BAD FORM ...BUT GOOD LUCK
Gunners were poor but took advantage of huge Stoke errors for a flattering scoreline
IF you can’t be good be lucky, so the saying goes.
And that summed up Arsenal perfectly yesterday.
The final scoreline was one many had expected at kickoff. But it didn’t tell a fraction of the story or provide a true reflection of the game.
For at least an hour Arsenal were abject and Stoke, looking comfortable, were on course for at least a point in their bid to beat the drop.
But the Gunners got lucky – first when Stoke’s Swiss international star Xherdan Shaqiri hit a post and then when they were awarded another dubious Emirates penalty which sparked a Stoke collapse.
Danny Welbeck was given one after a dive in the box against AC Milan in Arsenal’s previous home game, and yesterday Potters defender Bruno Martins Indi was harshly adjudged to have fouled Mesut Ozil when he actually toe-poked the ball away. CSKA Moscow, Arsenal’s next visitors in the Europa League on Thursday, be warned.
Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored from the spot and added his second before another spot-kick, this time converted by Alexandre Lacazette, earned Arsenal a win that was nowhere near as routine as the final score suggests.
The victory won’t do much for Arsenal’s Premier League campaign but it is at least a morale-booster ahead of that vital clash with the Russians.
Winning the Europa League to salvage their season is now Arsenal’s top priority as beating Burnley to sixth place looks like the best they can achieve in the Premier League with their top-four hopes all but over.
But they will have to be so much better than they were against Stoke to seal the European glory that will
see them sneak into the Champions League via the back door.
For much of this game Arsenal were so bad it wasn’t safe for under-fire manager Arsene Wenger to come out of the dugout.
The fans who did bother to show up – there were huge gaps once more at the Emirates and the announced attendance of 59,371 was once again far from reality – were already fuming over a dreadful first-half display.
Arsenal’s sloppy players really needed a rollocking to spark them into life.
They repeatedly failed to complete passes while also making needless mistakes in possession at the back.
But Wenger, the target for most fans’ frustrations these days and perhaps fearing his presence might make things worse, chose to stay glued to his seat in the dugout.
However, despite losing his voice this week, Wenger managed to find the right words in the dressing room at half-time to make the difference. Finally there was some intensity in Arsenal’s play in the second half.
And after Shaqiri’s corner beat David Ospina and hit his far post they got an even bigger slice of fortune at the other end.
Aubameyang took full advantage of referee Craig Pawson’s generosity to wrongfoot keeper Jack Butland and hand Arsenal an undeserved 75th-minute lead.
With four minutes to go Aubameyang – who paid tribute to his grandmother Marina after she passed away last week by shaving her name into his head – volleyed in his second after defender Shkodran Mustafi had flicked on Ozil’s corner.
And the £56million January signing passed up the chance to grab a hat-trick when he let Lacazette take and convert the last-minute penalty the Frenchman won when he was bundled over by Badou Ndiaye.