Arsenal came from behind to clinch an important victory over Stoke City at the Emirates Stadium and momentarily occupy top spot in the Premier League. A penalty for Stoke for a high elbow on Joe Allen by Granit Xhaka was tidily converted by Charlie Adam to give Mark Hughes’ side the lead.
Theo Walcott finished off a great team move late in the first half to draw Arsenal level, before goals from Mesut Ozil and substitute Alex Iwobi in the second half completed the fightback.
We rate every player’s performance from the game and assign them a rating on a scale from 1-10:
Arsenal
Petr Cech – 6.5/10
It was an uncertain game for the Arsenal keeper, mistiming a header from outside the box in the first half and giving his defenders a moment of panic when he tried to play the ball out under pressure from onrushing Stoke forwards. He did make a few good saves to deny Marc Muniesa and Xherdan Shaqiri from long range.
Gabriel Paulista – 7/10
He didn’t have a great first quarter of the game at right-back, failing to utilise the space on the wing which Bellerin later did after coming on. At centre-back, he looked more like himself, showing solidity in clearing away balls from set-pieces and keeping in touch with the runs of Allen and Arnautovic.
Shkodran Mustafi – 6/10
A hamstring injury early in the game forced the German defender off.
Laurent Koscielny – 7/10
The skipper made minimal errors during the game, leading his defence to another commanding performance at the back.
Nacho Monreal – 7/10
The left-back shut down Diouf for most of the game and occasionally paired up with Oxlade-Chamberlain to give Arsenal some attacking impetus from the left byline.
Francis Coquelin – 7/10
Coquelin was quietly effective in front of the Arsenal back four, committing to important tackles and was often witnessed advancing forward to help heap pressure on Stoke.
Granit Xhaka – 7/10
The Swiss midfielder was punished for a high elbow on Joe Allen which led to the penalty. Apart from that, he moved the ball around in midfield and helped the Gunners patiently to up the tempo as the game progressed.
Theo Walcott – 7.5/10
He scored his 100th goal for Arsenal with a good toe finish ahead of Martins Indi to equalise. His pace helped him channel into space in front of Eric Pieters on a few occasions and left wing back and receive balls from Bellerin from the wide areas.
Mesut Ozil – 7.5/10
Ozil, as usual, used his vision to pick out advancing Arsenal attackers with ease. He duly took advantage of Erik Pieters’ brief absence from the pitch and Imbula – playing as cover-up at left-back – playing him onside to put Arsenal 2-1 up.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 7.5/10
The winger used his pace and fleet-footedness to dribble past opposition shirts on multiple occasions. He often attracted men towards him to leave some space for Arsenal to launch attacks.
Alexis Sanchez – 7.5/10
Sanchez’s work-rate was commendable, closing down defenders as well as goalkeeper and not giving them a moment of peace.
Substitutes:
Hector Bellerin – 7.5/10
Bellerin had an outstanding comeback from injury, using the space provided by Eric Pieters to dash down the flank and provide quality low balls into the box – for Walcott’s equaliser, in particular. It reflected exactly what Arsenal were missing in the opening 20-odd minutes, when Gabriel operated at right-back.
Alex Iwobi – 7.5/10
The young Nigerian continues his rise into prominence in an Arsenal shirt. He had the presence of mind to play on after a foul on Alexis Sanchez, skipping past Adam and slotting past Grant to wrap up the points for the hosts. His fresh legs stretched the Potters defence in the closing stages and ensured Arsenal were in total command till the final whistle.
Olivier Giroud – 6.5/10
He came on for the final 12 minutes to provide Arsenal with a focal point in attack and give a tiring Stoke back-three some more work to do in the air.
Stoke City
Lee Grant – 7/10
Grant made a couple of important saves in either half to keep the score down. His indecisiveness on whether to come forward to catch Oxlade-Chamberlain’s ball for Ozil to score Arsenal’s second was his only error in an otherwise impressive performance.
Glen Johnson – 6/10
The ex-Liverpool defender struggled to catch up with Alexis Sanchez’s extraordinary work-ethic throughout the game. Though he did make a handful of clearances, he was always second best to Sanchez.
Bruno Martins Indi – 6.5/10
The Dutch defender had a solid first half until he was beaten to Bellerin’s cross by Walcott to concede his side’s first goal. He did well to deal with zipping crosses coming in from either side of the box.
Marc Muniesa – 7/10
Muniesa was focused in defence, keeping immense concentration to make decisive defensive headers and clearances to prevent an Arsenal cross from reaching its target. He personally could not be faulted for any of the three goals conceded.
Mame Biram Diouf – 6.5/10
Diouf made an outstanding last ditch clearance to prevent Mesut Ozil from a tap-in in the first half. He tried his best as a wingback to stretch Nacho Monreal high up the pitch, but the Spanish full-back was up to the task.
Charlie Adam – 6.5/10
Adam may have showed his composure to put the penalty away, but he was guilty of giving the ball away in dangerous positions in midfield, paving the way for Arsenal to have a go at goal. He did put in the hard yards defensively, making interceptions and closing down on Coquelin.
Giannelli Imbula – 6.5/10
Imbula made the cardinal sin of playing Ozil onside for Arsenal’s second goal, filling in for Eric Pieters – who was temporarily off the field having received treatment – at left wing-back. He looked threatening in the first half, outpacing a couple of opponents to lead Stoke’s counter-attacks. However, he petered away in the closing stages as Arsenal began to take full control.
Eric Pieters – 6/10
Pieters had a below-par game at left full-back, offering far too much room for Bellerin to exploit and create chances from the wing.
Xherdan Shaqiri – 6.5/10
Shaqiri’s corners early in the game were spot-on, keeping Arsenal’s defenders on their toes. He looked busy and industrious from a right attacking midfield position, cutting in and attempting to locate Allen and Arnautovic in front of him. The quality of the final pass, however, was missing.
Joe Allen – 7/10
Allen won the penalty which gave the Potters the lead. His overall play was very good, receiving balls from the wingbacks and harrying Arsenal’s defence in order to carve them open. He should have done better when he had a good opportunity to score in the first half, mistiming his shot from 15 yards out under no pressure from any opposition player.
Marko Arnautovic – 7/10
The Austrian forward made a number of good runs into pockets of space in the Arsenal defence – either through the middle or from wide – but was short of quality service. He drew a couple of fouls from the Arsenal back-line as well, winning his side free-kicks from promising positions.
Substitutes:
Peter Crouch – 6/10
The tall striker made an instant impact after coming on, winning an aerial duel from a set-piece to get a header on target and force Cech into a save. He failed to make any further impact.
Ramadhan Sobhi – 5/10
An over-intricate outside-of-the-boot pass was all that Sobhi could muster for the short time he was on the pitch.
Julien Ngoy – N/A
Ngoy replaced Shaqiri in the 85th minute and barely had a touch of the ball.
