Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Brace Sees Arsenal Past Stoke City in Premier League

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's brace helped Arsenal shrug off a slow start to beat Stoke City 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday.

After a lifeless first half at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal improved after the break and were awarded a penalty after Bruno Martins-Indi was adjudged to have brought down Mesut Ozil. Aubameyang was on hand to coolly convert.

Then, with five minutes remaining, the Gabon international found space from a corner to rifle home his second. The returning Alexandre Lacazette added some gloss to the scoreline late on, as he converted Arsenal's second penalty of the day having been rashly brought down by Alfred N'Diaye.

Slow Start on Easter Sunday

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After making seven changes, it wasn't a huge surprise to see Arsene Wenger's side slow out of the blocks here. But the early stages of this one were not an easy watch.

While Aaron Ramsey came close to opening the deadlock when his lofted shot struck the top of the crossbar, there was little flow to the game, and the Gunners struggled to string any significant passing patterns together.

Journalist James McNicholas offered a seasonal slant on the poor performance being turned in by the hosts:

Stoke's gameplan worked well, pressing high, winning the ball back and launching counter-attacks. However, far too frequently the visitors would pick the wrong pass.

Unsurprisingly, as the referee called time on the first half, the Gunners were greet by a cacophony of fan frustration laced with a few boos.

Match Finally Comes Alive

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The game followed a similar pattern up until the hour mark, as Arsenal continued to be kept at arm's length.

Stoke actually started to grow in confidence and could have taken the lead when Xherdan Shaqiri's corner caught out David Ospina in the Gunners goal and rattled the woodwork. The Colombian did better minutes later, though, as he was quick off his line to shut down Saido Berahino.

As noted by Goal's Harry Sherlock, Shaqiri was leading the charge for Stoke in pursuit of an unlikely win:

The flurry from Stoke seemed to waken up Arsenal, and they had their best chance of the game when Aubameyang raced on to an Ozil pass before being thwarted by Jack Butland. Calum Chambers then missed his kick from six yards after a corner.

Aubameyang Breaks Deadlock

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There was certainly more purpose from the home side at this juncture, and in the 75th minute, they finally got ahead thanks to Aubameyang's penalty.

It was awarded after Ozil was deemed to have been tripped by Martins-Indi, although replays appeared to suggest the German international had kicked the floor after the defender won the ball.

Journalist Seb Stafford-Bloor said there was some controversy about the award of the spot-kick:

Still, Aubameyang was able to keep his composure despite the protestations of the Stoke players, and having been thwarted by Butland earlier, this time he was able to send the goalkeeper the wrong way from 12 yards.

Arsenal and Aubameyang Accelerate

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After going in front, the Gunners went up a gear, with Butland keeping them at bay with some fine stops.

He couldn't stem the Arsenal attacks for too long, though, and Aubameyang was able to notch his second after finding space from a corner. The ball dropped to Arsenal's record signing inside the box, and he struck a sweet shot low past the England goalkeeper.

As noted by OptaJoe, the striker has had a fine start to life at the Emirates:

It could have been even better for him late on, as another penalty was awarded to Arsenal following a foul on Lacazette.

But instead of Aubameyang wrapping up his hat-trick, the Frenchman picked himself off the floor to get himself on the scoresheet for the first time since January. It wrapped up the win and kept the Gunners five points clear of seventh place Burnley; Stoke remain down in 19th.

What's next?

Arsenal have a crucial game in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday when CSKA Moscow visit the Emirates in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.

Stoke's battle to stay afloat in the top flight won't get any easier next weekend when they welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the bet365 Stadium on Saturday.