Arsenal moved up to second in the Premier League table by recording a 2-0 victory over Stoke City this afternoon.

Alexis Sanchez saw a header saved by Jack Butland, before the Chilean fired a strike onto the post, as the Gunners made a strong start.

Arsenal finally made the breakthrough in the 31st minute when Theo Walcott latched onto Mesut Ozil's pass and clipped a shot beyond the keeper.

Stoke rarely threatened and Olivier Giroud grabbed a second in the closing stages with a header from Santi Cazorla's free kick to make the points safe.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the events that unfolded at the Emirates.

Match statistics

ARSENAL
Shots: 29
On target: 12
Possession: 68%
Corners: 13
Fouls: 6

STOKE CITY
Shots: 9
On target: 4
Possession: 32%
Corners: 1
Fouls: 13

Was the result fair?

There can be no arguments that Arsenal deserved to claim the three points, but the Gunners should have scored far more goals than they ultimately managed. They dominated from the start of the match and put Stoke under heavy pressure with a high-tempo attacking game. The Potters struggled to cope with the pace of their opponents' forward players and only a fine goalkeeping display from Butland kept them in the tie for so long.

Arsenal's performance

The Gunners have been criticised for their lack of goals this season and they will come under more scrutiny despite today's victory. They had 29 shots on goal throughout the 90 minutes and only two of those ended up finding the net. A lack of clinical finishing did not cost them this afternoon, but against better teams they will be punished.

Aside from their wastefulness in the final third, it was a positive day for Arsene Wenger and his players, who were in control of the match from the very start and never looked in danger of losing. Their midfielders linked up brilliantly all afternoon, with Cazorla and Ozil showing some inspired touches. Another plus for the manager was the performance of the back four, who have now kept a clean sheet for the third successive league match.

Stoke City's performance

Stoke are yet to win in the league this season and they slipped to the bottom of the table with a toothless display at the Emirates. They showed little threat going forward and their only real opportunities were half chances for Xherdan Shaqiri and Bojan in the second half.

Mark Hughes would have been particularly aggrieved by their defensive performance in the opening stages of the match, as within the first 10 minutes Arsenal created a number of goalscoring chances. They did not heed that warning, as Walcott was allowed too much space to run in behind and score the opening goal.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Jack Butland: It is not often that a goalkeeper on the losing side is the best player on the pitch, but Butland produced a fine display this afternoon. He made a number of saves to keep his side in the game until the closing stages and his performance will surely have been noted by England manager Roy Hodgson.

Biggest gaffe

Giroud may have scored the second goal for Arsenal, but within a minute of his arrival he wasted a huge chance to find the net. A kind deflection saw him pick up the ball unmarked inside the box, but with just the keeper to beat, he dragged his attempt wide of the post. Fortunately for the Gunners the miss wasn't costly, and Giroud atoned with a well-taken header late on to finally confirm the win.

Referee performance

When Arsenal and Stoke meet there are usually a number of clashes between the players, but today the football did all of the talking and Jonathan Moss was not forced into making any controversial calls. There did threaten to be a flashpoint when Gabriel Paulista and Marko Arnautovic clashed in the second half, but the referee dealt with the altercation and quickly diffused the situation.

What next?

Arsenal: The Gunners will face Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, before taking on London rivals Chelsea in the Premier League next weekend.

Stoke City: Stoke will hope to end their winless run in the league when they welcome Leicester City to the Britannia Stadium next Saturday.