Premier League match time comes to the Emirates as Arsenal prepare to host Stoke on Wednesday, February 23, in a first leg that was originally scheduled for December and was postponed due to snow.
Arsenal are coming off a 2-0 home win against Wolves on matchday 27. Van Persie scored a brace for the Gunners who went ahead 1-0 in the 16th minute, when the Dutchman volleyed into the net the Wolves. On Matchday 26, Wenger’s men had blown a 4-0 lead at Sunderland, but this time they ensured there was no replay. Wolves never looked threatening and after Van Persie got his second goal 11 minutes after the break, the score stood at 2-0, the final result. It was a story of missed opportunities for the Emirates team. Van Persie himself missed a second shortly after his first strike. Arshavin also only had to beat the keeper, following a Van Persie corner, on another wasted scoring chance. Fabregas was the third player to regret a missed opportunity on a day when a 6-0 scoreline might not have been unjustified.
On matchday 27, Stoke lost 1-0 at Birmingham. The game looked headed for a listless draw, when 3 minutes into stoppage time, Zigic latched on to a Jerome cross and headed the ball home to Birmingham. Birmingham had the better possession ratio and would have been relieved to pick up full points against a stubborn Stoke. In a brief period of dominance, Stoke sniffed the Birmingham goal as John Carew fired, only to see it blocked. Pennant had a free kick, after being brought down by a rough tackle from Larsson; the shot beat everyone but missed the post by a couple of feet. Stoke were lucky not to receive a penalty against them when Huth blocked a Bentley using his hand for that purpose. In the end, the result was a true reflection of the respective teams’ strengths in the game.
Head to head, Arsenal have established a 3-1 lead over Stoke in 4 league games between the two sides.
Of their last 10 league games, Arsenal have won 6, drawn 3 and lost 1; Stoke have won 4 and lost the remaining 6 of their last 10. In 13 home games this season, Arsena have recorded 9 wins, one draw and 3 losses, while Stoke have won 3 of their 13 away games, drawing one and losing the remaining. 9.
In their current form, Stoke will need a massive amount of luck if they are to prevent Arsenal from taking full game points.
Arsenal had the following men in their starting XI against Wolves: Szczesny, Sagna, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy, Song, Fabregas, Wilshere, Walcott, van Persie and Arshavin. Denilson, Bendtner and Chamakh appeared as substitutes.
Stoke’s starting XI against Birmingham consisted of: Begovic, Delap, Huth, Shawcross, Pugh, Pennant, Whitehead, Wilson, Walters, Jones and Carew. Whelan and Fuller were used as substitutes.