Gunners hotshot is a flipping marvel
PIERRE-EMERICK Aubameyang rode to the rescue for Arsenal just when it looked like being the Europa League or bust.
With big names on the bench and his side struggling against desperate Stoke, Aubameyang kept his cool from the spot to keep Arsenal hanging on the coat-tails of the teams above them.
The penalty which opened the floodgates was hugely controversial, with Bruno Martins Indi appearing to win the ball before Mesut Ozil went down.
But it didn’t matter to Aubameyang, who scored to make it five goals in seven games since signing from Borussia Dortmund in a club record £56m January deal.
He now has 26 this season, and when Alexandre Lacazette got in on the action with a penalty of his own – this one free of controversy – it was suddenly four wins in a row for the Gunners.
So Arsenal still have some hope of a top-four finish but surely their best route back to Europe’s top table lies elsewhere.
CSKA Moscow visit the Emirates this Thursday for the first leg of a Europa League quarter-final and that competition looks by far their best route back to the Champions League.
Poor Stoke. For much of the game they had looked the better side but they have not won at Arsenal since 1981 and relegation now looks even more likely.
They are three points adrift, have failed to register a victory in eight matches and played a game more than many of their rivals.
Both teams were desperate for the points for very different reasons. But only one showed up for the first 20 minutes.
It was all Stoke with Arsenal misplacing passes and second best all over the pitch.
Joe Allen crunched into an early tackle, Moritz Bauer’s shot was blocked and Xherdan Shaqiri’s follow-up flew wide.
It should have been a wake-up call for the Gunners but it wasn’t. Rarely have a Potters team had the freedom of the Emirates the way they did in the opening to this game.
There was a greater urgency about Stoke’s play in the early stages. By contrast, Arsenal looked sloppy and lethargic.
A mistake from England hopeful Jack Butland, who fumbled a lob from Jack Wilshere, let in Aaron Ramsey but his first-time effort skimmed the bar.
Wilshere, back from the knee injury which wrecked his England call-up, wore the captain’s armband with Laurent Koscielny rested and Petr Cech out with a groin injury.
But there were boos at half-time from the unimpressed home fans as the two teams trudged off having managed just one shot on target between them.
When Arsenal finally got going Mo Elneny had a shot blocked and Nacho Monreal’s follow-up was saved by Butland.
Shaqiri gave the home side a fright when his inswinging corner completely fooled David Ospina and struck the far post. Aubameyang should have broken the deadlock when Ozil played him clean through at the other end only for Butland to block his shot.
Calum Chambers should have done better when he nudged the ball into Butland’s hands from a few yards out after Monreal had flicked on a corner.
Then came the controversy.
Martins Indi stabbed at the ball in the box and down went Ozil. Referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot and Aubameyang swept home the penalty.
Stoke protested long and hard as Martins Indi clearly touched the ball and any contact seemed to come afterwards when Ozil kicked the defender’s foot.
It was harsh on the visitors and if VAR had been available Pawson may have reversed his decision.
But once the goal went in, Stoke collapsed.
Aubameyang made it two with a brilliant volley from a corner shortly afterwards.
And when Badou Ndiaye bundled over substitute Lacazette in the box, the Frenchman stepped up to stroke home Arsenal’s second penalty of the game. ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Ospina 6; Bellerin 6, Mustafi 6, Chambers 6, Monreal 6; Elneny 6 (Xhaka 76), Ramsey 6; Ozil 6, Wilshere 6 (Mkhitaryan 76), Welbeck 6 (Lacazette 61, 7); AUBAMEYANG 8. Subs: Koscielny, Iwobi, Kolasinac, Macey. UP NEXT: CSKA Moscow (h), Europa League, Thursday. STOKE (4-2-3-1): Butland 6; Johnson 6, Indi 5, Shawcross 6, Pieters 6; Allen 6, Ndiaye 5; Bauer 6, SHAQIRI 7, Sobhi 5 (Crouch 80); Diouf 4 (Berahino 61, 6). Subs: Ireland, Cameron, Haugaard, Campbell, Sorensen. UP NEXT: Tottenham (h), Premier League, Saturday. Referee: Craig Pawson 5. YOUR TURN: Who scored in both Arsenal wins against Stoke last season, 4-1 away and 3-1 at home?