All Stoked Up
Fansided

Stoke City vs. Arsenal FC: What you should watch for

By Matthew Nelson

STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Peter Crouch of Stoke City scores his sides first goal past Petr Cech of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Stoke City and Arsenal at Bet365 Stadium on May 13, 2017 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
STOKE ON TRENT, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Peter Crouch of Stoke City scores his sides first goal past Petr Cech of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Stoke City and Arsenal at Bet365 Stadium on May 13, 2017 in Stoke on Trent, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Stoke City will look to pick up their first result of the season as Arsenal travel to bet365 Stadium for the second game of the Premier League season.

After losing to Everton on opening day, the Potters will look to get their first result of the season against Arsenal, who beat Leicester City 4-3 on opening day. At first glance, Arsenal look to be the favorites in this match but with a deeper inspection, they may not be as big of favorites as many people would think.

Though the Gunners got the three points last weekend, Arsenal looked very shaky in the back after being forced to play Monreal and Holding as two of the three starting center backs with injuries to Mertesacker and Mustafi and a suspension for Koscielny. This forced switch caused many problems for the Gunners’ backline, leading to a few sloppy giveaways, gifting Leceister golden opportunities. With Mertesacker and Mustafi still doubtful ahead Saturday’s match and Koscielny still on suspension, Stoke might be handed some great opportunities from defensive errors.

With that in mind, Stoke City has on their hands a new toy, Jesé Rodriguez. Mark Hughes has said that Jesé is in his plans for the match, which means he could either start or, the more likely of the two, come off the bench. Regardless of when he comes on the field, Jesé’s spark and energy up top could prove to be a thorn in the Gunners’ sides who, if they play like they did against Leicester, could give Jesé some opportunities late in the game.

Stoke’s backline, with the exception of losing track of Rooney’s run coming out of the midfield, looked strong against Everton last weekend, which could prove important against Arsenal’s new signing Lacazette up top. If the Potters hold up defensively, the biggest test for them will be how they deal with super sub Olivier Giroud, who came on and scored a huge game winning goal against Leicester City.

Next: Former Stoke defender is optimistic about this season

That match will be a big test for the Potters as they look to pick up their first points of the season.

For all your Stoke City news and analysis, follow @AllStokedUpFS on Twitter.