Trouble for Wenger
Arsenal slide to defeat at old enemies Stoke
Paris to the Potteries may seem an unconventional path to the Premier League, but Jese Rodriguez already appears at home.
Stoke’s new signing from Paris SaintGermain took just 90 seconds of the second half to produce the pivotal moment and remind Arsene Wenger why he always finds fixtures at the bet365 Stadium so uncomfortable.
Jese, pronounced ‘Essay’, is the latest eye-catching addition for Mark Hughes and this was an excellent debut for a player who can also include Real Madrid among the clubs on his CV.
After scoring four goals in their opening game against Leicester, Arsenal were unable to produce an equaliser here as Stoke rediscovered the steely qualities that have made them such obdurate opponents in the past.
Jese will steal the headlines but there were other outstanding performances, particularly from Kurt Zouma, signed on loan from Chelsea, who seems the sort of footballer always destined to play for Stoke.
For Wenger, this was typically excruciating, as he witnessed an Alexandre Lacazette goal ruled out for offside and two penalty decisions waved away, while Mesut Ozil had one of those bewildering evenings where he exerted little influence. Ozil was branded a “liability” by Steven Gerrard, working as a television pundit, and it was difficult to argue. Arsenal, without the injured Alexis Sanchez, appear unlikely to trouble the top four on this evidence.
“I believe we lost three big points today,” said Wenger. “In football, when you don’t win games you should win, you can only look at yourself.
“This is a kind of night when you are angry because, not only did we not score for the number of chances we had, we made stupid mistakes by losing the ball and then we didn’t defend properly for the goal. On top of that, we were unlucky with some decisions from the referee. We don’t get penalties, we know that. I can get the numbers, look at the statistics. We had the highest penalties against us at home.”
This fixture has always been the one that Wenger ringmarks in his diary with trepidation and he will never be able to forget his infamous comment when he claimed Stoke – under former manager Tony Pulis – employed “rugby-style tactics”. After Jese’s beautifully taken finish, he endured chants of “1-0 to the rugby team” and a chorus of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, a song more associated with Twickenham.
Arsenal did actually win on their last visit, a convincing 4-1 victory in May, but Stoke’s team has since undergone extensive summer surgery.
Their recruitment policy continues to be inventive and they now have five Champions League winners in their squad, with the latest addition, Jese, thrust straight in for his debut, despite only three training sessions. Signed on loan for the season, he took only three minutes to make an impact. After being sent clear by Darren Fletcher, he skipped past Shkodran Mustafi and was denied by Petr Cech.
Arsenal settled, dominating possession, but found Jack Butland in imperious form and underlining why he is a contender to start England’s World Cup qualifier in Malta on Sept 1. He first denied Danny Welbeck and then flung himself in front of Aaron Ramsey to block the Welshman’s shot. Yet Stoke were also creating chances and took the lead two minutes into the second period. Saido Berahino, on as a substitute for the injured Xherdan Shaqiri, played a wonderfully weighted pass into Jese’s path and the striker drilled a left-foot shot across Cech.
Arsenal did respond and Wenger’s frustration only grew when Zouma appeared to handle Ramsey’s header inside the area, but referee Andre Marriner was not convinced.
Wenger introduced Olivier Giroud in the 66th minute, probably hoping for a similar impact to the one the striker made against Leicester last week. But it was another Frenchman, Lacazette, who had the ball in the net in the 72nd minute, with an emphatic finish, but the assistant referee came to Stoke’s rescue with an offside flag. “It was 100 per cent onside,” said Wenger.
This was a sweet moment for Hughes, who has seen Stoke’s ambition questioned after the sale of Marko Arnautovic to West Ham.
“We have been criticised a bit, some of it unfair. We’ll take valid criticism but when we get things going, do things correctly, we’ll always be a feature in this league,” he said. “Jese has proved today he will be a big player in the Premier League. It was a calculated risk playing him so soon, but he was determined to prove what he can do.” Stoke (3-4-2-1) Butland 8; Zouma 9, Shawcross 7, Cameron 7; Diouf 7, Allen 6, Fletcher 7, Pieters 7 (Martins Indi 89); Shaqiri 6 (Berahino 25 7), Jese 8 (Ramadan 71); Choupo-Moting 6. Subs not used Grant (g), Johnson, Crouch, Bojan. Arsenal (3-4-2-1) Cech 6; Mustafi 5, Monreal 6, Kolasinac 6 (Giroud 66); Bellerin 5, Ramsey 6, Xhaka 6 (Iwobi 79), Oxlade-Chamberlain 7; Ozil 6, Welbeck 6; Lacazette 5 (Walcott 79). Subs not used Ospina (g), Mertesacker, Coquelin, Elneny. Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)