Stoke City manager Mark Hughes believes most teams will find it hard to cope with Arsenal’s pace and power at the Emirates this season.

The Potters suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday afternoon, despite taking the lead midway through the first half when Charlie Adam converted a penalty.




Arsenal scored an equaliser just before half time through Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil and Alex Iwobi scored after the break to seal the points for the north Londoners.

Hughes admits that despite his side trying to stand up to Arsenal’s attacking threat, conceding the goal before the break turned out to be crucial and feels most teams will find it hard to face the ‘pace and power’ of Arsene Wenger’s men at home.
 


The Stoke boss told the BBC: “We stood up to them and maybe conceding the equaliser before half time lifted them and hurt us more than we thought.  

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“We had to push the game and look for opportunities at the other end – a lot of teams will struggle to come here and cope with the pace and power Arsenal have at the moment.

“You have to take it on the chin and go again.”

With Chelsea playing on Sunday, Arsenal have momentarily climbed up to the top of the league table and will next take on Everton on Tuesday night at Goodison Park.