Arsenal fell 4 points behind table leaders Chelsea after a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Stoke City, which is a result that meant they have only one win against Stoke in the last eight meetings at the Britannia stadium.
This defeat has also allowed Liverpool to overtake the gunners in the table, while Arsenal could potentially fall to fourth place with Manchester City win the two matches in hand. Despite this disastrous result, which has been termed as a major setback for the club by Arsene Wenger, midfielder Jack Wilshere says that he remains confident of winning the first league title since 2004.
Arsenal would have been extremely worried not just about the result, but also about the performance. They were extremely poor against Stoke for the entire 90 minutes. Even more disappointing for the gunners was their inability to create at least one shot on target in the second half. They were able to keep the ball as usual, but without creating any chances. This match was viewed as the precursor to the upcoming tough run of fixtures, which will see Arsenal take on the likes of Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Manchester City, and Chelsea.
Wilshere said after the match that the players knew that this would be a tough match, but they simply did not create enough to claim a win.
“We have to be prepared for it. We know what to expect when we come here, it’s going to be a tough game, we have to fight and win second balls and then we have to take the opportunities when they come. We didn’t do that today. We had a few chances in the first half and we didn’t take them, and you’re going to get punished here. We weren’t at our best. Sometimes in these type of games you don’t have to be,” said Wilshere.