Arsenal vs. Stoke City: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Arsenal beat Stoke City, 3-0, on Sunday to move level on points with fourth place in the Premier League. The convincing victory went a long way toward exorcising the demons of December 2014's horrendous 3-2 loss at the Britannia Stadium.
Laurent Koscielny opened the scoring with a thumping header from a corner routine before Alexis Sanchez doubled the lead with a beautiful near-post effort. The Chilean then sealed the win with a fortuitous effort from a free-kick.
Here, B/R picks its winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Alexis Sanchez, as Always
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There were plenty of strong Arsenal performances on Sunday and plenty of reasons to smile: Mesut Ozil returned, Theo Walcott bagged some more minutes, Laurent Koscielny scored and Francis Coquelin played well.
But chief smile-maker, if you can label him that, was Alexis Sanchez, who once again tore a Premier League team to shreds on the Emirates turf. His two goals were richly deserved, his first was a truly brilliant strike, and he stood as the heartbeat of the side.
Man of the Match. Again.
Jim van Wijk for The Independent quoted Arsene Wenger as saying:
"We had a very offensive team today and Sanchez is confident.
We can be direct with him, you can run at people a bit more, so there is a good combination offensively.
You can move the ball well when you have so many technical players on the pitch. It is an advantage for us.
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Loser: Mathieu Debuchy, Who Sustained Another Injury
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Mathieu Debuchy simply cannot catch a break.
After missing months earlier in the season with a serious ankle injury, he recently returned to the Arsenal XI. His reintroduction provided a steely solidity to the lineup, be it at right-back or centre-back.
But now, he's set for another spell on the sidelines after being pushed into the advertising boards by Marko Arnautovic; the damage—an injured shoulder—is a bitter blow to player, team and manager.
"Arnautovic escaped without punishment despite the seemingly unnecessary challenge which put an end to Debuchy's afternoon.
The fresh injury comes as a blow for Wenger, who was without Kieran Gibbs after an inflamed ankle ruled him out of the game.
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Winner: Marc Muniesa, Who Improved Stoke After Coming on
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Very little went right for Stoke City on Sunday, being held scoreless, rarely threatening and sustaining an injury to key midfield man Steven N'Zonzi. But half-time substitute Marc Muniesa, who replaced the poor Erik Pieters, was a lone bright spark.
The Spanish defender, usually deployed at centre-back, got forward well and finally produced the sort of service on which Peter Crouch and Jonathan Walters thrive. His crosses weren't perfect, but at least he actually delivered some so Stoke could begin posing a threat.
Loser: Referee Jonathan Moss, Who Struggled on the Day
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It's a shame to label yet another referee a loser from the game, but the level of officiating in the 2014-15 Premier League, thus far, has been absolutely dreadful.
Mathieu Debuchy was shoved over and into the advertising boards by Marko Arnautovic, causing his withdrawal and a shoulder scan for a suspected dislocation. Nacho Monreal finished the game with staples in his face, holding a cut together from a stray elbow.
Throughout, Jonathan Moss failed to keep a lid on a heated game and left multiple scraps and kicks unpunished. It's such a shame the poor standards of officiating represent a constant undertone to any match played.
Winner: David Ospina, Who Impressed on His Big Chance
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David Ospina was the surprise starter in Arsenal's XI on Sunday, with regular goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny dropping to the bench. Whether it was based on tactical fit or disciplinary reasons—per John Cross of the Mirror, the Pole was caught smoking this week—is unclear, but the important thing for Ospina was to impress in his first-ever Premier League start.
That, he did, securing a clean sheet and collecting a few moderately powerful shots with ease. Arsenal were dominant and that helped, but Ospina didn't put a foot wrong, although it remains to be seen in more testing matches whether the Colombian is a long-term replacement for the Pole.
Szczesny has attracted his fair share of doubters over the years and fans were eager to see what the alternative was like. This can be classed as a good start.
