Stoke will arrive with Tony Pulis thinking one of two thoughts. The first will be “Well we have beaten this Arsenal side when it mattered at home, so why can we at least not gain a point at the Emirates?” The other will be, “Oh heck, we are in for the backlash of the wounded Gunners!” How does a team respond after the failure to score a single goal in three matches? When before goals were flowing from all quarters of the pitch? Why should I as an Arsenal fan continue to ride this roller coaster of happiness then despair? We are the Arsenal and we expect better.
The response will be straight forward, to calm the nerves, we need to set about our business with a small degree of arrogance, we have to believe, yes give respect where respect is due, but seriously, if we cannot beat Stoke today, we can forget the title, the FA Cup and the Champions league. In essence the psychology of today is to deliver convincing win. In order to do this Arsene must be bold. No need for panic, but equally the players must show from the kick off that they mean business and scoring early is one way of silencing the away support.
The attacking midfielders will need to ensure lots of chances are created for Eduardo and Arshavin needs to up his game. The counter attacks have to be less pedestrian so that Stoke do not have the chance to defend in numbers, if they do park the proverbial bus in front of goal then our mid range shooting must be accurate and powerful. Push Vermaelen forward and he will deliver.
Almunia needs to be decisive at set pieces and most of all Fabregas must lead by example.So what ever the result today, the eyes of the Goonersphere is upon these players, and we expect.Let us prove to the watching world that normal service is resumed, but with a vengeance. Let the media reverberate with headlines like Gunners smash the Potters! So come you Gunners, just make my day!