Arsenal v Stoke City: Five big game facts

Arsenal take on Stoke City this afternoon at the Emirates with both sides eyeing up top spot. It's no secret that there is little love between the two teams or sets of fans. Arsenal pride themselves on playing football on the deck while for the past few seasons the Potters have done whatever has been necessary to stay in the top flight. Today we should see a different game altogether as Stoke City have surprised many pundits this season by getting the ball down and passing and moving. It looks as though the days of getting the ball down and pumping it up the field are long gone, but we'll find out more this afternoon. So with kick off less than a few hours to go, here are five big match facts. 1. Arsenal have never lost to Stoke City at the Emirates. The two sides have met five times and the Gunners have come out on top every time. Stoke have only scored twice in north London. 2. Olivier Giroud has scored in Arsenal's four opening league games this season and they have all come before the 24-minute mark. The Frenchman clearly likes to score early and Stoke will have to keep a close eye on him from the start. 3. Today will be the 85th meeting between the two sides. Arsenal have won 42 of those clashes compared with Stoke's 22. The remaining 20 have ended in draws. 4. Stoke's last win at Arsenal came on August 29, 1981, courtesy of a young Lee Chapman. Chappers went on to join Arsenal the following season before enjoying spells at Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, West Ham and Swansea City. 5. The Potters have completed 79 per cent of their passes this season, more than in their previous five seasons under Tony Pulis. They have also averaged more passes per game (397) than in any of the previous five seasons. So there are your facts, now we'd love to hear your predictions. Will Arsenal hit the top spot? Will Stoke stun the Gunners? We'd love to hear from you.