Arsene Wenger confident of rewriting history books as Arsenal travel to bogey side Stoke

SINCE 2008 it has been the Premier League's acid test. Avoid defeat at the Britannia and you have what it takes to be champions.

 

Arsene Wenger's Arsenal face a tough trip to Stoke on Sunday on the back of their 3-3 Liverpool draw

 

On Sunday, it is table-topping Arsenal's turn to face Trial by Potter. Manchester City have already failed, Leicester and Tottenham escaped with draws.

The trouble is, Arsene Wenger's side usually lose. Indeed, since Stoke first made their bruising presence felt in the Premier League, the only time the Gunners have emerged from the Potteries with a win came in 2010 when the London club were fired up with a desire for revenge having already been dumped out of the FA Cup at the Britannia.

They were also only facing 10 men that day after Ryan Shawcross was sent off for breaking Aaron Ramsey's leg an incident that further scars memories of an unhappy venue for Wenger.

Stoke boss Mark Hughes admitted his fans love to rile the Frenchman, and he can expect more of it tomorrow. And the truth is his players have never been man enough to stand up to the peculiar challenges of the open-cornered windswept stadium just off the A50.

And that ability to win ugly is what marks out true champions. Only Manchester City have won the title since Stoke arrived in the top flight without taking all three points from the Britannia - for United and Chelsea it has been a rite of passage.

 

Finally, though, Wenger believes his side are ready.

"I hope we have a good result and I will call you on Sunday night to make sure the statistics are updated!" Wenger vowed when I pointed out the statistical significance of avoiding defeat at the Britannia.

Arsenal have notched eight wins out of eight against Stoke at the Emirates so clearly they have been good enough but over the years, he used to come up with all sorts of excuses for Arsenal's near-perennial failures.

At last yesterday he was honest: until now his side have simply not been grown up enough.

"First of all, when we had a very young team we had a style that was maybe a little bit rough for us and we could not always cope with it," he said.