Mesut Ozil marked his home debut with three assists as Arsenal overcame Stoke City 3-1 despite a disjointed performance. Aaron Ramsey opened the scoring early before headed goals from defensive duo Per Mertesacker and Bacary Sagna sealed the points and a return to the Premier League summit after Geoff Cameron’s equaliser.
Arsene Wenger made one very late change from the side that beat Marseille in midweek with Serge Gnabry replacing Theo Walcott on the right. It was later revealed the England man has an abdominal muscle problem.
It wasn’t long before the Gunners found their stride. Ozil’s free-kick, following a Charlie Adam foul on Wilshere just outside the box, was parried by Asmir Begovic straight into the path of Ramsey who netted first time with a neat finish. (1-0)
The Emirates crowd smelled blood and goals, but despite early promise the we sat back seemingly happy to let Mark Hughes’ side knock the ball around.
It was a tactic that was to prove costly when on 26 minutes a lofted ball by Steven Nzonzi eluded Per Mertesacker before being volleyed against the post by Marko Arnautovic. Cameron was the quickest to react bouncing home the rebound despite the best efforts of Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny. (1-1)
Arsenal stepped up the pressure and were rewarded nine minutes before half-time when Ozil’s corner was met by Mertesacker who looped a header off the far post and in. It was second time lucky for the centre-back who’d come close from a similar effort just moments before. (2-1)
In the second half Arsenal struggled to keep possession of the ball. Gnabry, who grew in confidence as the match went on, had a decent long range effort saved by Begovic but for the most part it was Stoke who dictated the tempo even though they failed to carve any real chances.
Had the visitors scored during the opening 20 minutes of the second period there could have been few complaints. Thankfully, having weathered the storm the Gunners scored against the run of play from another set piece. Wilshere (for the millionth time) was tripped as he looked to dart towards the area, again Ozil lofted the ball into the box and this time Sagna looped a header over Begovic and into the net. He celebrated with gusto. (3-1)
Rather than lump the ball forward the visitors (to their credit?) continued to play the ball on the floor when a high, long ball might have caused Arsenal more trouble. Laurent Koscielny was excellent throughout and helped by the energetic Mathieu Flamini and ever improving Kieran Gibbs we rarely looked like conceding.
Ryo Miyaichi, Nacho Monreal and Mikel Arteta all got run outs as the clock ticked down before Ramsey nearly added a fourth with a fine effort which was just turned over.
‘We are top of the league’ sang the fans as the whistle blew. And indeed we are. You can’t ask for too much more.
____
Apologies for the delay, just got back from the match…we’re short on numbers at Arseblog News towers today.
We shall not be moved.
Tedious and boring game to watch, at least the Manchester derby has provided us with far more excitement on this Sunday afternoon.
We scored three goals from three set pieces, against Stoke ?, now that is unbelievable – Tony Pulis would have been fuming.
Fuck off
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Fuck spuds just scored last min goal. Fucking lucky bastrad
Jin don’t worry about the spuds they are fucking shit.
“We scored three goals from three set pieces, against Stoke ?, now that is unbelievable – Tony Pulis would have been fuming.”
unbelievable when you call yourself a gooner. please f**k off and gone forever
please don’t ruin my day.
Smile and be positive men
Turn it in you gonad!
Smash the opposition or scrap a win, it’s all three points and that’s how you win the league. Get some bloody perspective, even the best teams scrap.
TOP OF THE LEAGUE!!
LALALAAALALAAAAAAAAAAAAA~!
BIGGG SMILLEEEEE
I am getting tired of 3-1 score lines. Lets go for 7, shall we?
Rambo: First Blood.
Thought the roof was gonna come off when he banged that in.
Top top boy.
ramsey gets his revenge…
we teach a lesson to stoke city… hopefuly, now that they have started a bit in that direction, will continue recognising the difference between football and rugby….
we show the rest of the premier league that we are now a force to reckon with in through the set pieces….
above all, now teams will think twice before fouling wilshere every time the ball’s in the final third…
can we ask for much else in a single game??
Ramsey was great as usual. but the biggest positive of this match was Gnabry.. what a player. his composure bodes well for us and I hope he continues to impress whenever given a chance.
Up The Gunner!
i really don’t think Ramsey was that great. his goal scoring form and tenacity since the start of the season has blinded us to the fact that among all our CMs he’s probably the weakest passer and that was blaring today especially in the second half when i don’t even recall him completing a pass. overall our passing was pretty poor which is worrying considering we’re at home. thats the second home match in a row where our ball retention was horrendous and kept us on the back foot for long periods and were it not for two teams with… Read more »
Were the left and the right both half empty then ?
Rambo’s pass completion against Stoke: 94%.
Selective memory?
Here’s what Piers Morgan said about Ramsey:
http://sabotagetimes.com/reportage/arsenal-mouthpiece-piers-morgan-embarrassed-mid-game-on-twitter/?
Sarcasm as clear as it gets
At least he takes the piss out of himself as well
Flamini is our iron man, Per showed his not so gentle side by stamping his authority as a skipper diligently, Gnabry – what a way to launch his Arsenal journey and announce his arrival!
Did you watch the game? Gnabry was terrible! Gave the ball away, showed little pace and no trickery. Worst of all, every time he got the ball he slowed down play and dwelled on it. I don’t know if he’s going to be a great player, I hope he will be, but he didn’t show anything against Stoke to suggest he will be.
Probably you watched different game. The i watched, he was good, strong enough to protect the ball from bunch of orc, and defended quite well.
The *game i watched
when a young player on his debut start hardly makes a mistake (there were no wrong passes, no giving away of possession and no bad shots), shows he can hold on to the ball against a STOKE CITY side, keeps possession well and shows a good work rate, u can’t ask for much else….
Gnabry? The tall one with the afro? Noooo, you were watching the United game…
I would have to agree. He was definitely the weakest player today, especially in the first half: slowed down the pace a lot, lacked hassle, and was out of position many times (he was going to midfield, leaving Sagna completely on his own on the right side). It made me appreciate Walcott’s quality in that position. That being said, he has had better days in the past and definitely think he is destined for greatness. Just today was not his best performance.
Agree 100%. When we broke the play would slow right down when it came to Gnabry. He is a handy player, with a decent future ahead of him, but he looked out of his depth today.
He reminds me of Chambo the way he takes players on, comes inside and is fairly powerful for a young man. Maybe he an learn from him and add a bit more pace into his game.
Agree as well. But you can’t really ask for a 18yr old debutant to do much with the last second call, literally. He hesitated quite a lot going forward in the first half, back passing most of his touches backward. But I guess that is how you gain your experience. Not many of them are like Jack or Cesc at 18. I wonder why Wenger didn’t play Ryo instead, he has more Premierleague experiences.
Gnabry wasn’t afraid going shoulder to shoulder with players who were much bigger than he was and actually won quite a few of those battles. he tracked back defensively much more than Theo does. someone is bound to make a compilation vid of his performance, be sure to watch it so that you can realize just how little you understand about football.
Are you high?
For the sake of humoring you consider Lamela’s debut for Spurs against us..
30m pounds gets you… nothing.
I think Gnabry gave an awesome account for himself, very tidy in possession (if a little cautious at times) and strong on the ball. He does have pace too, I’m sure we’ll see more of it as his confidence increases.
What more do you want from a 18yr old, fucks sake
Ummm It’s not what more do we want from an 18 yr old its more of an honest observation of his game.
I don’t want to come out with any HUGE decelerations (considering its still early in the season). But I am seeing something in this team that hasn’t been present in YEARRSS..
Ohh I feel good..
Slow down.
Yes.
ref as usual a dick! Fuck you mike dean!
Dean was nowhere near as disastrous for us as he usually is. Today, I thought he did a fairly decent job of hiding his support of Tottenham, actually. For instance, the foul on Wilshere that led to the third goal. I’ve seen him just tell us to get up after similar fouls in the past. You could tell by the Stoke players’ reactions that they were used to getting away with shit like that, and it felt good to finally punish them.
Not sure what game you were watching. I thought he got all the major decisions spot on.
The cunt always backs the champions,maybe his performance was an omen…………..
Favourite song of the day must have been
“We got Mesut Ozil,
You’ve got Charlie Adam
etc…”
The Cardiff fans have won the best song of the day…
“You’re just a bus stop in Arsenal”.
I can’t stop laughing. Made my day!
I want to favour Mathieu Flamini. He was outstanding today – played amazingly well in front of our back, he looked comfortable with a ball even under the pressure, he ran all the time!
And gotta say, I love Aaron Ramsey! What a player he is now!
Agree, Flamini did his job well; however I personally would have given Ozil MOTM.
Three assists in his first home game, just thought he deserved it, and on top of that would make him feel as appreciated as he is.
Your sister is your mother,
your uncle is your brother,
they all fuck one another,
the Adam family!
Charlie Adams tried hard to dislodge shawcross as the bigges cunt on the pitch
Huth made a pretty fucking huge effort too. Cunts.
Your sister is your mother,
your uncle is your brother,
they all fuck one another,
the Adam family!
Flamini, Flamini, Flamini!!!
I fucking love beating Stoke City. Especially when it puts us top. And triply especially when Aaron Ramsey scores.
and when man united goes down 4-0, just need a cardiff goal
Did i just watched stoke trying to be barca?
Guess the guys who program the AI for FIFA DO know what they’re talking about lol.
I used to throw my arms in the air at scum like Stoke tiki-takaing their way around the pitch in my Career mode haha
Fair play to them for trying I guess.
But if you put a bow on a piece of shit.. at the end of the day it is still just a piece a shit with a bow on it.
What a day,top of the league, solid win Ramsey scores, flamini was great again and I done Jamie rednapps red hot tip 3-1 and won 120, plus the dubs win the all Ireland
And the mancs are getting stuffed 4-0
Top of the league!!!
3 set pieces goals by The Arsenal???!
Brilliant!!
A fantastic home debut by the german wizard.
Ozil to The Arsenal!!!
Gibbs,Flamini and Gnabry were class..superb defending.
Love the OLES at the end by our fans
COYG!
You are late blogs..grrr
We win comfortable agains the Orcs.
Ramsey scores against them, continuing his astounding season thus far.
Ozil, just masterclass at his Emirates debut, 3/3 assists, indicating only the start for things to come.
Per and Bac on the scoresheet.
Man United 4-0 down at the Manchester derby.
I’m wasted as is, blacking out today, calling in sick tomorrow.
Per and Sagna love scoring against cuntish opposition . Giroud could have been selfish like the dutch cunt and take away Sagna goal but he recognized its going in lovely touch of not providing a touch.
Top of the Table.
that was koscielny, not giroud.
Methinks your getting your goals mixed up Szic..3rd not 2nd.
although we won the game, i’m sure the headlines will be about stoke’s valiant effort…
Got that tingling sensation that spidy will be jealous of
I’m cabin crew and am in flight as we speak, we get free wifi on board as crew. Was tracking the game with two other members of the crew who are Gunners as well…needless to say we had a few call bells go unanswered this evening (its early morning currently, we’re over the Bay of Bengal). And now am extremely happy to report to a United fan in Business Class who asked me to give him the score of the Manchester derby when I received it 🙂 🙂
Finally! The Arsenal has the mythical PLAN B!
Össist x 3
how do you get those dots over Ozil??
Magic.
press alt and 0 2 1 4 mate for a capital i believe alt 0 2 1 6 is lowercase
Or you could copy and paste.
3 goals from set pieces against the orcs, and a ramsey goal, lovely jubbly
FUCK YOU STOKE
I think Gnabry has a lot of potential, but anyone saying he was “class” today either didn’t watch the game or knows nothing about football. He was nervous, slow and indecisive.
For his first Prem start at home (?), I thought he did really well, but yeah, we don’t really need the hyperbole. He should be encouraged, and we should encourage him, and I’d say that’s about where it should stand.
i’d rather see Gnabry at home against medium opposition and see him build confidence and experience and he was probably put ahead of Ryo bearing in mind the language link between Mr Özil, as well as a hot streak for the u21’s.
I remember when he came on away at Manure in the 60th ish minute and had our first shot on target…much calmer circumstances today and he can come away saying ‘I contributed to the win and I can do better’.
“sweet chin music”. What a performance by Arsenal. Keep it going lads!!
Really good performance. Ozil adds another dimension to our game with efficient deliveries on dead balls.
The ground flamini covers is world class,barking out orders and getting in players faces.i think his presence has really organised the back four.great performence from him today
Good result today. If Stoke had to score, I’m glad it was Geoff Cameron. Holy smokes, is Ramsey on fire or what?
Stoke are shite.. Trying to digress from orcs to mere goblins…and they are still shite. cunts. Tired arsenal today and we still beat the cunts without even getting in gear. Thought gnabry played decent. dosent offer theos directness and pace but he is a far more talented player and is not afraid to get involved in the game. Didnt offer much width though. Flamini proving to be a masterstroke by wenger so far.. The man just sweeps up all the garbage and lays the ball off. Efficient and loud.. Encouragiing signs from this team. Defensively solid, alot more heart and… Read more »
Good win, but why did we sit so deep and back off so much in the second half? That was slightly worrying
Against real competition, I wouldn’t be worried. Our second half has been better than our first in almost every game this season.
Take a bow Mesut,
Welcome back Señor Arteta,
Thanks Ramsey for shooting the orcs,
Great debut, Gnabry.
Gnabry played a mature, tactically aware game, rarely giving the ball away like some of our regulars were doing (repeatedly no less!?). A definite post-away-game-in-europe handbrake game. Stuff the criticism, love the 3 points baby.
Was never going to be a classic, was it? But in years past we might have faltered after they leveled. This one never felt like anything but three points, ugly or otherwise.
No worries about the delay young pooch (arseblog_tom?), you’re doing a fine job in Blogger’s absence. Sure wasn’t Arsenal football at its best but a fine win. So encouraging that we’re getting these results with our pretty heavy injury list. Showing some real steel. Rambo nearly got two today! He looks like he’s absolutely loving his football at the moment – he’s become a real match-winner for us. Mesut bedding in nicely, can’t wait til we get some players back and look a bit more balanced. Going to be some team. All in all a tasty up yours to the… Read more »
FOYO (Fuck of you orcs)
Great game boys!
Gnabry top debut. He is physical player reminded me of ox. He will give Theo a chase for the right slot over the next couple of seasons. Surprised when the prof tooj him off as Ryo cant match him defensively.
Huth is a cunt.
Nzoni is a cunt too, deserved a yellow
Two good wins while not playing in top gear. Thats the stuff people usually talks with man utd isnt it?
Now let’s ‘ooze’ the cannon
Top of the league, some players starting to come back from injury maybe some good times ahead.
Flamini top performance what a grafter.
Fuck Spuds for winning today. They are still shite though. United are finished. I can honestly see them dropping out of the top 4 with Moyes as their boss. Chelsea are trying out a new style which isn’t working. it is Pellegrini’s first year in English football. Arsenal have the manager, the youth, the experience, the form, the quality, the system, and and the squad (which will only get better and better) to really win the league this year. We have lost only once in our last 19 games in all competitions. Our first team squad is more than capable… Read more »
We still need an option with a striker who is fairly strong and can run in behind with pace and play off the defender…we will need that against the better teams…
Nice wake up call to “fans” tbat booed Ransey last season. He is the best midfield player in the PL glad you have to eat some humble pie. Please cheer on our players in future. If they are wearing the cannon they deserve our unconditional support even TBSTEL.
There was a funny old buzz round the ground when It came to Bendtner being announced as a sub. Part boo, part cheer, part groan. Never heard a reaction like it.
Unlike the one when Ozil took a difficult ball down (think it was the 1st half). One big ‘oooohh’. Like a collective vinegar stroke.
Also dont even start giving Jack grief. He is not 100% stop being so dumb on his day he would make any line up in the world.
Arseblog had all summer to bring in extra bodies, yet dawdled when it could’ve swooped, now we have to wait! #ManganOut!
ARSEBLOG MUST WALK the dog
A moving train and can’t be stopped right now = RAMBO!
How do we accommodate our midfielders, they’re all fantastic
1) Getting promoted at work< Beating stoke city (not capital letters due to having 0 respect for the cunts) with 3 set piece goals
2) One can't spell 'showcross' without using the word 'cunt'
I think wenger has finally ceded that you cannot play brillinat for every second of the game. He seems to have finally embraced this side of the game, i think bould has influenced alot as well. You can see this pattern already this season, we did this against fulham away and the spuds at home. These are the most important games over the season, when your team is tired and the flowing football is not there. We were solid, the goblins ( no longer orcs ) had alot of the ball 2nd half but had 1 shot on goal and… Read more »
3 goals from set pieces? Stoke obviously don’t like it up ’em…
They couldn’t cope with a sunny Sunday lunch time in North London.
I’m not the first to notice this but –
Position in league after match day 1: 16th.
Position in league after match day 2: 8th.
Position in league after match day 3: 4th.
Position in league after match day 4: 2nd.
Position in league after match day 5: 1st.
Now let’s stay there till the end of match day 38.
Is nobody feeling slightly unhinged that Stoke had more posession than us? Never felt particularly worried at any stage, but ffs, that 2nd half was like the same game in a parallel universe.
The role reversal is making me uncomfortable as well, if you look back to our last three matches in all competitions, particularly in the second half, our passing has been woeful. Wenger has chalked that down to a physical drop which would make sense considering how many players we’re missing (has Ramsey been substituted at all this season so far?). Don’t get me wrong, i’m just as excited that we’ve learned to win ugly or after bad performances but Arsenal is known for playing fluid possession football and I hope we don’t make a habit of it.
Worth noting that three regulars from our midfield (Rosicky, Arteta, Cazorla) were missing, and this midfield 4 of Wilshere, Ozil, Flamini and Ramsey are playing together for only the third time, one of which was a Champions’ League away game. Add to that the fact that we had an 18 year old making his debut on the right wing and it was always going to be hard to completely dominate.
Having noted that. Kindly also note the fact that we are still winning. Fucking excellent
One thing that definitely should’ve been learnt from today’s game is as long as Ozil is on the pitch Walcott takes no set pieces. Unless he wants a go on goal kicks.
Flamini was immense, Gilbertoesque