Stoke Fan View: Hopefully confidence in front of goal from Bournemouth transfers over to game against Arsenal.

Can Mame Diouf finally push on after confidence booster last weekend?

Mame Diouf was a revelation against Bournemouth, technically not amazing but he made us become an unpredictable attacking force. Exactly what we needed to be after drab performances, in a spell where we really struggled to find the back of the oppositions net.

Having that speed upfront really made us look like a much more capable side going forward and we consistently created problems for Bournemouth in what was a open affair. It made things a lot easier for our two wide players to create, as Dioufs movement is far better than any other striker we’ve got in the squad.

Berahino to be fair to him was growing in confidence but with Diouf showing us what we’ve been missing, it would be massively unfair of Hughes to drop Mame from the starting set up. Against a team like Arsenal who will play a high line it’s imperative we play someone with speed to lead the line. Diouf definitely fits the bill for this game.

What can Ramadan actually do to a get game time?

From being man of the man match two games in a row, to not getting on the field since his supposed ‘rest’ again Burnley. Mark Hughes treatment of our young Egyptian starlet has been questionable to say the least.

Every time Ramadan has played he’s put in everything. Defensively he’s incredibly solid, proving his worth by making the fourth most tackles per 90 minutes in the squad. Offensively he’s one of very few players we have that can lift us off our seats with a dazzling bit of footwork or an inventive cross.

In a season in which the negatives have quite significantly outdone the positives, it would mean a lot to Stoke fans to see Ramadan back on the field. After rumoured interest of him going to Liverpool, this may be the last chance we get to see him play.

If we gain the lead don’t throw it away so easily this time.

Bournemouth match at the weekend was incredibly frustrating for everyone, knowing twice we had the lead and twice we managed to blow it through silly errors. Although it is a position that we have not often found ourselves in recently, it was a huge disappointment to see both leads slip so quickly.

Considering we were in control for long periods it showed that if our defenders aren’t constantly on the back foot they struggle to keep up to pace. A worrying sign as we can’t expect to be outplayed all the time.

With our defence being as experienced as it was there were no excuses for the two Bournemouth goals, as bad positioning and marking made sure that we only left the Vitality with a disappointing point. With us coming up against stronger attacking opposition it is vital that we keep our focus and don’t allow such easy slip ups against a side in good form in Arsenal.