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It was not a routine affair that Arsenal fans around the globe expected as they were forced to work really hard to secure a victory against a resolute Stoke City.
Stoke were adventurous in the first-half and did not show any inhibitions going forward. Arsenal were lacklustre to say the least until the hour mark after which they increased the tempo.
Both teams had their chances in the second half and Xherdan Shaqiri even hit the upright directly from a corner kick. But it was Arsenal who drew first-blood.
Mesut Ozil was tackled form behind inside the box by Bruno Martins Indi and the referee awarded Arsenal a penalty. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stepped up and sent Jordan Pickford the wrong way to give Arsenal the lead in the 75th minute.
Aubameyang doubled the lead in the 86th minute as he smashed an effort into the net following a corner from inside the box. Alexandre Lacazette made it 3-0 to the home side as he won a penalty and stepped up to score it.
A bit harsh on Stoke, who played extremely well but have little to show for it.
Here's how twitter reacted:
Goals first:
Arsenal fans were not happy with the team's first-half performance
That was until Aubameyang happened!
