Going into the 3pm kick-off at the Emirates, the pressure was on Arsene Wenger's side to grab their first home win of the season in their third attempt. They have looked jaded early on in this campaign but never looked in any trouble, with Mark Hughes' men barely threatening the hosts.
1) Petr Cech keeps a third clean sheet:
Arsenal's £10 million signing from Chelsea came in for some heavy criticism in the opening weekend defeat at West Ham, but since then has shown what an impressive signing he is. The Czech international 'keeper kept his third clean sheet in as many games with Arsenal winning two and drawing one.
In all truth the 33-year-old was very rarely tested and the biggest adversary on Saturday was keeping his concentration, something that has been a flaw in former Arsenal number one Wojciech Szczesny.
Cech appears to have settled well into his position at the Emirates but his biggest test will come next Saturday lunchtime as Wenger takes his side to a struggling Chelsea side, where the French coach will be looking to end a record against Jose Mourinho which has seen him unable to record a win in a competitive game against "the special one".
2) Francis Coquelin continues to impress:
Wenger has compared Coquelin to the very best defensive midfielders in Europe, it is not hard to see why he draws those conclusions. Once again the Frenchman was solid in front of the back four which has definitely contributed to Arsenal's new found defensive solidity.
There were many calls for a new defensive midfielder to be signed this summer from many, this may have stalled Coquelin's progression in the Arsenal starting XI. It would appear for all intents and purposes that Arsene Wenger is slowly forming a spine of the team with Cech, Coquelin and Ozil.
The importance of Coquelin can not be underestimated and it will be interesting to see how he fares in his first full season as a permanent fixture in the first team.
The former Charlton loanee played a vital part in Arsenal's opening goal, hurtling into a strong challenge before laying the ball on to Mesut Ozil who delivered a sumptuous 30-yard pass to Walcott who then finished confidently. This set the tone for the rest of the game where it could in truth had been nothing short of a cricket score were it not for a Man of the Match performance from Stoke City keeper Jack Butland.
3) Another assist for Mesut Ozil:
Ozil is an acquired taste, you either love him or you hate him. One thing that is not in question is the German's chance creation. He grabbed his second Premier League assist of the season with a beautifully crafted pass over the Stoke defence, which Walcott duly dispatched.
Ozil's first assist came in Arsenal's first win, away at Crystal Palace, which was equally as important and got Olivier Giroud off and running for the season.
Ozil continues to rack up the numbers and has created 20 chances on top of his two assists in four Premier League games this term, his playing style is always one that is going to divide opinion, but he is a player that will you would rather have in your team than not.
He has been played in a few different roles since his signing in 2013 from Real Madrid, but he is at home playing behind the striker. Ozil sees a very different picture to what most do which is why he is one of the most valued players in world football, with Jose Mourinho calling him the "best number 10" in world football
4) Theo Walcott gets off the mark:
It has been a strange start for Theo Walcott so far this season, signing a new deal, and now it looks like he will be used predominately as a centre forward, a place that he sees as his best position.
The jury is still out on him as to whether he has all the right attributes to be a success as an Arsenal number nine, but the former Southampton man got Arsenal off and running yesterday, finally converted one of his numerous chances in the 31st minute. This got Walcott off the mark for the Premier League season and took him to 11 goals in 11 starts which is a record not to be sniffed at. This does however include his hat-trick in the 4-1 victory over West Brom on the final day of last season's league campaign, so perhaps the figures are slightly blurred somewhat.
Walcott had numerous chances and on any other given day he may have walked away with the match ball, he was criticised for lacking killer instinct in Arsenal's away win at Newcastle, this is something as a striker he will have to become accustomed to.
Arsenal's 26-year-old speed merchant offers something very different to fellow striker Olivier Giroud, you would do very well indeed to find anyone who has the kind of pace that Walcott possesses, he just needs to know when to utilise this. He is yet to prove himself as a striker in a big crunch game, so it will be interesting to see if he is given a run of starts as Wenger's side travel to Croatia to take on Dynamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener which is closely followed by a trip to Chelsea the following Saturday.
5) Is Santi Cazorla Arsenal's midfield general?
Cazorla was many people's outside bet for premier league player of the season last term, and he has continued to impress in his new deep midfield role, he was pulling the strings again yesterday and is instrumental on how Arsenal go about their business.
The little Spaniard resembles a conductor in a classical orchestra, more than your typical hands on midfield orchestrator. In the absence of both Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker, Cazorla has been handed the responsibility of captain and has not disappointed. He isn't in the mould of a Patrick Vieira, he is more of a Andrea Pirlo type leader, he lets his football do the talking and is another key component in this Arsenal side, he dictates how they play and literally everything goes through the Spanish international.
What the diminutive offers Arsenal is sometimes forgotten, last season he got on with his business and was relatively unnoticed by fans of other clubs and most media pundits. However, he notched up 11 premier league assists and created a staggering 78 chances, mostly from a deep midfield role. He is not blessed with pace, but you would do well to find many in European football with his vision, he is a truly valuable asset.
He grabbed an assist for Arsenal's second goal, flighting in a freekick from the left of the Stoke 18-yard box which Giroud easily converted with a header from close range. Additionally he has created 23 chances so far this season, which is the most of any player in the premier league's opening five games.
Can Arsenal bridge the gap?
Arsenal are going in the right direction, yes it is early days, there are plenty of games to be played and points to be won. If Arsenal can become more clinical in front of goal they can be contenders, but the more important question is can they bridge the gap to Manchester City? Only time will tell.