Arsene Wenger confident the goals will start to flow for Arsenal
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has no doubt his side can soon get back on the goal trail at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners host Stoke on Saturday having yet to find the net in their opening two home matches.
Wenger, though, remains confident the end product will come sooner rather than later provided his side maintain their focus.
"We have created the chances and that is what we want to continue to do," said Wenger, who is facing up to being without injured England forward Danny Welbeck until at least Christmas.
"I believe that the finishing is a bit cyclical, up and down, and we are the team who has created the most chances since the start of the season, so let's just continue to focus on the quality of our game."
Arsenal drew criticism for failing to bring in a replacement for Welbeck ahead of the transfer deadline after they knew the former Manchester United frontman needed surgery on a long-standing knee problem.
Wenger had hoped Welbeck, who last played in the goalless draw against Chelsea on April 18, would be set for a return soon after the international break.
"We got very bad news because in my mind he was almost ready to play again. He was very close, but he could not tolerate the final step up in his rehab," Wenger said to Arsenal Player.
"We always wanted to try conservative rehab first under the guidance of specialists and he did get very close.
"We had to consult and in the end they decided to go in (to the knee) and see what is wrong. He will be out certainly until Christmas."
Wenger feels Mark Hughes' Potters, who finished last season in ninth place, are now a much different proposition.
"Stoke have been here a long time in the Premier League and they have improved their technical quality," said Wenger.
"They have (Ibrahim) Afellay, Bojan, (Xherdan) Shaqiri, (Mame) Diouf up front and Charlie Adam in midfield. They have a lot of technical players that can give you problems.
"What we want is to focus on our own performance as we want to take off at home now.
"We had two good away games with positive results in difficult places and we know at home we can be efficient against anybody."
Stoke may have a dire record from recent trips to Arsenal, but Hughes insists the Emirates holds no fear for his side.
The Gunners have won each of their past 13 home encounters with the Potters, a sequence that dates back to 1981, and will hope they can this weekend accrue their first Barclays Premier League success at their north London abode this season.
However, Hughes' men have had Arsenal's number on their own patch, losing just once to Wenger's side in the Premier League era at the Britannia Stadium, and they will also take heart from away victories other teams have had in the top flight already.
"There's a strength in the Premier League that gives confidence to everybody," he said.
"Maybe in the past teams would fear going to the Emirates or Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge. I know when I was a Man United player a lot of teams would turn up and you knew almost immediately they didn't believe they could win games there. I don't think that's the case any more.
"Most teams go with the intention of asking questions of the top teams and seeing how far it takes you. We're very much in that group of teams that feel we can go anywhere and give good accounts of ourselves.
"Sometimes we'll be able to do it, other times the opposition will be good on the day. (But) our attitude to go to the top clubs is probably more confident than it has been in the past."
That has been bred by a series of impressive scalps Hughes has added to his Potters resume.
He delivered long-awaited victories over Chelsea and Manchester United in his first season at the helm and Stoke claimed an away success at Manchester City last August before annihilating Liverpool 6-1 to close out the campaign.
With the likes of former Bayern Munich midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri and ex-Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic now in tow too, Hughes is confident they are well placed to end their Emirates hoodoo.
"We feel we're better equipped with certain types of players that can maybe ask more questions of them," he added.
"Certainly on their own patch they've had an indifferent start, maybe it's a good time to play them."
Source: PAR
