Arsenal earned their first home win of the season by claiming a 2-0 victory over Stoke City at the Emirates.
The Gunners wasted a number of early chances before Theo Walcott opened the scoring with a composed finish after being played through by Mesut Ozil.
Jack Butland then made a string of saves to keep Stoke in the contest, but with five minutes left to play Olivier Giroud headed in Santi Cazorla's free kick to seal the points.
Find out how the action unfolded below.
Hello everyone! The Premier League is back in action following the recent international break and there are some great looking games this weekend. Here, our focus will be on the events taking place in North London as Arsenal welcome rivals Stoke City to the Emirates.
Emirates Stadium is ready for #AFCvSCFC. Are you? pic.twitter.com/bGILktKFWn
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) September 12, 2015
The Gunners have had a mixed start to the season, but they are unbeaten in three games and claimed a narrow victory over Newcastle United in their last match two weeks ago. However, their lack of goals has been questioned, and Arsene Wenger's decision not to sign any outfield players over the summer has also been heavily scrutinised by fans and pundits alike.
Meanwhile, Stoke have endured a miserable start to the campaign and are yet to win a league match. They have drawn two and lost two of their opening four league fixtures, and they finished with nine men in their last outing, which was a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to West Bromwich Albion.
With many players from each team representing their national sides over the last week, both managers would have been hoping that nobody picked up any injuries. Let's see if anyone has missed out today, as the team news has arrived from the Emirates!
ARSENAL XI: Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Sanchez, Walcott
STOKE XI: Butland, Bardsley, Cameron, Muniesa, Pieters, Whelan, Van Ginkel, Diouf, Shaqiri, Arnautovic, Joselu
ARSENAL SUBS: Ospina, Debuchy, Gibbs, Arteta, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Campbell, Giroud
STOKE SUBS: Given, Wollscheid, Wilson, Ireland, Sidwell, Bojan, Crouch
So, that's how the teams will be lining up this afternoon. Let's start with the Gunners, who have named Theo Walcott as their lone striker once again, with Olivier Giroud settling for a place on the bench. Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez will support him in the attack, while Gabriel Paulista retains his place in the defence, with Per Mertesacker missing out altogether.
Meanwhile, Stoke have made three changes to the side that were beaten by West Brom two weeks ago. Joselu and Marko Arnautovic are brought in for the suspended Charlie Adam and Ibrahim Afellay, while Phil Bardsley comes in at right back for the injured Glen Johnson.
Well, it hasn't quite been the start to the season that Arsenal and their fans would have imagined, but they are level on seven points with Manchester United and Liverpool after four rounds of games. The Gunners actually picked up just 11 points from their first eight matches last time around, which quickly ruined their hopes of challenging Chelsea for the title.
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With Manchester City already five points clear of them, they can't afford too many more slip ups, and Arsene Wenger will be hoping that their opening-day defeat against West Ham was just a blip. They recovered from that match to beat Crystal Palace, before playing out an entertaining goalless draw with Liverpool.
In their last outing before the international break they edged to a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United, thanks to Fabricio Coloccini's unfortunate own goal. However, the Magpies had played with 10 men for most of the game due to Aleksandar Mitrovic's early red card, and goalkeeper Tim Krul was rarely tested.
Arsenal have now scored just three goals in the league this season, and two of those have been own goals. Their only squad member who has scored is Olivier Giroud, who found the net with a well-taken volley against Palace, and after the Newcastle match a number of people called on the club to invest in a world-class striker.
Deadline day passed without Arsenal bringing in a new forward, or any new players, leaving Petr Cech as their only summer signing. It meant that the Gunners ended the transfer window as the only side in Europe's top five leagues not to sign an outfield player and has once again put Wenger under further pressure from the supporters.
Making the trip to the Emirates are a Stoke side who have also been unconvincing in the opening weeks of the season. In contrast to Arsenal, they made a host of signings during the summer, with Xherdan Shaqiri and Ibrahim Afellay probably the pick of the bunch.
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However, the new arrivals have failed to bring results on the pitch and the Potters currently sit 18th in the table after losing two and drawing two of their four games. They were unfortunate to lose in their opening league match of the season, as only a late stunner from Philippe Coutinho saw them beaten 1-0 by Liverpool.
In their next match they showed what they are capable of by fighting back from two goals down to earn a draw against Tottenham, thanks to late goals from Marko Arnautovic and Mame Biram Diouf. A draw against Norwich at Carrow Road followed a week later, before they returned to the Britannia to take on West Brom.
It turned out to be a day to forget, as within 31 minutes they were down to nine men after Ibrahim Afellay and Charlie Adam were shown straight red cards. Despite their best efforts, a header from Salomon Rondon saw the Baggies claim the points and leave them still waiting for a first win.
Even though they have started the season poorly, Mark Hughes will have known that it would have taken his team some time to gel due to the changes that they have made over the summer. The Potters didn't have the best of starts last term either, with just one win from their opening five games, but they finished in ninth place and with a record tally of 54 points.
We should be in for a highly competitive game today, as always seems to be the case whenever these two meet. A fierce rivalry has developed in recent years following the infamous clash between the teams five years ago, when Aaron Ramsey broke his leg in a challenge with Ryan Shawcross. There is no love lost between the fans, and some of that ill feeling may be in evidence today.
The two teams are out on the pitch and we are now just three minutes away from kick off at the Emirates. Don't forget that we have live coverage from all of the 3pm kick offs, as well as this evening's clash between Manchester United and Liverpool.
KICKOFF! We are underway at the Emirates!
CHANCE! Arsenal have started the match on the front foot and they really should be ahead. Cazorla floats a wonderful ball into the box that Sanchez rises to meet, but he sees his header brilliantly saved by Butland. The rebound then drops kindly to Walcott, but the England international blazes wide of the post from just a few yards out.
SAVE! Butland is going to be busy this afternoon judging by the early stages of this match and he makes another save here.Sanchez curls in a free kick from 25 yards out that is heading towards the corner, but Butland is across his line well to push the ball behind.
OFF THE POST! It's all Arsenal at the moment and Stoke just can't get anywhere near their forward players. Sanchez has been involved in all of their best moves, and he comes within inches of scoring with a low drive from inside the box that crashes against the post.
CHANCE! We may only be eight minutes into the game, but Arsenal could easily be two or three goals up by now. This time it's Walcott who threatens, as he is picked out inside the box by Bellerin, before powering a header just wide of the target.
SHOT! Hughes will surely be disappointed at how his team have started this afternoon and they have constantly given the ball away in some poor areas. Another bad clearance sees Walcott charge clear down the left, before cutting inside past Cameron, and firing in a low strike that goes straight into the hands of Butland.
Arsenal have been exceptional in the opening stages of this match, but they have been unable to turn their pressure into goals. They look full of confidence going forward and are linking up well in the final third, but the fans will soon become impatient if they fail to break the deadlock.
Stoke seem to have settled into the contest in the past few minutes and they are closing down their opponents much quicker. They are still struggling to hold onto the ball, with the Gunners seeing almost 70% of the possession so far.
The Gunners were moving the ball about so well in the first 10 minutes of the match, but the tempo has dropped considerably since then. An early goal really would have boosted their confidence, and possibly opened the floodgates after failing to score at the Emirates so far this campaign.
SHOT! Out of nowhere Arsenal almost take the lead as Koscielny strides forward from inside his own half and is not shut down. He gets within range of goal and fires in a powerful drive that forces Butland to dive across his line and tip the ball behind.
SAVE! Butland is turning out to be the hero for Stoke this afternoon as he makes another important stop. This time he is well placed to block a snap-shot from Cazorla, with his defenders managing to scramble the ball to safety.
It's wave after wave of Arsenal attacks at the moment and the pressure is unrelenting. You just wonder how long Stoke will be able to hang on, as the Gunners are still knocking on the door.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Stoke (Theo Walcott)
Arsenal finally make their pressure count by taking the lead thanks to a goal from Walcott. The England international latches onto a ball over the top from Ozil and gets in behind the defence, before clipping a neat finish into the corner and past Butland.
SAVE! Joseulu has Stoke's first effort on goal of the afternoon as he is found by Arnautovic before firing in a low drive. However, the shot was far too close to Cech, who had no problems in making the save.
Since conceding, the Potters have started to come out of their own half more and are trying to press higher up the pitch. While they look more of an attacking threat, they are leaving a lot of space for Arsenal to exploit, and Walcott has shown that he has the devastating pace to exploit them.
YELLOW CARD! Ozil picks up the first booking of the match for a foul on Pieters. There really wasn't much in the challenge though, and the German can consider himself unfortunate to be shown a card.
You get the feeling that there are more goals in this match, and Arsenal are pushing for a second before the break. They are still dominating possession and getting into some great attacking positions, with Cazorla showing some inspired touches in the midfield.
There is going to be just one minute added on before the break.
HALF-TIME: Arsenal 1-0 Stoke
We've reached the halfway stage of today's match at the Emirates and Arsenal are in front against Stoke. Theo Walcott's well-taken goal is what separates the teams, but in truth the Gunners could, and probably should, be out of sight by now.
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The statistics from the opening 45 minutes just sum up how one-sided this match has been. Arsenal have seen a huge 73% of the possession and have had 13 shots on goal, with six finding the target. The Potters have mustered just three attempts, with none of their strikes causing Petr Cech any problems.
There have actually been just two goals scored in the Premier League this afternoon, with Cameron Jerome finding the net for Norwich against Bournemouth, to add to Theo Walcott's goal at the Emirates. It's goalless everywhere else, with leaders Manchester City being held by Crystal Palace.
RESTART! The Gunners kick off the second half and get the match back underway.
It's still Arsenal who are in charge in the early moments of the second half. They haven't yet been able to get in behind the Stoke defence and test Butland, but they are looking confident and composed as ever on the ball.
A wonderful move from Arsenal sees Monreal slipped in down the left and he has space ahead of him. He then looks up and whips in a teasing low cross that Walcott tries to get on the end of, but Muniesa is back to make a vital block and turned the ball behind.
CHANCE! Another good chance goes begging for Arsenal with the finish letting them down again. Sanchez shows great skill to come in from the left, before finding Ozil on the edge of the box. The German then slides it into the path of Ramsey, who has a free shot on goal, but he completely mishits the ball and it goes well wide of the post.
SAVE! Stoke are not out of this match yet and Shaqiri serves the Gunners a timely reminder of their threat. The Swiss gets onto a poor clearance from Koscielny and fires in a low drive from a tight angle that Cech manages to block at his near post.
SUB! Stoke are making the first change of the match, with Ireland coming on for Joselu.
Stoke are showing some encouraging signs and they are putting Arsenal under real pressure for the first time in the match. Shaqiri is heavily involved in their attacking play and the Swiss sees two more efforts well blocked by Koscielny as they press for an equaliser.
SHOT! The Potters are on the attack again and moments after Diouf sees his appeals for a penalty turned down, Bardsley fires in a low strike from range. However, there was never enough power to seriously trouble Cech, who gets everything behind the ball and comfortably holds on.
SHOT! Down the other end of the pitch Arsenal break quickly with Ozil getting clear down the left. The German then decides to go for a strike from a tight angle and his powerful effort takes a slight deflection off Bardsley before crashing into the side netting.
SHOT! You wouldn't expect Walcott to be scoring too many goals with his head, but he has another great chance here. He is found again by Bellerin in plenty of space, but he doesn't make clean contact with the ball and sees his weak header stopped easily by Butland.
SAVE! If it wasn't for Butland then Arsenal could easily have scored four or five goals today. The keeper shows his quality again as he stands firm at his front post to deny Ozil, who in truth should have done better with the shot.
SAVE! How many more times this afternoon am I going to mention Butland? Walcott is slipped into the box and looks odds on to score his second of the match, but the keeper is quickly off his line to stop his international teammate's low strike from point-blank range.
There haven't been many unsavoury incidents this afternoon, but the first real flashpoint sees Arnautovic go down holding his face after colliding with Gabriel. There didn't seem to be any malice in the challenge and it appeared to be the Stoke player who made contact first.
SUBS! Both teams are going to make a change, with Stoke bringing Bojan on for Diouf and Arsenal replacing Walcott with Giroud.
MISS! Giroud has been on for less than a minute but he should have found the net. He latches onto a kind deflection inside the box after Stoke struggle to clear the ball, but with just Butland to beat, he drags his effort wide of the far post.
CHANCE! It still won't go in for Arsenal in the second half as another big chance goes begging. Cazorla does well to evade a number of challenges, before he reaches the edge of the box and drills in a low drive that has Butland beaten, but goes inches wide of the post.
We're into the final 10 minutes now and there is a huge amount of anxiety around the ground. The Gunners have dominated all afternoon and have had 27 shots on goal so far, but with such a slender lead there are bound to be some nerves on the pitch.
YELLOW CARD! Bardsley is the first Stoke player to be shown a card for a tough challenge on Sanchez.
SUB! It's a double change for the Gunners, with Oxlade Chamberlain and Arteta coming on to replace Ozil and Sanchez.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Stoke (Olivier Giroud)
For so long Arsenal have struggled to score a second goal, but they have made the game safe with five minutes left to play. It's a simple finish for Giroud, who rises highest inside the box to meet Cazorla's free kick, before powering a header into the corner that leaves the keeper with no chance.
SHOT! This would have made the final minutes interesting, as Bojan fires in a powerful strike from range that swerves just wide of the post. Cech had that one covered all the way, but it would have been a great moment for the Spaniard on his return from injury.
SAVE! It's almost a third goal for Arsenal as another free kick from Cazorla is not dealt with by Stoke and is met by Koscielny. His header looks bound for the corner, but Butland springs across his line to make a superb one-handed save.
There are going to be at least three minutes of stoppage time.
MISS! The Gunners have another chance to add to their lead, when Bellerin is slipped in down the right, before playing a low ball across the box. Giroud gets in front of Pieters to meet it, but he can only send the ball wide of the post, but the Frenchman did look to be having his shirt tugged.
FULL-TIME: Arsenal 2-0 Stoke
It's all over at the Emirates, as Arsenal claim their first home win of the season. Goals from Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud gave them the points, but it could have been much more if Jack Butland hadn't of been in such inspired form.
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Right, that's just about all we've got time for in North London. We've got more live action this evening, as Manchester United take on bitter rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford. You can find coverage of that game right here. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend. Goodbye!
Written by
Alex Meyers
Alex Meyers
