways by yet more injuries. [LNB]A routine victory over Stoke and Chelsea's defeat at Manchester City were just what the doctor ordered after an extremely testing fortnight for Wenger.[LNB] Shame, then, that Arsenal's medical staff had their workload increased again. [LNB] Enlarge Little master: Arshavin gives Arsenal the lead at the Emirates Stadium [LNB] Arsenal 2 Stoke 0: Arshavin inspires Diddy Men as Gunners leapfrog Spurs Real Madrid join Barcelona in race to sign Arsenal captain Cesc FabregasEboue issues apology to Arsenal fans after 'very, very difficult' weekWenger admits: 'Yes, I'm a bad loser,' after Hughes cup spat Wenger claimed never to have suffered such a glut of injuries afterTomas Rosicky returned to the treatment room with a groin problem. [LNB]The late withdrawal of Eduardo, with a pulled muscle, meant littleAndrey Arshavin was required to play as a lone striker against Stoke'sbulky back four. [LNB]And although the Russian acquitted himself admirably, Wenger isdesperate to find a more fitting solution to his striker shortage. [LNB]The Arsenal manager is no fan of the January transfer window, butwith Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner, Theo Walcott, Eduardo andRosicky all sidelined, he is on the hunt for players.[LNB] Finding someone to fill Van Persie's boots is the priority, but Wenger knows the enormity of the task.[LNB] Injury crisis: Arsene Wenger claimed never to have suffered such a glut of players sidelined [LNB] 'We can't dream too much of finding a world class player because that's what is needed to strengthen our team,' he said.[LNB] 'They also need not to be European cup-tied, so we must hope Father Christmas is good to us!' [LNB]West Ham's Carlton Cole has been suggested as a target, althoughmuch will depend on the speed of his recovery from a knee injury, whichcould keep him out until February. [LNB]Ruud van Nistelrooy is another name in the frame. And the fact thatthe Real Madrid striker has not played in the Champions League due tohis own injury problems may mean Wenger is prepared to forget hisfrosty relationship with the ex-Manchester United man. [LNB]THE 100 CLUB It was a day for centuries at the Emirates, with Andrey Arshavin bringing up a ton of goals in all football with his opening strike (above) against Stoke. The Russia forward had been stuck on 99 for four weeks, since scoring in the 4-1 win at Wolves, and would probably have preferred to reach the landmark in last month's World Cup play-off against Slovenia, who went through to next summer's finals on away goals. The Premier League match was also Arsene Wenger's 500th in charge of the Gunners and the Emirates hosted its 100th game. Cesc Fabregas (below) made it 250 games in an Arsenal shirt, although his day was marred somewhat by his penalty miss. [LNB][LNB]A solution will need to be found if Arsenal are not to let the early Christmas present of Chelsea's defeat go to waste. [LNB]Discussing his injury woes, Wenger insisted: 'It's the worst runI've had. It's all in the same area and they are all offensiveinjuries. Last year it was defenders, this time it's up front.' [LNB]To add insult to Rosicky's injury, which could see him sidelined forthree weeks, William Gallas, Emmanuel Eboue and Armand Traore sufferedknocks against Stoke. [LNB]Fortunately, they are not needed against Olympiakos on Wednesday with Arsenal already into the Champions League knockout stage. [LNB]The trio should be fit to face Liverpool on Sunday. That trip toAnfield will provide a much sterner test of whether Arsenal havestumbled upon a temporary way to cope with the loss of Van Persie whilea suitably qualified replacement is sourced. [LNB] In the frame: Carlton Cole has been mooted as a possible replacement for the crocked Van Persie [LNB]Indeed, Stoke's lack of ambition gave the impression that Tony Puliswould happily have shaken hands on a 2-0 defeat before a ball had beenkicked. [LNB]Much was made of Arsenal's failure to cope with the physicalchallenge laid down by Chelsea, but if brawn is all Arsenal need tocontend with, they still have enough guile to do so. [LNB]Stoke had no answer to Arsenal's speed and fluidity as Arshavin,rather than stand toe to toe with centre backs Abdoulaye Faye andRobert Huth, performed the football equivalent of David Haye versusNikolai Valuev. [LNB]Cesc Fabregas fluffed his spot-kick after Arshavin had drawn RoryDelap into conceding a penalty, but the pair soon linked up to engineerArsenal's opener. [LNB] Off target: Arsenal skipper Fabregas reacts after missing his first-half penalty [LNB][LNB]Arshavin fed Fabregas and continued his run to collect the return.With Faye ball-watching, Arshavin was free to bury an angled shot pastThomas Sorensen, who had kept his side in the game for 26 minutes witha string of saves. [LNB]Perhaps with recent defeats in mind, Arsenal suffered a briefnervous spell in the second half. That was until substitute AaronRamsey settled matters 11 minutes from time with a shot off the outsideof his right boot. [LNB]Stoke right back Andy Wilkinson said: 'It was like the Red Arrowsout there. At one point I was trying to mark the left winger and thecentre back at the same time!' [LNB]Arsenal (4-1-4-1): Almunia6; Sagna 6, Gallas 7, Vermaelen 6, Traore 7 (Silvestre 88min); Denilson7; Eboue 6 (Ramsey 54, 7), Fabregas 7, Nasri 6, Rosicky 6 (Vela 46, 5);Arshavin 8. [LNB]Stoke (4-4-1-1): Sorensen 7;Wilkinson 6, Huth 6, Abdoulaye Faye 5, Collins 5; Lawrence 5 (Fuller75), Delap 5 (Whelan 81), Diao 6, Etherington 6; Sidibe 6 (Beattie 62,5); Sanli 5. [LNB]Man of the match: Andrey Arshavin. [LNB]Referee: Mark Clattenburg.[LNB] Arsenal 2 Stoke 0: Arshavin inspires Diddy Men as Gunners leapfrog Spurs Real Madrid join Barcelona in race to sign Arsenal captain Cesc FabregasEboue issues apology to Arsenal fans after 'very, very difficult' weekWenger admits: 'Yes, I'm a bad loser,' after Hughes cup spat [LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People:Robert Huth, David Haye, Andrey Arshavin, Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Eboue, Nicklas Bendtner, Thomas Sorensen, Robin van Persie, WILLIAM GALLASPlaces:Liverpool, Slovenia, Russia
