Arsenal’s record against Stoke City in the Emirates is quite encouraging but the Potters have often found a way to disappoint Gunners by their resilient defence and quick counters. And they could well stop the flamboyant Arsenal side this time too if they get their planning right. Here are the 3 battles Stoke have to win to stop their in-form opponents.
Alexis Sanchez vs Marc Muniesa
The Chilean has been scintillating in the past few matches. He scored and assisted twice in Arsenal’s fixture against Stoke City last season and could be licking his lips looking at the weak Potters backline who will be without the regular stars.
After his hat-trick against West Ham, he was really unfortunate not to find the back of the net from a knuckleball free kick. With 11 goals in 14 appearances, he is currently the joint top scorer with Chelsea’s Diego Costa. He has a shot accuracy of 75% and his off the ball work rate is unparalleled. He will surely be a huge concern for Stoke City.
Hughes will put up Marc Muniesa to cover the Chilean on Saturday. Now, the former Barcelona player isn’t definitely the first-choice centre-back for Hughes as Ryan Shawcross’ injury led him to take that place. With just 3 matches under his belt, it could be a huge challenge for the Spaniard enforcer.
Mesut Ozil vs Gianelli Imbula
Ozil had been the best creator for Arsenal last season and this season he has upped his game. He has started scoring too. His impact is felt more than ever now as Arsenal’s patience with the duo of him and Sanchez in the past two years are reaping fruits this season.
Ozil has scored four goals this season, creating 13 chances and three assists. He has completed 298 passes with a pass accuracy of 85%, of which 68% were forward passes. He had opened the scoring against West Ham.
He will be up against Imbula. The 24-year-old French international has owned the midfield position since arriving this summer and his combative elements have been a huge asset for Hughes. The gaffer will depend hugely on him to break Arsenal’s well-crafted moves and the most importantly, stop Ozil.
Xherdan Shaqiri vs Francis Coquelin
Stoke’s attack has dried up with most of the forwards ageing. Hughes started with the 33-year-old Jonathan Walters up front against Burnley and the other option available are 35-year-old Peter Crouch and Wilfred Bony. The on-loan City man hasn’t been the best of scorers this season and Hughes has to depend more on his midfielders, Shaqiri and Joe Allen, to keep the board ticking.
Shaqiri has scored three goals this season, creating 20 chances. He has completed 188 passes this season with a pass accuracy of 79%, of which 62% were hit forward.
Arsenal will have Coquelin returning to the defensive midfield role after serving his suspension in Champions League. Wenger has many experiments with his midfield this season but the Frenchman has been more or less constant throughout them. He has won 54% of his average duels so far with a passing accuracy of 88%. He will be up against Shaqiri and his nimble-footed skill which have troubled quite a lot of opponents this season.
