Arsenal must add purpose to possession - Three takeaways from their 1-0 defeat at Stoke City

Aditya Devavrat 23:53 19/08/2017
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  • Stoke City away has always been a bogey game for Arsenal, but the Gunners seemed to have broken that hoodoo with a resounding 4-1 win at the bet365 Stadium last season.

    However, on Saturday, they came away from yet another trip to Stoke in disappointment, as Jese Rodriguez’s debut goal condemned Arsene Wenger’s side to a 1-0 defeat.

    Here are three takeaways from the game.

    ARSENAL NEED TO MAKE POSSESSION COUNT

    Arsenal had 77.3% possession on Saturday – the highest they’ve had in a league game since that stat started being recorded. Yet, they rarely looked like scoring.

    Alexandre Lacazette had a goal chalked off for the tightest of offside calls and Olivier Giroud missed a late header, but other than that, Stoke’s goal was hardly threatened.

    Lacazette was touted as the perfect striker for Mesut Ozil, with his movement and runs behind the opposition defence, but on Saturday he was shackled, which meant that the German was yet again unable to affect the game the way he would like, despite his best efforts.

    JESE LOOKS READY FOR THE PREMIER LEAGUE

    It’s only one game, but Jese showed that he should be well-suited for life in the Premier League. He was full of running throughout, showed the desire and fight to stick to Stoke’s defensive gameplan, and when his chance came, he took it with aplomb.

    Jese has all the attributes to succeed in England and the fact that he scored on debut will add the one thing strikers need most: confidence.

    ARSENAL NEED SANCHEZ BACK SOON

    It goes without saying that Arsenal are missing one of their best players. Whether Alexis Sanchez is genuinely not fit to play or it’s simply a case of a wantaway player doing his best to get the desired transfer, Arsenal need the situation to be resolved soon.

    The club have made it clear they’re not selling their Chilean talisman, which means they need to get him on the pitch sooner rather than later. Danny Welbeck has had a couple of decent outings to start the season, but pairing Lacazette with Sanchez will make Arsenal that much more dangerous, and will also get the best out of Ozil.

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