Arsenal 1-0 Stoke: Arsenal grind out a victory

Arsenal defeated Stoke City at the Emirates in a very tough match. Arsenal scored an early goal but Stoke never gave in and could of easily scored in the second half. The victory takes Arsenal within a point of Manchester United, and was the type of victory needed to win the Premier League. Squillaci of all people scored early on in the match to give us the lead. However the victory has came at a cost as Fabregas and Walcott both look to have got injured. Cesc appears to have been taken off as a precaution but Theo is deficiently out of this weekends final. This could prove to be a huge blow for our season and hopefully they will both return to action soon.

The opening goal.

 Arsenal started the game superbly with Theo Walcott nearly scoring two goals. Cesc and Samir particularly looked in the mood and were completely dominating Stoke. The goal came in the 8th minute most surprisingly from a set piece against Stoke. Our main worry coming into the game was the threat Stoke posed from set pieces, and it was a huge surprise to see Arsenal take the lead from a corner. The goalscorer was also Squillaci, this was maybe the first good moment of his Arsenal career. However Cesc Fabregas was subbed not soon after and appeared to have a hamstring injury. The good news was he managed to walk off and I believe he was taken off as a precaution. Andrey Arshavin replaced Cesc with Samir dropping into the midfield from the left wing. This seemed to have an effect on the team and we didn't look as dangerous going forward. Stoke didn't cause us any problems until the end of the 1st half where Szczesny saved superbly from John Carew.  He had hardly been tested but was still able to concentrate and save the powerful shot.

 The second half began with Stoke well and truly on the front foot. They believed they could get something out of the game and looked the better team. Stoke created a couple of chances throughout the second half and could of easily scored. However Shawcross missed a simple header much to the delight of the Arsenal fans who had booed him throughout, due to the Aaron Ramsey injury last year. In the last couple of minutes Arsenal kept the ball confidently and played out the stoppage time with ease.

 This was a huge victory for the Arsenal and could prove to be a very important match at the end of the season in the Premier League race. It was the sort of match we simply wouldn't of won last season, and Song and Co proved to be invaluable against a tough tackling Stoke side. Despite Stoke playing well in the second half we still deserved the victory and it is another step towards winning the Premier League at the end of the season.