Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is considering selecting Alexis Sanchez for the first time since he suffered a hamstring injury in November.
New signing Mohamed Elneny is eligible but is unlikely to start.
Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri, who missed the win over Norwich, is again sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Geoff Cameron is out with an ankle problem.
Marko Arnautovic is fit, while Phil Bardsley and Stephen Ireland may feature after recovering from injuries.
Editor’s Note: Stoke play host to Arsenal in what could be a real test as to whether Arsene Wenger’s side have the credentials to go on and win their first title since 2004. The Britannia is never an easy place for Arsenal to travel to and if they can clear this hurdle then that will give them even more confidence and more importantly a 2 point gap over current league leaders Leicester.
Stoke are slowly but surely moving up the table with themselves sitting in 7th place as of now, if results go there way they could move up to 6th and level on points with West Ham in 5th. In Midweek they had a comfortable win over struggling side Norwich and will be looking to continue that momentum this Afternoon.
They’ve won 3 out of their last 4 matches with only defeat at West Brom being the blot on their copybook. They’ve already beating Manchester United and Manchester City at home this season can they add another scalp in the form of Arsenal.
Xhedran Shaqiri’s talent will no doubt be missed but they still have Bojan and Marko Arnautovic capable of causing the Arsenal backline a lot of trouble. With Stoke now playing a slightly softer brand of Football than what we would establish them with, maybe this will play into Arsenal’s hand and allow them to set the tempo of the game.
Arsenal have only lost once in their last 6 matches with 4 those registered as victories, it’s not very close to title winning form but they will have to make sure it’s one defeat out of 7 if they want to be top by 6pm. Alexis Sanchez could return but Arsene Wenger will have to decide whether to risk him or wait until next Weekend.
Oliver Giroud is really finding his groove as of late, his brace against Liverpool nearly secured them all 3 points on Wednesday but for a late Joe Allen goal. Arsene Wenger will be hoping this rich vein of form continues not just at The Britannia but also for the rest of the season. It doesn’t look like Wenger will be bringing in any Forward reinforcements this month so keeping his few Strking options fit and in form will be of key concern.
As for the result, I think Arsenal will overcome a tough test away at Stoke and return to London with all 3 points, if they do then it throws down a massive marker to their title rivals and shows that maybe this Arsenal side is in for the title race long haul. An away win for me
