Arsenal are not just a football club. They have become a verb, an adjective, a damning accusation. Less than two weeks ago, Arsenal were so very Arsenal as they out Arsenalled themselves. They dominated possession, created chances, missed them, conceded goals in predictably embarrassing fashion and lost to a rival. Manchester United’s victory at the Emirates Stadium brought suggestions that it might be the end of an era for Arsene Wenger. What followed was very Arsenal, too. Whenever they seem on the brink of crisis, they rally. They illustrate that the idea they were in meltdown was a hysterical overreaction. Three wins and three clean sheets against Borussia Dortmund, West Brom and Southampton amount to an emphatic response. Rather than going into freefall, they have climbed back up the table. In its own way, it was entirely typical. And this is the Arsenal paradox. Despite the stereotype of a team with mental frailties, they have won plenty of pressure games over the years. Those 18 successive top-four finishes and the 15 consecutive years they have qualified from the Champions League group stage have included many a must-win match and incorporated hundreds of nail-biting moments. The general theme is that Arsenal invariably lose to Chelsea, Manchester City, United and whoever they face in the Champions League knockout stages but can beat almost everyone else. But there is an exception. Stoke. Or, to be precise, Stoke away. If Wenger is to fulfil his ambition of regaining the title in the next three years, Saturdays clash is precisely the sort of fixture they need to prove they can win. Chelsea triumphed at the Britannia Stadium in 2009-10 and Carlo Ancelotti’s side became champions. United won on Stoke soil in 2008-09, 2010-11 and 2012-13. Each season finished with Sir Alex Ferguson celebrating. But Arsenal have only ever won once at the Britannia and it certainly didn’t feel like a victory. They were too concerned by Aaron Ramsey’s horrific leg break in 2010 to really enjoy Cesc Fabregas and Thomas Vermaelen’s late goals. Otherwise it has been a familiar pattern of draws and defeats, of long balls, long throws and long faces. Saturday’s game represents a physical and psychological test, the sort that Arsenal have to pass one day to win over some of their doubters. Stoke have undergone something of a makeover under Mark Hughes and are not the unashamedly direct team of caricature – Bojan Krkic is an Arsenal-style player in the City ranks – but they possess power and competitiveness in equal quantities. If Mame Biram Diouf ran into a brick wall, the wall might come off worse. Europe’s tallest team will tower over many of Wenger’s diminutive midfielders, as well as their team-mate Bojan. And while the Britannia is not always the cauldron of noise it once was, it is at its most intimidating when the elite clubs visit. There is a similar attitude shift among Hughes’ teams. They relish a status as underdogs, looking to upset the privileged. Hughes’ fractious relationship with Arsenal dates back to 2005 and Andy Todd’s elbow on Robin van Persie. Stoke have relished the Gunners’ troubles since 2008 when a rattled Van Persie was sent off in the Potteries. Now a current Arsenal striker is likely to be on edge. Olivier Giroud felt the force of Charlie Adam’s studs during Stoke’s March win. As Gareth Bale can testify, the clumsy Scot has a track record of unfortunate ‘accidents’ in certain high-profile fixtures. But as Louis van Gaal could tell Wenger, there is another former Liverpool player to beware. The United manager spent some of his time after Tuesday’s victory over City wondering what he could have done to stop “Mr Crouch”, as he quaintly termed him. Stoke’s late aerial assault, aimed at their supersized substitute Peter Crouch, almost yielded an equaliser. Stoke are a side who can sense frailty. Arsenal are a team who, on their worst days, ooze it. The pragmatic approach is to adopt a tactic to exploit an opponent’s weaknesses, so there is a certain inevitability about Arsenal being bombarded by crosses and facing a trial by set-pieces. In the short term, they might not need to succeed. They have proved time and again that they can finish in the top four without winning at Stoke. Sooner or later, however, they need to prove progress is being made. And while that involves season-defining games against marquee opponents like United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, it also entails conquering Stoke. It would be a very unArsenal result but, as history shows, that’s what champions do.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 07:54:25 +0000
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