Gunners now sitting ducks

Stoke 3 Arsenal 2

On a frantic afternoon at the Britannia when there was so much to criticise about Arsenal, one stark fact stood above all others. It was not that they conceded after 18 seconds, or were 3-0 down by half-time because of the most basic errors. It was that, when Mark Hughes took one look at their team-sheet, he knew his Stoke City side had a big opportunity. That’s what Arsenal looked like: a roll-over. It was exactly what they were.

“Yes,” Hughes bluntly answered when asked if he fancied his chances after seeing Arsenal’s back five. “We expected (Laurent) Koscielny to play to be perfectly honest, so that was no surprise for us.