Full Time: Stoke City 1-0 Arsenal
Arsenal’s woes of the past came back to haunt them at the BET365 this weekend as they fell to a painful loss to Stoke City in the second game of the season. After a slow start to the game, the Gunners managed to dominate possession but went into the break at 0-0.
It did not take long for the home side to break the deadlock in the second half as Saido Berahino gave Stoke City’s newbie Jese Rodriguez a goal, who made no mistake to put Stoke in front. That goal was enough for the Potters to inflict misery on the Gunners, who failed to find the back of the net and ended up with just three points after two games.
Arsenal Player Ratings
Petr Cech (5)
Could not do much to stop the goal but was largely untested for most of the game.
Sead Kolasinac (5)
Was used as a part of the back line on the night in what was a rather comfortable game at the back for Arsenal.
Nacho Monreal (5)
Was caught out of position a couple of times but did not have too much to do defensively.
Shkodran Mustafi (4)
Failed to command his box all game and was also not as good an outlet in the attack.
Hector Bellerin (6)
Was full of running and was a constant outlet in the final third. But failed to create enough chance from the wing.
Granit Xhaka (7)
Arguably Arsenal’s best player on the night, Xhaka kept the ball rolling and played some inventive balls to create half chances for his side from a deeper role.
Aaron Ramsey (6)
A constant threat in the final third for Stoke, Ramsey came close to scoring on a couple of occasions but failed to find the back of the net.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (6)
Another player, who put in a strong performance, Ox made a number of darting runs on the flank but his delivery was just not good enough.
Mesut Ozil (5)
Sprayed some delightful balls into the path of his team mates but was not his usual self as he failed to create one clear cut chance of note.
Danny Welbeck (5)
Came close to scoring twice but needs to be more creative and quick in front of goal, having failed to open the scoring for his side.
Alexandre Lacazette (6)
Scored an off side goal and was a thorn in the flesh for Stoke all game. But he could not last all game and was replaced by Walcott.
Subs:
Olivier Giroud (7)
Made an instant impact on the game and gave it his all till the final whistle, but could not help Arsenal to even a point from the game.
Alex Iwobi (5)
Came in too late in the game to have any kind of an effect in front of goal.
Theo Walcott (5)
Was virtually non-existent for the last 10 minutes of the game.
Twitter Reaction:
The Gunners fans were not amused with the team’s performances and took it to Twitter to vent their frustration. Many were calling for a chance in personnel at the club and here is a collection of the best tweets:
https://twitter.com/g00ner_fc/status/898971821046992896
We have one of the most experienced CB's sitting on the fucking bench while Monreal plays in the middle and gets bullied, FUCK YOU! #Arsenal
— Joshua Gooner Cullen (@cullen8794) August 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/Sanchez_Fever/status/898956611640860673
https://twitter.com/The_GFP/status/898973948746051584
And then just to top it off, it should have actually been 1-1, Lacazette scores but is called offside when he was actually on. #Arsenal
— Joshua Gooner Cullen (@cullen8794) August 19, 2017
Every Arsenal chance has gone straight at the keeper…. or fallen to Welbeck….#Arsenal
— Carl Bovis ⚽ (@CarlBovis_AFC) August 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/heatherdinho/status/898973078545244160
https://twitter.com/mcolmerofficial/status/898970740396965888
If Wenger likes ,he should not buy a DM and a quality CB and continue to fool himself with xhaka and monreal #wengerout @Arsenal
— Shola Ayew®🇳🇬 (@Godshols) August 19, 2017
@ArsenalFanTV should be fun tonight #wengerout .
— Tony Coffey (@TonyCoffey15) August 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/profCymoh67/status/898976865540595712
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