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Stoke 0 Arsenal 0 match report: Arsene Wenger's side fire blanks
At least they didn't crack. It might not be saying much for a team of Arsenal's renowned passing pedigree, but after years of suffering at the Britannia Stadium, Arsene Wenger will surely take this result. Battered, bruised and beaten on more visits than he cares to remember, the Arsenal manager saw his side for once stand up to the traditional bombardment and emerge with their goal intact.
No way through: Arsenal were the dominant force, but could not make the pressure count
MATCH FACTS Stoke: Begovic, Wilkinson, Huth, Shawcross, Wilson, Pennant (Jerome 65), Cameron, Whelan (Palacios 81), Kightly, Walters, Crouch (Shotton 79). Subs not used: Sorensen, Jones, Upson, Delap.Booked: Huth, Wilkinson Arsenal: Mannone, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Diaby, Cazorla (Ramsey 81), Podolski (Oxlade-Chamberlain 72), Giroud, Gervinho (Walcott 72). Subs: Martinez, Andre Santos, Djourou, Coquelin.Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)Attendance: 27,072 Click here for the latest Premier League table, fixtures and results Of more concern is that this was
their second goalless draw in a row, but the Arsenal manager will
consider it a step in the right direction that the soft centre Stoke
used to expose with ruthless efficiency has been stiffened.
It may well be the influence of
one-time defensive stalwart Steve Bould, in his new capacity as
first-team coach, that enabled Wenger's side to repel every set-piece
and cross Stoke could throw at them.
Either way, they looked more secure
than at any time since Stoke returned to the Barclays Premier League and
prevented so much as a single clear-cut opportunity being created.
Stoke's new signing Geoff Cameron
tested goalkeeper Vito Mannone, in for the injured Wojciech Szczesny,
and Jonathan Walters fluffed a half-chance near the end, yet never once
did Arsenal's goal look like being breached.
Neither, in truth, did Stoke's
during a low-key game that had little to commend it other than Arsenal
looking more organised and resilient at the back and Santi Cazorla
emerging as the pick of Wenger's summer signings.
Disallowed: Walters had the ball in the back of the net but the effort was chalked off for offside
Wenger could do with those purchases
deflecting some of the attention from the damaging departure of Robin
van Persie, but the sense of loss may well linger for a while yet, on
this evidence.
Cazorla did most to take Arsenal
minds off their former skipper. Singled out by Stoke manager Tony Pulis
as the main threat, the ?12million signing from Malaga lived up to his
billing.
He did it the Arsenal way, too,
frequently bringing the ball out of defence with the sort of composure
Wenger demands of his players and always at the hub of Arsenal's best
moments.
Warm welcome: The Stoke fans treated the visiting manager to a rousing reception - and one fan ribbed the Gunners boss over another of his stars departing for Manchester (below)
Lukas Podolski will need more than
an over-reliance on his left foot to draw comparisons with Van Persie,
but was at least a willing worker, while Olivier Giroud already looks
ominously like another sub-standard Arsenal signing up front in the
mould of Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho.
For all Wenger's pre-match plaudits
about Stoke seeing the light and adopting a more continental passing
approach after last season's Europa League experience, it was soon
evident that a visit to the Britannia has lost none of its physical
intensity.
Stoke haven't changed, Arsene. A
glance at their most significant signing, American midfielder Geoff
Cameron, would have told you that. At 6ft-plus and powerfully built, he
fits the Stoke template, and he even has a long throw, to confirm the
impression that Pulis has unearthed a successor to Rory Delap.
No way through: Arsenal enjoyed the vast amount of possession, but could find a way to goal
If that sent a shudder of
apprehension through Wenger, an expertly drilled Arsenal defence
superbly marshalled by Thomas Vermaelen soon reassured him there would
be no repeat of the disarray caused in previous seasons.
Though Peter Crouch won an early
header to set up an opening Walters converted from an offside position,
there were few alarms from then on, as Stoke were limited to just one
other glimpse of Arsenal's goal following a precise through-ball from
Robert Huth to Walters in the 29th minute.
The centre back's carefully measured
pass from the edge of his own area showed lines can be cleared
constructively and enabled Walters to set up Cameron for a 25-yard drive
that Mannone clutched above his head.
Chopped down: Stoke harried their opponents in their usual physical, robust style
Most goalmouth action, for what it
was, unfolded at the other end with Andy Wilkinson making up for losing
his footing at the worst possible moment by hurling himself in the way
of a point-blank effort from Podolski as early as the eighth minute.
Cazorla's influence was growing by
the minute and he carved open Stoke's defence with a pass, midway
through the first half, that Giroud only needed to take in his stride to
be through on goal. That he didn't, and let the ball slip under his
boot instead, only reinforced the suspicion the France front-runner is
unlikely to be the answer to Arsenal's dire need for a consistent
finisher.
Flattered to deceive: Giroud may not be the striker Arsenal fans were hoping would fill Van Persie's boots
They have now gone 180 minutes
without a goal this season and it will be little consolation to Wenger
that they edged the chances at a venue where they have been routinely
put to the sword.
The salient detail is that none of
them counted, or even looked like doing. Cazorla nearly made the most of
a good advantage by referee Lee Mason with a 35th-minute shot that
extended Asmir Begovic, while, late on, Giroud sent a spectacular
bicycle kick thudding into the turf and spinning over and Abou Diaby
scuffed a close-range opportunity wide after a miskick by Huth.
Giroud tried to catch Begovic off his
line with a speculative effort from the left that only just cleared the
bar, but the game was, by now, petering out to inevitable stalemate.
A rare triumph at the back for Wenger
in his least favourite fixture, perhaps, but it may just be back to the
drawing board at the other end after more evidence that Arsenal lack a
cutting edge.
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