Despite the media trying to whip up an unnecessary storm of conflict beforehand and the opposition players trying their best to turn the game into a fight, Stoke remained professional throughout and in the end swept aside a poor Arsenal team with significant ease.

Wing Wizard... © Getty Images

Arsenal at home in the past has been a huge game for us but this time it was different, this time it wasn’t necessarily our priority, with the way the Arsenal fans were talking in the week you’d think it was their cup final, when in actual fact our actual cup final is next week at Wembley.

Much has been said and written since we reacquainted ourselves with the North London outfit back in 2008, I’ve covered all of it on here and been subjected to all manner of abuse for supporting ‘Dirty Stoke’, well that tag was unfair in the first place and even more so now as it was the Arsene’s Angels who couldn’t get to grips with our forward threat all afternoon and so took to kicking lumps out of them instead.

Some people make a rod for their own back and Mr Wenger is one such case, having stirred up such hatred over a 50/50 tackle and subsequently sought to discredit the club and our captain at every opportunity, it was sweet revenge as we dealt comfortably with any threat they had and hit them for three with nigh on only 25% possession. It seems the media are starting to wise up to the failings of Wenger and his methods, lovely though it may be to watch two dozen passes along the back four and the half way line, their final ball, you know, the one the opposition actually care about, was once again woeful.

The players and fans alike lapped up the atmosphere as Arsenal made pass after pass after pass in front of our two banks of four, in a moment of irony I just thought how utterly boring it was, it wasn’t gaining possession, it wasn’t under pressure, it was purely for show, all style and no substance.

Stoke tore through the purveyors of the beautiful game like butter time and time again, sometimes directly, sometimes it was worked out nicely to Pennant who had an absolute field day against the Arsenal defence, he seemed to be targeted, most specifically by the great hope of English football Jack Wilshere, who should have twice seen Red for overly aggressive, studs up challenges, challenges you could argue were in fact worse than the one our captain has been so openly vilified for over the last year or so.

No control... © Sky Sports

Whitehead clattered... © Sky Sports

You hold him, I’ll elbow him... © Sky Sports

Over the top... © Sky Sports

In the ensuing chaos after each of these reckless challenges it was no doubt missed that on each occasion it was Shawcross who came in and removed his player from the conflict instead of running to the referee waving an imaginary card and frothing at the mouth, this was one such moment of class that epitomised our entire performance.

In fact I've been saddened to see many journalists suggest that Ramsey was booed by the Stoke fans when in fact it was every single player and indeed the manager that got both barrels in an afternoon when the Bear pit was in full effect. There were some hilarious songs and a warm rendition of 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot' put a smile on everyone's face as Wenger started to look like he regretted opening his mouth in the first place such was the torture and torment his side were enduring on and off the pitch.

As a team performance it was up there with recent performances, but we have been better, Whitehead in particular was guilty of giving the ball away on more than one occasion and I think Begovic could have done better for their goal, though he also made a great save so it's swings and roundabouts and just another lesson as the young Bosnian establishes himself as a top Premier League keeper.

There was one bad point from the game though and that was the injury of Huth, after getting an elbow in the face following a corner, he was more concerned with his knee and his withdrawal was met with winces as Robert isn't one to let something small stop him, so our fingers are very much crossed that he makes a quick recovery in time for our FA Cup Final on Saturday.

Fingers crossed... © PA Photos

On the whole I thought we coped admirably with the absence of Etherington and once more Pennant stepped up to excel on the right, giving Gibbs et al a torrid afternoon and topping his afternoon off with a goal in front of his former fans who had chosen to boo him, this was the best answer. I'm glad Pulis chose to withdraw him as Wilshere once again went in dangerously, the diminutive winger clearly took exception to the challenge, as well he should, and reacted angrily resulting in a booking.

As for Walters, I'm not sure I've seen a player come on so much as he continues to improve game on game, he really is one of the first names on the team sheet these days and will run all day long, he deserves another chance to shine at Wembley and we all pray he takes it.

So onto the big day, as ever we go into the game as the underdog which is exactly as we like it, we have a good record against Mancini's men and will take heart not only from our own victory but in Man City's loss where they seemed to struggle with the strength and directness of Everton.

Whatever the result, this cup run has been one hell of an achievement for everyone associated with the club and Saturday could well end up being one of the biggest days in the long history of our club and make no mistake, this is something we'll be able to bore our children and grandchildren with for many, many years to come…

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