Filed under: Arsenal, Stoke City, Premier League, Football, Match Previews
PREMIER LEAGUE: BRITANNIA STADIUM, SUNDAY, MAY 8, 2011. KICK-OFF: 1405 BSTIf a list of Premier League managers wanting to stick the knife into Arsenal's title hopes had to form an orderly queue, Tony Pulis would be all elbows and clambering over his peers to be at the front.
The battle lines will be drawn once again this weekend and Arsene Wenger won't expect any favours in this most inhospitable of venues.
Wenger is stubbornly refusing to admit defeat in his frustrating mission to end six years without a trophy and can forget the notion that Stoke minds will be drifting to thoughts of the FA Cup Final and Wembley.
Arsenal deserve immense credit for resuscitating their title challenge but know that only a win here will do against the team that has got up their noses more than any other in the last three years.
How Pulis would love to kill off that challenge for good here. The bitterness between the two clubs was demonstrated by Pulis' surprising, and annoying, decision to duck his pre-match media conference, refusing to add fuel to the flame.
But for once the attention will not solely be on the handshake between the two arch-rivals. The first meeting between Ryan Shawcross and Aaron Ramsey since Shawcross' challenge left the Arsenal midfielder with a broken leg last February will dominate proceedings here.
Ramsey is returning to the form he showed before his injury, scoring the winner against Manchester United last weekend, and is expected to start here. It promises to be another intriguing encounter.
Key Match-Up: Ryan Shawcross v Aaron Ramsey: It couldn't be anyone else, could it? While anyone of a Stoke persuasion will argue that the challenge from Shawcross that broke Ramsey's leg was an accident, Arsenal remain bitter about the incident. The pair's first tackle here will be watched intently by everybody at the Brit on Sunday.
Form Guide: Stoke are unbeaten at home in 2011 and romped to a 3-0 canter against Wolves in their last outing. Arsenal have only won three away games this year but did secure their first win in the Potteries for nearly 20 years last season.
Odds: Stoke 9/2, Arsenal 4/6, Draw 11/4
STOKE CITY:
John Carew is in the mood to wreck Arsenal's Premier League title challenge and add another winner against the Gunners to his impressive collection.
Carew famously sent Arsenal crashing to defeat in the Champions League twice in three seasons whilst with Valencia, one of his many former clubs.
The giant Norway international has recently returned from a back injury and could start here if Pulis opts for brawn over Jon Walters.
And Carew is determined to haunt Wenger again if he is given the chance. He said: "I've scored the winner against Arsenal a couple of times - and it would be nice to do it again.
"It's been very frustrating being injured over the last couple of months, especially because I thought I had been doing well here.
"There is strong competition for a place in the forward line for the final, but I can't think about that. I just need to get my fitness up to 100 per cent.
"The group here is fantastic - one of the best groups I've ever had to work with, and I have been at 9-10 clubs.
"The team is even better than I expected it to be. When I came here, they were 10th in the league, so of course they have had a good season."
Strategy: While Stoke's football has undoubtedly improved over the last two seasons, the back to basics approach is proven to have worked best in the past against Arsenal. So expect more of an aerial bombardment, diagonal balls and, of course, Rory Delap's massive throw-ins than usual here.
Kenwyne Jones is the sort of muscular forward that Arsenal, on their travels, struggle to handle and if the Trinidad & Tobago international is in the mood Stoke can add another victory to their collection. The absence of Ricardo Fuller, so often the scourge of the Gunners, is undoubtedly a blow, however.
Injury Update: Matthew Etherington is still recovering from a hamstring injury as he faces a race against time to be fit for the FA Cup Final. Fuller (Achilles), Danny Higginbotham (knee) and Mamady Sidibe (Achilles) are long-term casualties.
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