Alexis Sanchez was again Arsenal’s inspiration as they coasted to a 3-0 win over Stoke City on Sunday.
The irrepressible Sanchez scored his 11th and 12th Barclays Premier League goals of the season either side of half-time after setting up Laurent Koscielny’s early opener at Emirates Stadium.
David Ospina was handed a first top-flight start in Arsenal’s goal in place of Wojciech Szczesny,.but Stoke were rarely able to get near the Colombian, let alone test him, in a game that was dominated throughout by the hosts.
It was a completely different story for Ospina’s opposite number Asmir Begovic, to whom Stoke were grateful for keeping the score down as they slipped to defeat at the Gunners for a seventh successive season.
Stoke manager Mark Hughes gave a debut to Philipp Wollscheid in defence and was able to call on Bojan Krkic after the Spaniard’s hamstring injury, but it was another ex-Barcelona man who stole the headlines, as Sanchez lit up yet another Barclays Premier League encounter.
On a day full of positives for Wenger, Mesut Ozil made his long-awaited return from injury as a late replacement for Olivier Giroud. However, Mathieu Debuchy’s enforced early withdrawal with a serious-looking shoulder problem may temper the Frenchman’s joy.
Stoke were served warning of Arsenal’s attacking intent before Koscielny broke the deadlock in the sixth minute, with Sanchez and Tomas Rosicky both forcing Begovic into fine saves.
And it was from the corner subsequent to the Czech’s effort, which Begovic tipped wide, that the hosts made their pressure pay. Sanchez’s initial effort was cleared, but his second was an inch-perfect cross, which an unmarked Koscielny glanced past Begovic from eight yards.
There was no let-up on the siege on Begovic’s goal after the opener, with the Bosnia-Herzegovina international again called into action to deny Giroud.
But there was nothing Begovic could do to stop the outstanding Sanchez shortly after the half-hour mark. In a goal reminiscent of the onlooking Thierry Henry, Sanchez dipped in from the left wing and played a slick one-two with Rosicky before firing past Begovic at his near post.
And Sanchez picked up where he left off in the second half, adding his second soon after the restart. For once, Begovic could have done better as he allowed the 26-year-old’s low free-kick to squirm beyond him into the bottom corner.
Sanchez was clearly in the mood for his first Arsenal hat-trick, and went close to completing his treble with an audacious 40-yard lob that had Begovic scrambling.
Geoff Cameron saw a scrappy effort disallowed for offside and Ospina got down smartly to deny substitute Stephen Ireland and preserve a clean sheet. But that was as good as it got for Hughes’ men, as they slumped to another Emirates reverse.
Arsenal, meanwhile, move above arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur into fifth, closing the gap on fourth-placed Southampton in the race for a UEFA Champions League spot.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: “We moved well without the ball and moved the ball well, which is the basis of our game. Overall, we created chances, were mobile and the speed of our game created problems for Stoke. We took advantage of that.
“Football is a game where you have to be realistic as well because we have to stop conceding goals and that’s why today hopefully will improve our defenders’ confidence. We have another big game next week [against Manchester City] and we want to combine being dangerous going forward and being tight at the back. The defenders came in very happy today because they didn’t concede a goal. Our last away game at Southampton, we were not at the level.
“When you play at home you can move the ball well when you have so many technical players on the pitch. It is an advantage for us. What was important for me is that we kept a good concentration to play the game how we want to play and also that we kept a clean sheet at the back.
“Overall, I must say that everybody played very well. The only negative today is that we lost another experienced defender with a dislocated shoulder [Debuchy]. That gives us a problem because we are already short of experienced players at the back.”
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes: “We were second best today to a good Arsenal side that has the benefit of a good start. We never had a period in the game when we could dictate and they were really comfortable, which was a disappointment.
“When you see the power [Sanchez has] got and the pace, he’s an outstanding player. I find South American players have passion and drive. He’s a world star, but he’s put a shift in for the team.”
source: premierleague.com
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 