Arsenal picked up their first victory at the Emirates Stadium this season with a dominant 2-0 win over Stoke City, where the result never looked in doubt.
Theo Walcott gave the hosts a first-half lead after Mesut Ozil’s fantastic long pass sent him clear on goal and Olivier Giroud came off the bench to seal the result, heading home Santi Cazorla’s inch-perfect free-kick delivery.
Arsenal started the game in impressive fashion as Alexis Sanchez’ header forced Jack Butland to palm the ball onto his own post but Theo Walcott put the rebound wide of the goal. Alexis was in on the action again as his free-kick forced Butland into action again, before the Chilean struck the post once again.
Walcott then headed a Hector Bellerin cross over the bar before Laurent Koscielny struck an effort from distance, with it beginning to look like it could be one of those days for Arsene Wenger’s side.
However the breakthrough finally came shortly after the half hour mark. Francis Coquelin won possession for Mesut Ozil, with the German lofting a superb ball over the top of the Stoke defence to Theo Walcott; who netted his first goal of the season.
Arsenal’s dominance continued into the second-half but Stoke fired some warning shots, with Xherdan Shaqiri testing Petr Cech with a low-drive from a tight angle; which was an easy save for the veteran, making his 500th appearance in English football.
Walcott couldn’t get the required connection to a Bellerin cross as Arsenal pushed for a second, with Ozil then forcing Butland into another fine save. Gabriel Paulista was fortunate to get away with swinging an arm at Marko Arnautovic at the other end, which may be looked at after the game.
Olivier Giroud came on for the final 15 minutes and his struggles continued with his first chance, as he dragged an effort wide of the goal after being gifted the opportunity by the Stoke defence. However, he soon made up for that error as he headed home Cazorla’s perfect delivery to seal the victory.
Koscielny came close shortly after with another header from a Cazorla free-kick but the work was done for Arsenal, who now face a busy week away at Dynamo Kiev before next weekend’s London derby against struggling Chelsea.
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