Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has claimed that his side are now better equipped to travel to the Britannia Stadium to face an in-form Stoke City, after recollections of the disappointing defeat to the Potters away from home last time around were brought up.
It has a hugely underwhelming trip up to Stoke last time round for Arsenal, as goals from Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey in the second half were not enough to cancel Stoke’s blitz of strikes in the first half as Mark Hughes’ men ran out as 3-2 victors over the title hopefuls.
However, just over a year on, Arsenal are looking to take revenge on a hugely improved Stoke team to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Wenger believes Arsenal now have the ability to ‘deal with’ the vastly different Stoke atmosphere, as reported by the club’s official website.
Last year we went to Stoke with a very young defence – we had Bellerin, Chambers, Martinez – and at the start of the game we got caught. Over the years they had a very efficient, traditional English style which nobody liked to play against and it is as well a very windy stadium. And let’s not forget for years they had that narrow pitch where every throw-in beyond halfway was a corner when Rory Delap played.
Despite being wary of Stoke’s formidable attacking threat, Wenger remained hopeful and optimistic regarding his side’s chances against the Potters.
I think [the squad] feels stronger. It is always a test at Stoke and I believe our record goes against us, but it is interesting as well because it is also a mental test to show we have moved forward and that we can deal with what they offer.
I feel the feeling that the team moved forward in 2015. We have stabilised the results and got some consistency and the biggest challenge was to win the big games. That makes you feel stronger when you are fighting for the Premier League title. We have beaten United and City recently so we can do very well.
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