Late Arsenal blast crushes Stoke
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s late double set Arsenal on course for victory over relegation-threatened Stoke at Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners were booed off at half-time by another sparse and subdued home crowd after seeing Aaron Ramsey clip the crossbar with their only clear chance of the first 45 minutes.
Arsenal showed greater urgency after the break, although Stoke struck the woodwork through a Xherdan Shaqiri corner before the hosts were awarded a disputed penalty for a foul by Bruno Martins Indi on Mesut Ozil.
Aubameyang converted the spot-kick before firing home from an Ozil corner. And the Gabon striker passed up the chance to claim a hat-trick when Arsenal were awarded penalty late on.
Badou Ndiaye pushed Alexandre Lacazette in the box and the Arsenal substitute converted to round off a scoreline which flattered the Gunners.
Despite having 17 days between matches - a result of the international break and being out of the FA Cup - Arsenal looked laboured in possession and had only just got into the ascendancy when the first penalty was awarded.
Replays showed that Arsene Wenger’s men were perhaps fortunate as Martins Indi appeared to get his left foot to the ball before catching Ozil from behind.
Ndiaye then fired narrowly wide for Stoke before Arsenal clinched a fourth straight victory with the two late goals. another