Alexis Sanchez was again Arsenal's inspiration as
they coasted to a 3-0 win over Stoke City on
Sunday.
The irrepressible Sanchez scored his 11th and
12th Premier League goals of the season either
side of half-time after setting up Laurent
Koscielny's early opener at the Emirates Stadium.
David Ospina was handed a first top-flight start
in Arsenal's goal as Arsene Wenger dropped
Wojciech Szczesny, who was caught smoking in
the dressing room after the New Year's Day loss
at Southampton.
But Stoke were rarely able to get near the
Colombian, let alone test him, in a game that was
dominated throughout by the hosts.
It was a completely different story for Ospina's
opposite number Asmir Begovic, to whom Stoke
were grateful for keeping the score down as they
slipped to defeat at the Emirates for a seventh
successive season.
Stoke boss Mark Hughes gave a debut to Philipp
Wollscheid in defence and was able to call on
Bojan Krkic after the Spaniard's hamstring injury
– but it was another ex-Barcelona man who stole
the headlines, as Sanchez lit up yet another
Premier League game.
On a day full of positives for Wenger, Mesut Ozil
made his long-awaited return from injury as a
late replacement for Olivier Giroud.
However, Mathieu Debuchy's enforced early
withdrawal with a serious-looking shoulder
problem may temper the Frenchman's joy.
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