Stoke City 3 (Fuller 2, 78, Whitehead 86) – Arsenal 1 (Denilson 42)
Match Report | Highlights

Lukasz Fabianski – Should have done much better on the first goal. Everybody knows what Rory Delap is capable of and to be so unconvincing when coming off your line like that is criminal. Distribution was diabolical, but he did grow into the game as it progressed, particularly when dealing with long balls. Mediocre at best, though. 5

Francis Coquelin – Wasn’t hard to spot the debutant out there today. His performance was riddled with nervous mistakes and bared all the hallmarks of inexperience. He grew particularly error-prone after each goal, although he wasn’t aided by the fact that he was played out of position. 4

Sol Campbell – The one positive note from today’s match was Sol’s solid performance at the back. Hardly let anything past him and he was a valuable presence at the back. He was instrumental in diffusing Stoke’s aerial onslaught and can look forward to getting more game time in the near future. 7.5

Mikael Silvestre – Typical performance from Silvestre – decent without doing anything spectacular. Did the simple things right and made a couple of vital interceptions however his complete lack of pace kept playing Stoke onside all match. Lucky not to give away a spot kick, also. 6

Armand Traore – His crossing game was on point but that was the only good aspect of Traore’s performance today. He was constantly caught out of position at left back, often letting Stoke players in behind him despite his abundance of pace. Tackling was unconvincing, as was his passing. 5

Craig Eastmond – Decent performance. Went through the motions in the midfield today, not trying anything spectacular just yet, but slowly emerging as a reliable first teamer. Not afraid to show for the ball and his passing was mostly good. Might need to muscle up a bit more against ‘tougher’ sides like Stoke however it was a commendable showing from the youngster. 6.5

Denilson – Got the deflection he needed to put the Gunners back on level pegging, but was ultimately poor overall. Should have worked harder to prevent Sidibe from getting his cross in on the second goal. He was physically weak – constantly getting pushed off the ball – and although his passing was precise his work ethic was questionable. 5

Cesc Fabregas – Couldn’t work his mastery when the rest of the team was off their game. Was given no space by his Stoke counterparts and was effectively shut down every time he received the ball. Did his best to force the issue, however he failed to make a considerable impact. 6

Theo Walcott – I’d like to say that it just wasn’t his day, however that would be a cop out. He was wasteful in posession, often failing to perform the most simple of tasks, and ran around like a headless chicken for over an hour without making any impact. Yeah he’s been out for a while but he can do better than that. 4

Carlos Vela – Worked his socks off trying to find an opening in the stubborn Stoke defence but it was to no avail. He was often shut down early or muscled off the ball, and never really got a chance to force the issue. 6

Jay-Emmanuel Thomas – Played in a more advanced role than he is used to and was neither good nor bad. He got very little service and looked isolated often. Had some nervous moments at the start of the match, but grew in stature as it progressed. 6

SUBSTITUTES
Ramsey, Eduardo, Arshavin – 5

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