ARSENAL marched to the Premier League summit with a 3-1 victory over Stoke City at the Emirates Stadium with £42 million summer signing Mesut Ozil playing a pivotal role in all three goals on his home debut.

They broke the deadlock inside five minutes when Aaron Ramsey tucked home a loose ball after Asmir Begovic had palmed out Ozil’s free-kick before Stoke equalised through Geoff Cameron, the American stroking the ball past Wojciech Szczesny after Marko Arnautovic’s volley had struck the post.
The visitors missed a great chance to take the lead when Kenwyne Jones miscontrolled when through on goal and it was to prove costly as Arsenal grabbed their second when Per Mertesacker headed home from Ozil’s corner.
Stoke improved after the break but it was the hosts who grabbed the important fourth goal when Bacary Sagna’s looping header found the far corner of Begovic’s goal.
Ramsey forced a great save from Begovic late on as Arsenal made it four wins on the bounce to move two points clear at the top of the league – although North London rivals Tottenham joined them on 12 points after snatching an injury time victory against Cardiff later yesterday.