Gossips, rumours and all kind of machineries and plots will be the main talk for the following three months. Here at Deviations we will always keep you posted and debriefed as the season comes close to mid July to see the formal kick off of preseason. Regarding the main topic of our post, the Gunners confidently won against their tormentors that earlier this season won two-one at Brittania Stadium. If you remember, dear reader, Rory Delap made his famous throw-ins to earn the Potters the home victory. This time at Ashburton Grove things resulted quite differently as the home side rose above level in the first half to give the shaky atmosphere (Regarding the stay of Wenger) the season finale worth of a team of this magnitude. All we can do is wait until next July 18 (one day past my birthday) when Arsenal face Barnet in the first preseason match.
It has been a tough but delightful year and as always I would like to thank you, dear reader, for your preference. Jav's Arsenal Awards 2008/2009 edition will eventually come along with the full coverage of UEFA U-21 championship, Gold Cup, Confederations Cup and World Cup Qualifiers. At least a taste of some football will come to us in what promises to be a long summer regarding transfer speculations.
Fortunately enough Arsene decided to play an alternative side, mainly because of a lack of firepower due to injuries. At least the manager decided to put more attention to the last game of the season, which in previous years had not been one of the most necessary tradition. And the early higlights were brought up by Denilson; a volley at 10' that became a corner. In that particular corner kick Cesc crossed, after a combination with van Persie, and Beattie wrongly netted against his team.
Five minutes later, the Dutchman fabricated one of that plays that suddenly inspire teengaers to become footballers: with a lovely back flick he tricked two defenders, just to be thrown by the second to give Arsenal a kick from the spot. And as if it were not enogh suffering for the Potters, on the pitch and the few brave who made the travel, Abou Diaby headed three minutes past van Persie' goal. The service, from the right, was half goal and the other half can be attributed to Stoke's defense. Stoke had to replace Simonsen for Sorensen due to an alleged hip injury. Manone's calm evening came along with Beattie futile spot attempt but was spoilt by the penalty that Fuller converted later on, in the 30th minute.
Robin van Persie could have made the gap wider with a freekick on the bar the following minute and Arshavin too but Sorensen's determination kept the ball off the mark. The Londoners kept track of Stoke efforts and nearly scored through Diaby and Arshavin but it was again van Persie who put the final touch of defeat in Stoke's face, when Rory Delap mistakenly headed the ball towards the Dutchman who, with a lovely chest control, finished bottom corner. The final minutes were a nightmare for the Potters who supported the siege kept by the young guns.
If anyone thought that an onslaught was supposed to take place in the following forty five minutes, a sea of tranquility saw the Gunners cover their current quota of goals to end the season in a swift fashion. From the beginning through the 60' the siege displayed by the home side saw a wide array of attacking options: from header to shots and walls. Sagna, Toure, Arshavin and Cesc, all proved Sorensen, unfortunately. Andrey's contribution in the 63' was outstanding, with Diaby and Cesc building a play, just to van Persie to put it on the farthest stand of the Emirates.
While the Gunners relied on one-two plays, the Potters replied with denial after denial, either by the result of a solid defense or by the pure grace of a higher power. With Vela's entrance, at the 72nd minute, the main concern for the Gunner watching was if van Persie was going to end his run with a hattrick or if any of the other players should score. None of those happened as the minutes passed on, while more of the same came from both sides; from the home, attacks from all places and the visitors, a defensive wall.
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