RACE FOR TOP 4
Sanchez and Ozil put on a dazzling display to send red-hot Gunners into the reckoning for a coveted Champions League place
CHELSEA may have conquered the summit but the battle in the foothills rages on. No one is fighting more fiercely than Arsenal and this brutal rout of Stoke that brought some breathtaking moments of magic out of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil took Arsene Wenger’s side to within a point of Liverpool in the battle for the fourth Champions League spot.
Set against a dispiriting backdrop of continued sniping at Wenger, Arsenal played some beautiful football against a struggling Stoke side and coasted to their fifth victory in six League games. A few weeks ago, making the top four seemed like a forlorn hope but not any more.
Sure, this was not a victory against a top side but it was still impressive in its way. Arsenal have a miserable record at the bet365 Stadium.
They used to be intimidated when they came here and had won only once in their previous eight visits but they played Stoke off the park.
They meet Chelsea in the FA Cup final in a fortnight’s time and, even though their season has featured familiar disappointments, they are ending it well.
Many of Wenger’s critics feel that bursts of excellence like this are simply not enough. Others believe that simply watching players like Ozil and Sanchez play every week is a treat.
Encouraged by the presence of a Wenger Out banner in the away end, it was only a couple of minutes into the game when the Stoke fans began to t aunt t he opposition supporters about their manager. ‘Arsene Wenger, we want you to stay,’ they chanted.
The Wenger loyalists among the Arsenal fans responded with chants of ‘Arsene Wenger, he’s won more than you’. A few minutes after that, a plane flew overhead trailing a ‘Wenger — Out Means Out’ banner, a pathetic gesture that has become something of a tradition.
It was an interesting way to try to encourage t he t eam during a crucial fixture but this kind of dissent is now the backdrop to every Arsenal game and there is still no indication from the Frenchman about whether he will remain or leave.
Wenger’s side nearly opened the scoring after nine minutes when Shkodran Mustafi met an Ozil corner and looped his header over Jack Butland. The ball was dropping into the net but Butland managed to recover and push the ball over with the tips of his fingers.
Arsenal were dominating possession and, five minutes later, a brilliant curled pass from Ozil put Nacho Monreal clean through before the ball ran away from him. Monreal, though, was causing the Stoke defence al l manner of problems and, when Hector Bellerin crossed a few minutes later, Monreal met it and crashed his header against a post.
Four minutes before half-time, Arsenal got the goal they deserved. It was beautifully worked. Francis Coquelin advanced from midfield and threaded a ball through to Bellerin who was bursting down the right. Bellerin crossed precisely for Olivier Giroud, who tapped the ball into the empty net. ‘1-0 to the football team,’ the Arsenal fans chanted.
When the half-time whistle sounded, the Stoke fans booed their team off the pitch. They were playing like a team that had only won one of their last nine games and were marooned in mid-table. They looked like a side that wanted the season to be over now.
As far as this match was concerned, Arsenal put Stoke out of their misery 10 minutes after the break. Ozil picked the ball up in midfield, played a short, square ball to Sanchez and set off on a forward run.
Sanchez waited. And waited. And then chose the moment to deliver a perfectly weighted, wonderfully accurate through ball into the path of the German midfielder. It was an outrageously brilliant pass. Ozil did not even have to break stride as he clipped the ball past Butland to double Arsenal’s lead.
Arsenal’s second goal did jolt Stoke into life at last. There was widespread dismay in the stadium when Mame Biram Diouf failed to direct a Marko Arnautovic cross over the line from point- blank range but the ball was behind him and he had to twist to get his head to it. Not that Diouf got any sympathy from Stoke manager Mark Hughes. He was substituted a minute later.
Peter Crouch came off the bench and the stadium was transformed into a bear pit. The high balls started raining down on the Arsenal area and the sense of panic in the defence was palpable. They managed to repel a series of corners but they did not hold out for long.
Arnautovic got free again on the Stoke left and drifted past Rob Holding before curling a cross into the box. Crouch met it at full pelt and turned it past Petr Cech with what seemed to be a combination of his head and a raised hand. It was difficult to see in real time and referee Mike Dean allowed it to stand.
There were still more than 20 minutes to go and all seemed set for a blockbusting finish but even though he seemed to be struggling with an injury, there was still time for one last contribution from Sanchez.
Fifteen minutes from time, Bellerin hurtled forward and found Sanchez in the box. Sanchez made space for himself and drilled his shot past Butland and into the far corner.
A few minutes later, Giroud turned the victory into a rout, turning home a driven cross from substitute Aaron Ramsey.