A disappointing evening...

As an Arsenal fan I was gutted that we could't beat Stoke , getting multiple penalty decisions against us and it would've been excellent to beat the fans that boo Aaron Ramsey for getting his leg broken. But hey, you can't win every game. Now for a bigger challenge, to write an unbiased match report...

The question is often posed, can you do it on a cold rainy night in Stoke? Unfortunately for Arsenal, they couldn't. In a game where Arsenal bossed possession having 77% of the ball, the most they've had in a game since the 2003/04 season, they didn't have the cutting edge, but when they did, they failed to take their chances with left wing-back for the day Hector Bellerin and Danny Welbeck being the two main culprits.

After a very bright and even start from the two teams, it was Arsenal who began to take control. Stoke however with Jese, Choupo-Moting and Shaqiri, who ended up going off injured for Berahino, were very dangerous on the counter attack. We got the first sight of this with new signing from West Brom Darren Fletcher finding debutant Jese who scooped the ball over an incoming Mustafi, only for it to be saved by Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal for the day.

For the remainder of the half it was all Arsenal with a few attacks from Stoke. However the few chances that were being created were only half chances with Ramsey putting a weak shot at Butland after good defending from Chelsea loanee Kurt Zouma and Welbeck putting a volley straight at Butland. But Arsenal did manage to create a half decent chance before the break as a freekick from Oxlade-Chamberlain was met by Ramsey at the back post only for Butland to  once again deny the gunners. A set piece routine that had clearly been worked on in training.

As the half came near to an end, you could see Arsenal starting to exploit little balls over the Stoke defence as they couldn't deal with the pace in behind. Unfortunately, the chances being created, were being wasted. However the first controversial call of the day came when Bellerin was put through by one of the lobbed balls only to be taken out by a slipping Diouf, no penalty. A decision that turned out to be incorrect to the anger of the Arsenal fans. It wasn't the last call the referee got wrong either...

The second half seemed to follow the pattern of the first with Arsenal attacking and Stoke defending, but that also meant Stoke counter attacks. When Xhaka gave it away sloppily in midfield, Stoke pounced and Berahino found Jese who calmly slotted past Cech with his weaker left foot.

From then on, Stoke just sat back, and defended admirably. However they did get their slices of luck...

Bringing on Giroud changed the game for Arsenal as Stoke struggled to contain his cheeky flicks through to Welbeck and Lacazette. After a lovely Giroud pass, Welbeck was through, only for his shot to be saved by Butland. However on review Arsenal were denied a penalty as Kurt Zouma caught Welbeck's shooting leg causing him to drag his shot. Then after another Giroud flick, putting Lacazette through, he smashed it home, as you'd expect from Arsenal's record signing. But the linesman called offside. And replays showed it was probably one of the tightest calls you'll ever see. As it was correct, it went down as an incredible decision. But not everybody was convinced with some, like Match of the day pundit Jermaine Jenas, saying the linesman got lucky.

And there ended a very frustrating evening for the Gunners, but an evening of delight for the Potters. However there will be extra delight for Stoke as after the incident between Aaron Ramsey and Ryan Shawcross, this has always been Stoke's derby for the season, sot they'll take extra pride from this result.

MOTM: Jese

After scoring what ended up being the crucial goal, Jese was a vital part of the Stoke win being a constant threat throughout, and he certainly didn't give Mustafi a happy welcome back. Stoke manager Mark Hughes will surely be delighted with his new signing and will hope it'll be a sign of things to come from the debutant.