New striker shows his class for Hughes
insists he does not believe in hoodoo teams and pointed to May’s 4-1 demolition in the Potteries as proof that the previous six-year winning drought had been just one of those things. Bit like this one, then. Certainly, the way his players approached this match suggested history was not part of the agenda even if the first attack nearly spelled bad news.
Petr Cech cuts a majestic figure, helped by his trademark scrum cap. He needed every ounce of presence to stop Stoke new boy Jese get off to an explosive start.
The Spanish striker, on loan from PSG, came through the ranks at Real Madrid, winning the Champions League in 2014 and 2016, and switched to Paris last summer.
In one of those plot twists which so often happens in football, Jese badly hurt a knee from a tackle by Sead Kolasinac, then of Shalke and now of Arsenal – as if there was not enough needle between the clubs over recent years.
Jese found himself in possession with ‘only’ Cech to beat but the Arsenal keeper spread himself brilliantly to deny him.
As a wake-up call, it worked. Arsenal started their campaign with a 4-3 win against Leicester and looked full of goals against a Stoke side aiming for their first win.
Last year Mark Hughes’ side took seven league games for their first victory and the year before it was six, so are not the quickest out of the blocks.
The Gunners, early fright over, set to work with the darting Hector Bellerin and the rampaging Aaron Ramsey looking for the clever ball from Alexandre Lacazette or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Ramsey claimed a penalty after going down under a Mame Diouf challenge but referee Andre Marriner was having none of it.
When Stoke keeper Butland was called upon he acquitted himself confidently, the highlight of his first half a brilliant reaction save to turn Ramsey’s volley wide and a smart stop from Danny Welbeck.
There has been plenty of doom and gloom in this corner of Staffordshire, grumbles about the £33m worth of sales and the seeming wait for replacements.
The sight of Xherdan Shaqiri limping off with a hamstring injury would not have lightened up the mood. But at least it gave Berahino a chance to show what he could do.
The striker had gone 27 league games without finding the net, going back to his West Brom days, and was still looking for his first Stoke strike.
A clever little assist for the opening goal was a step in the right direction and will do wonders for the player’s confidence. Berahino timed the pass to perfection and Jese stayed calm to finish off.
He came off to a rapturous reception while his team-mates dug in and somehow kept Arsenal at bay.