Arsenal face a crunch tie tomorrow away at Stoke City, in a game that will be crucial to the Gunners’ hopes of securing a top-four finish as a win in Staffordshire would see Arsene Wenger’s side pull just one point behind Liverpool.
Fresh from victories over Manchester United and Southampton, Arsenal enter the clash at the Bet365 Stadium in good form but the statistics suggest that Wenger’s side will struggle on the road against the Staffordshire outfit.
Stoke have given Arsenal problems in recent years, providing a hostile atmosphere directed towards Wenger and Aaron Ramsey, and Arsenal have consistently struggled away from home against the Potters- last securing victory on Stoke soil in February 2010.
In fact, since Stoke were promoted to the Premier League the clash in February 2010 is Arsenal’s only victory away from home against the Potters- and that needs to change tomorrow, as a point is not good enough for the Gunners.
Whilst Arsenal hold a good chance of securing a top-four finish in the final weeks of the season, Wenger’s side are still reliant on Manchester City or Liverpool dropping points, which means they cannot afford to fail to secure maximum points tomorrow.
They tackle a Stoke side that has struggled for consistency in recent months, as Mark Hughes’ side have won just won of their last nine Premier League fixtures and currently sit 13th in the division- which suggests Arsenal should sweep the Potters aside.
However, Arsenal would be naive to think that is the case and they’ll need to be at their best to secure a victory- and scoring in the first-half, ideally the opening goal, would provide a huge catalyst to success tomorrow afternoon.
Arsenal have not scored in the opening 45 minutes since the 2-1 victory against Middlesbrough just less than a month ago, when Alexis Sanchez found the net minutes before the half-time whistle. Since then, all of Arsenal’s seven goals across all competitions have come after the break.
A similar situation tomorrow could prove to be catastrophic for Arsenal as Stoke could grow into the game as things progress, whereas an early goal from the visitors could kill the game as a tie and allow the Gunners to see out another crucial win.
Stoke have nothing left to play for in their own Premier League campaign but would certainly enjoy shattering Arsenal’s hopes of securing Champions League football next season, so the Gunners need to be at their best.
Failure to win tomorrow would likely end any hope of Arsenal finishing in the top-four, as it could allow Liverpool to ensure they finish in the top-four and would give Manchester City the opportunity to be just one point away from securing their own spot in the Champions League.