By Rob Deyzel
Arsenal cannot play against physical teams. Arsenal have the flair and are gifted with sweet passing football, but when it comes to nitty gritty football they are useless. Stoke are in my opinion unfairly branded as a tough long ball outfit. Indeed they resort to the odd long ball and are a physical team, yet there is much more to Stoke then this. They pass the ball sweet and are a true team outfit with the duties being shared amongst the eleven on the pitch. On saturday was an example of a truly awesome all round team display.
The game was an exciting game for any neutral with both teams battling and passing the ball around the pitch looking for the breakthrough. Maybe not the prettiest game but entertaining at least. Stoke got the breakthrough after some poor Arsenal defending leaving Jones to chest the ball into the back of the net rather fortunately. However there was no arguing with the poor defending. It got worse for Arsenal when former Gunners Pennants deflected shot looped over the Arsenal goal stopper. The second half was more of the same, possession football from Arsenal and Stoke bullish and quick on the break. Arsenal now with three strikers on the pitch finally got a goal on 81 minutes through in form striker Van Persie. The thoughts of a comeback were short-lived though for Gunners fans as only 2 minutes later Walters scored ending Arsenals slim title hopes.
Season summary in one word? Awful! For me Arsenal have only a handful of players that have showed true gusto and passion in a Gunners shirt this season. Van persie has been breathtaking, just a shame he is so injury prone. Alex Song has been a true work force and should be Arsenal captain in my opinion. Jack Wilshere has been the standout player of the season for Arsenal and has really carried the Arsenal team alongside Song. So many of Arsenals performances this season have been lack lustre, plenty of possession with no finish. The gunners need to bolster very department to fight a real battle for the EPL next season. Wenger needs to realise he needs more player who like a tackle and can play dirty and win the scrappy games that the Gunners so often lose. Wenger the money is there, please invest!!
