The battle for the first place in the Premier League is fierce and the three points of this meeting are mandatory for Arsene Wenger's team, which takes the second place in the standings. Stoke, however, is a tough host and will undoubtedly create some troubles for Arsenal in this match.
After leading the league for quite some time, Arsenal conceded some poor results and are now 1 point behind the leader Chelsea. The long list of injured players is beginning to have a negative impact on the team and fatigue can be seen in some of the key figures in Arsenal. Mesut Özil is very ineffective this year and for the last 10 games, his contribution is only one assist. Wenger can not boast with great success of his travels to Stoke City. For the last 6 away games to Stoke, Arsenal have only one victory.
The fight to stay in the league is also extremely exciting. Stoke City are one of the teams involved in this fight,as at the time they are only 3 points above the relegation zone. Generally, Stoke are quite inconsistent in their performances, but are solid at home. They have won just 2 of their last 12 matches in all competitions and it seems Stoke don`t have the strength to achive something more than a draw in this match.