Arsenal will be hoping to earn their first home victory of the 2015/16 season when they host Stoke City this Saturday.
The Gunners have failed to find the net in their opening two games at the Emirates, but they’ll be desperate to rectify this against Mark Hughes’ side, who are without a win in the league thus far.
Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw by a tenacious Liverpool side three weeks ago, continuing their mystifying goal drought at the Emirates. Arsène Wenger’s side have failed to score in 5 of their last 6 Premier League matches in North London, and given the Frenchman’s relative inactivity in the transfer window, the pressure will be intensified on the Gunners to rediscover their goal-scoring form.
Stoke have made a number of exciting acquisitions this summer; Ibrahim Afellay, Sergio Molina and Xherdan Shaqiri have all joined, from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan respectively. However, they currently lie in 18th position without a victory, although they’ve had a difficult start, facing Liverpool and Tottenham in their opening two games.
The Potters have also endured a troubling home start to their season, losing 1-0 at the Britannia to Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion respectively. They were reduced to nine-men against Albion within the opening half, and Salomon Rondon’s header was enough to secure victory for Tony Pulis against his former club. Charlie Adam and Afellay were both shown red cards, and will subsequently be unavailable for the trip to the Emirates.
Arsenal’s last league game was also affected by a red-card, although they were the beneficiaries of Newcastle’s Aleksandar Mitrovic’s 16th minute sending off. The Gunners were dominant from start to finish, with the Magpies failing to muster a shot on target. Fabricio Coloccini diverted Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s effort into his own net to hand Arsenal a 1-0 victory.
Team News
The centre-back pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker have both been passed fit for this weekend. Koscielny picked up a slight knock on international duty, whilst Mertesacker has recovered from illness. Wenger admitted that the German is lacking match-fitness, so Gabriel Paulista may continue at the heart of Arsenal’s defence.
Mesut Ozil will return to the side, after he missed the match at St James’s Park with a minor knock. Nevertheless, Ozil featured in both of Germany’s European qualifiers last week.
Jack Wilshere has suffered a setback in his recovery from his fractured ankle, as Wenger was initially hopeful that Wilshere would return after the International break. Danny Welbeck will be out until Christmas after undergoing knee surgery, whilst Tomas Rosicky is no closer to return, as he also has a knee problem.
Mark Hughes has injury concerns over Mame Diouf and Glen Johnson, who picked up injuries against West Brom, whilst Marko Arnautovic is doubtful after sustaining a knock on international duty for Austria. However, Hughes is hopeful that the trio will recover in time to face the Gunners.
Ryan Shawcross is still out with a long-term back-problem, but Bojan Krkic could feature. Peter Odemwingie has returned to full training and is expected to feature for the U21 side this weekend.
Statistics
Arsenal have lost two of their last three league meetings with Stoke.
The Gunners have won all seven Premier League home games against Stoke.
There have been 18 yellow cards in the last five league meetings.
Santi Cazorla has created 16 chances in the league this season- more than any other player.
Predicted Teams:
Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Koscielny, Gabriel, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Sanchez, Ozil, Giroud.
Stoke: Butland, Cameron, Wollschied, Muniesa, Pieters, Ireland, Van Ginkel, Whelan, Shaqiri, Arnautovic, Bojan.
Verdict:
After their recent troubles at home, it’s imperative that the Gunners return from the International break with a win; particularly given the apparent discontent over Wenger’s reluctance to buy an outfield player in the transfer market.
Arsenal’s 3-0 victory against Stoke in January was one of their most clinical displays of last season. They imposed themselves on the visitors immediately, secured an early lead and never relinquished control. They’ll be desperate to replicate this fast start on Saturday, but Stoke will be well aware that if they can frustrate the host’s early on, the crowd may become restless and nerves could play a part for Wenger’s men.
However, with Shawcross injured and Steven N’Zonzi having left in the summer, Stoke are lacking defensive stability and with the array of attacking talents at their disposal, the North Londoners have the quality to expose any defensive fragility. Stoke do pose a genuine attacking threat, particularly on the counter, with the pace and skill of Arnautovic, Shaqiri, Diouf and Bojan, so Arsenal must remain patient and compact. If they can maintain the balance between defence and attack, they should secure their first three points at home this season.