Stoke 1-1 Arsenal

Arsenal moved closer to securing third place in the Premier League despite being held to a draw at Stoke.

The Gunners fell behind when Peter Crouch headed a Matthew Etherington cross into the bottom corner.

Wenger makes Arsenal penalty claim

The visitors quickly responded with Tomas Rosicky's inviting cross being guided in by Robin van Persie.

Arsenal's Yossi Benayoun had appeals for a late penalty waved away after a Glenn Whelan challenge as both teams settled for a point.

Arsene Wenger's Arsenal can finish third if they beat Norwich and West Brom in the final two games as the significance of a top three spot has increased with Chelsea's progress to the Champions League final in Munich on 19 May.

If Chelsea finish outside the Premier League top four and win in Germany then fourth place in the top flight will have to make do with a spot in the Europa League.

Analysis

Image of Steve Wilson Steve Wilson BBC Match of the Day commentator

Arsenal come away from the Britannia Stadium with a point which is more than they often leave Stoke with. A game that was highly competitive, played with a good tempo and highly-charged.

With such high stakes, Stoke would have been one of the last places Wenger's side would have wanted to visit.

The aesthetic football of Arsenal has regularly struggled to flourish at the Britannia Stadium with the Gunners having lost three of their last four games against the muscle of Stoke going into the match.

This time around, Arsenal displayed plenty of intent and industry as they combined the style of their football with the substance they are often criticised for lacking.

The Potters had quickly started to employ the tactics that have proved successful in the past as they pressed Arsenal and tested the resolve of the Gunners defence with some searching aerial balls.

Pulis salutes Stoke 'spirit'

The visitors seemed ready for the challenge though and Arsenal carved out two early chances, with Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic saving from Benayoun and excellently palming a Van Persie header round the post.

But Stoke still took the lead in trademark style as Etherington's cross was nodded in by Crouch, his seventh Premier League goal against the Gunners.

The lead lasted six minutes before Benayoun tenaciously won possession and found Rosicky, who crossed for Van Persie to sidefoot in for his 28th league goal of the campaign.

Gervinho then failed to get his head on a Bacary Sagna cross as Stoke's 53rd game of the season appeared to be taking its toll.

Did you know?

  • Stoke have not been beaten by Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City and Tottenham at home in the league this season.

Stoke regrouped and regained their composure at the half-time interval and chances were at a premium thereafter.

The main moment of controversy from the game arose late on when Benayoun went down in the box after a Whelan challenge. While Arsenal will claim a barge, Stoke will argue the Arsenal midfielder went down too easily.

Stoke threatened in the final minutes when a Rory Delap long throw caused concern in the Arsenal box before Sagna hooked away the danger from his goalmouth.

Lineup, Bookings (3) & Substitutions (6)

Stoke City

  • 01 Begovic
  • 04 Huth
  • 17 Shawcross
  • 30 Shotton (Upson - 55' )
  • 06 Whelan
  • 12 Wilson
  • 16 Pennant (Jerome - 78' )
  • 18 Whitehead Booked
  • 26 Etherington (Delap - 84' )
  • 19 Walters
  • 25 Crouch

Substitutes

  • 29 Sorensen
  • 20 Upson
  • 24 Delap
  • 40 Palacios
  • 09 Jones
  • 10 Fuller
  • 33 Jerome

Arsenal

  • 13 Szczesny
  • 03 Sagna
  • 05 Vermaelen
  • 06 Koscielny
  • 28 Gibbs
  • 07 Rosicky
  • 16 Ramsey (Diaby - 73' )
  • 17 Song Booked
  • 30 Benayoun Booked (Santos - 83' )
  • 10 Van Persie
  • 27 Gervinho (Chamakh - 78' )

Substitutes

  • 21 Fabianski
  • 11 Santos
  • 18 Squillaci
  • 02 Diaby
  • 15 Oxlade-Chamberlain
  • 39 Coquelin
  • 29 Chamakh
Ref: Foy
Att: 27,502

Match Stats

Shots

6 17

On target

4 10

Corners

2 6

Fouls

8 10

Live Text Commentary

90:00 +4:34 Full time

Full Time The referee blows his whistle to end the game.

90:00 +4:05

Corner from the left by-line taken by Tomas Rosicky, clearance by Ryan Shawcross.

90:00 +2:43

Laurent Koscielny challenges Dean Whitehead unfairly and gives away a free kick. Marc Wilson takes the direct free kick.

90:00 +2:15

Corner taken by Tomas Rosicky from the left by-line, clearance made by Ryan Shawcross.

90:00 +1:41

Effort from inside the area by Jonathan Walters misses to the right of the goal.

90:00 +0:53

Peter Crouch takes a shot. Blocked by Thomas Vermaelen.

88:05

Matthew Upson gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Robin van Persie. Free kick taken by Robin van Persie. Thomas Vermaelen has an effort at goal from outside the penalty area which goes wide right of the goal.

87:33

Cameron Jerome concedes a free kick for a foul on Alex Song. Kieran Gibbs takes the free kick.

86:37

Kieran Gibbs delivers the ball, Matthew Upson makes a clearance. Bacary Sagna takes a shot. Save made by Asmir Begovic.

85:52

Foul by Ryan Shawcross on Clarindo Andre Santos, free kick awarded. Clarindo Andre Santos takes the direct free kick.

83:15 Substitution

Substitution Matthew Etherington goes off and Rory Delap comes on.

82:09

Free kick taken by Wojciech Szczesny.

82:09 Substitution

Substitution (Arsenal) makes a substitution, with Clarindo Andre Santos coming on for Yossi Benayoun.

82:09

Robert Huth challenges Yossi Benayoun unfairly and gives away a free kick.

81:54

Cameron Jerome takes a shot. Save made by Wojciech Szczesny.

80:48

Jonathan Walters produces a cross, save by Wojciech Szczesny.

80:08

Vassiriki Diaby challenges Cameron Jerome unfairly and gives away a free kick. Matthew Upson restarts play with the free kick.

80:08

Vassiriki Diaby gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Cameron Jerome. Matthew Upson restarts play with the free kick.

79:39

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Tomas Rosicky by Marc Wilson. Free kick taken by Laurent Koscielny.

76:58 Substitution

Substitution Marouane Chamakh comes on in place of Yao Gervinho.

76:58 Substitution

Substitution Cameron Jerome on for Jermaine Pennant.

76:58

The ball is delivered by Marc Wilson.

75:51

Unfair challenge on Jermaine Pennant by Alex Song results in a free kick. Asmir Begovic restarts play with the free kick.

75:14

The ball is delivered by Alex Song, clearance made by Matthew Upson. Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Robin van Persie from the right by-line to the near post, clearance by Peter Crouch.

74:29

Corner taken left-footed by Robin van Persie from the right by-line to the near post, clearance by Robert Huth.

72:14 Substitution

Substitution Vassiriki Diaby joins the action as a substitute, replacing Aaron Ramsey.

72:14

Aaron Ramsey has an effort at goal from just outside the area which goes wide of the left-hand post.

70:24

Glenn Whelan concedes a free kick for a foul on Thomas Vermaelen. Robin van Persie produces a shot on goal direct from the free kick. Thomas Vermaelen takes a shot. Blocked by Glenn Whelan.

67:22

Dean Whitehead takes a shot. Aaron Ramsey gets a block in. Corner taken by Jermaine Pennant, clearance made by Robin van Persie.

66:52

Matthew Upson takes the direct free kick.

66:52 Booking

Booking Alex Song is cautioned.

66:42

Matthew Etherington fouled by Alex Song, the ref awards a free kick.

64:15

The ball is delivered by Robert Huth, clearance made by Laurent Koscielny.

63:42

Kieran Gibbs takes a shot. Blocked by Dean Whitehead.

62:12

Robert Huth takes the direct free kick.

62:12 Booking

Booking Yossi Benayoun is given a yellow card.

61:58

Jermaine Pennant fouled by Yossi Benayoun, the ref awards a free kick.

61:06

Centre by Jermaine Pennant, Thomas Vermaelen gets a block in.

54:36 Substitution

Substitution Matthew Upson comes on in place of Ryan Shotton.

54:36

Thomas Vermaelen produces a right-footed shot from just outside the penalty area that goes harmlessly over the target.

49:54

The ball is delivered by Bacary Sagna, Robin van Persie takes a shot. Asmir Begovic makes a save.

48:48

Centre by Jermaine Pennant, Wojciech Szczesny makes a save.

48:41

Matthew Etherington sends in a cross, save by Wojciech Szczesny.

48:15

A cross is delivered by Jermaine Pennant, clearance by Bacary Sagna.

46:24

Robin van Persie takes a shot. Blocked by Robert Huth. Shot from just outside the area by Yao Gervinho goes over the bar.

45:36

Jermaine Pennant crosses the ball.

45:01

The match restarts for the second half.

10:59

Short corner worked by Tomas Rosicky.

45:00 +1:12 Half time

Half Time The whistle is blown to end the first half.

45:00 +0:09

The offside flag is raised against Robin van Persie. Asmir Begovic takes the free kick.

44:20

Robert Huth produces a right-footed shot from long range which goes wide right of the target.

42:32

Unfair challenge on Ryan Shotton by Robin van Persie results in a free kick. Jermaine Pennant crosses the ball in from the free kick, Laurent Koscielny makes a clearance. Corner taken left-footed by Matthew Etherington from the right by-line, save by Wojciech Szczesny.

40:58

Tomas Rosicky produces a cross, comfortable save by Asmir Begovic.

40:24

Unfair challenge on Peter Crouch by Alex Song results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Robert Huth.

38:28

The official flags Peter Crouch offside. Free kick taken by Wojciech Szczesny.

37:36

Yossi Benayoun gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Peter Crouch. Jermaine Pennant crosses the ball in from the free kick.

34:46

The referee blows for offside against Robin van Persie. Asmir Begovic takes the free kick.

28:06

Free kick awarded for a foul by Alex Song on Peter Crouch. Free kick taken by Ryan Shawcross.

25:50

The assistant referee flags for offside against Peter Crouch. Wojciech Szczesny takes the indirect free kick.

25:35

A cross is delivered by Jermaine Pennant, clearance made by Thomas Vermaelen.

21:39

Shot on goal by Yao Gervinho from inside the box goes harmlessly over the target.

19:28

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Yao Gervinho by Marc Wilson. The ball is sent over by Robin van Persie, Close range header by Laurent Koscielny goes over the crossbar.

19:06

Robin van Persie takes a shot. Blocked by Robert Huth.

18:48

Bacary Sagna delivers the ball.

14:22

Assist on the goal came from Tomas Rosicky.

14:22 Goal scored

Goal - Robin van Persie - Stoke 1 - 1 Arsenal Robin van Persie finds the back of the net with a goal from inside the six-yard box low into the middle of the goal. Stoke 1-1 Arsenal.

14:21

Centre by Tomas Rosicky,

13:33

The offside flag is raised against Jonathan Walters. Thomas Vermaelen restarts play with the free kick.

12:45

Aaron Ramsey has an effort at goal from just outside the box which goes wide of the left-hand upright.

10:59

Corner taken short by Tomas Rosicky.

10:54

The ball is crossed by Kieran Gibbs, Robert Huth manages to make a clearance.

9:00

Assist on the goal came from Matthew Etherington.

9:00 Goal scored

Goal - Peter Crouch - Stoke 1 - 0 Arsenal Peter Crouch scores a headed goal from deep inside the penalty area. Stoke 1-0 Arsenal.

9:00

The ball is delivered by Matthew Etherington,

7:38

The ball is swung over by Tomas Rosicky, Robin van Persie takes a shot. Save by Asmir Begovic. Robin van Persie takes the inswinging corner, clearance by Robert Huth.

5:44

Yossi Benayoun takes a shot. Asmir Begovic makes a save.

5:17

Peter Crouch is caught offside. Free kick taken by Wojciech Szczesny.

4:23

The offside flag is raised against Jermaine Pennant. Free kick taken by Wojciech Szczesny.

3:47

Foul by Alex Song on Jermaine Pennant, free kick awarded. Robert Huth restarts play with the free kick.

2:59

Aaron Ramsey takes the direct free kick.

2:59 Booking

Booking Dean Whitehead receives a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.

2:37

Unfair challenge on Alex Song by Dean Whitehead results in a free kick.

1:04

Dean Whitehead crosses the ball, Thomas Vermaelen manages to make a clearance.

0:00

The match has kicked off.

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