A late Jonathan Walters penalty handed Stoke City a 1-0 win over Arsenal at the Britannia Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
A fairly drab first period brought few chances, with the two sides entering the half-time interval on level terms.
Stoke won it late on from the penalty spot, however, as Walters converted following a Laurent Koscielny handball.
The result leaves Arsenal second in the table, four points behind leaders Chelsea, while Stoke have jumped to 12th.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two Premier League rivals.
Match statistics
Stoke
Shots: 8
On target: 4
Possession: 43%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 13
Arsenal
Shots: 10
On target: 2
Possession: 57%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 11
Was the result fair?
In truth, Arsenal didn't deserve to take anything from this match. The first half was a non-event until the last couple of minutes when both sides had opportunities, but Stoke did shade the second period. It would not have been unjust if the score had finished goalless, which would have been a reflection of events on the field. However, the Potters created the better chances, with Peter Crouch particularly guilty of missing one or two clear opportunities.
Stoke's performance
The Potters have now beaten Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal at the Britannia this season, which is an indication of their ability to raise their performance levels against the bigger sides. That said, boss Mark Hughes will be pondering why that is not the case against the so-called lesser sides. Stoke didn't create too much in the final third this afternoon, but they were incredibly resilient in defensive areas and certainly deserved to register another clean sheet.
Arsenal's performance
Ahead of a difficult run of fixtures, boss Arsene Wenger would have targeted three points at the Britannia despite their struggles at Stoke in recent seasons. However, his side just did not turn up. Too often Olivier Giroud lost out in the air, while the likes of Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski were also ineffective. Opportunities did arrive late on as the Gunners forced the issue, but it was a poor and untidy performance from the London outfit, who are now four points behind leaders Chelsea.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Ryan Shawcross: The Stoke skipper led by example this afternoon as his side collected all the points. The centre-back is not one to shirk an aerial challenge, which was the case for the entirety of the match. Potters boss Hughes called for Shawcross to be handed an England call during the week and, on his performance at the Britannia, such talk is certainly not wide of the mark.
Biggest gaffe
Yaya Sanogo had a tremendous chance to nick a late point for Arsenal after good work from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but the Frenchman fired high and wide of the crossbar under little pressure. It was the type of opportunity that needed to fall to a more experienced player.
Referee performance
There were a number of tasty challenges in the first period this afternoon, but referee Mike Jones did not produce a yellow card until the 44th minute when Stoke defender Erik Pieters had his name taken for a late one on Giroud, who was on the receiving end of a number of heavy tackles throughout the contest. Overall, however, the official dealt with the end-to-end nature of the affair and allowed the match to flow in the correct areas.
What next?
Stoke: The Potters will attempt to build on this result when they travel to relegation candidates Norwich City next weekend.
Arsenal: Next up for the Gunners is an FA Cup quarter-final against Everton at the Emirates Stadium next weekend. Their next league match is not until March 16, when they travel to North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Matt Law
