Ryan Shawcross’s last fixture before Christmas is unlikely to yield much goodwill. The burly central defender is the unwelcome guest at the Emirates this Saturday as Stoke visit Arsenal in the two sides’ first clash since Shawcross’s full-blooded challenge ended Aaron Ramsey’s season early. While Arséne Wenger has been trying to diffuse the situation and Tony Pulis claiming Shawcross has nothing to fear, the Potters’ chairman Peter Coates appears confused as to which player missed three games as a result of the challenge, and which missed ten months:
“Ryan has got over it. He has overcome any difficulties presented to him and everyone has seen how well he has been doing for us.”
We can all stop worrying, then!
Ramsey, of course, will not be present as he is continuing his rehabilitation with Nottingham Forest in the Championship, but Arsenal can reclaim top spot for a day at least with a victory over Pulis’s men. Not that it’s a banker; the Gunners’ home form has been rocky this season, with three defeats already, and Stoke will be looking to take advantage of any uncertainty to upset the apple cart once again.
That potential lead at the top will only last until Sunday evening if Manchester United are able to triumph at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea’s sticky patch could be coming to an end if their second half performance at White Hart Lane is anything to go by. If United can come through that acid test of visiting the Champions and returning unscathed, how long until we start asking whether they can match Arsenal’s achievement of 2003/2004? There are arguably no tougher games than playing away to Chelsea, and an unbreakable mentality becomes an unbeatable one if it is unchallenged for so long. They may not look vintage, but you can’t argue with their resilience this season.
