Tony Pulis Reveals the Secret Mental Edge That Made Stoke Arsenal’s Nightmare Under Wenger

Back in the late 2000s and early 2010s, there was this utterly fascinating Premier League saga that not many might remember fondly but certainly left a mark: Tony Pulis’ Stoke City versus Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal. The clash between Stoke’s rugged, no-nonsense physicality and Arsenal’s sleek, artful playstyle wasn’t just football – it was a psychological tussle. Whenever the Gunners ventured to the then-Britannia Stadium, they often found themselves battered not just on the pitch but mentally as well. Honestly, Pulis’ reign at Stoke turned the Potteries into a fortress, a place where Arsenal could rarely claim victory – just once in six encounters to be exact. It’s a tale of grit edging out elegance, a throwback to a Premier League subplot that was as relentless as it was intriguing. LEARN MORE

One of the best Premier League subplots during the late 2000s and early 2010s was just how easily Tony Pulis’ Stoke City could get under the skin of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.

The contrasting styles of the two sides saw The Potters’ physical approach often leave the more elegant Gunners’ battered and bruised when they headed to the then-Britannia Stadium.

In fact, during Pulis’ tenure at Stoke, Arsenal would only win once in six visits to the Potteries.

Pulis on getting the best of Arsenal

Pulis oversaw five top-flight seasons with Stoke, who never finished lower than 14th in the table, thanks to their set-piece prowess, Rory Delap’s famed long throw and their general ability to make a nuisance against even the most skilful opponents.

The club that complained most about their tactics was Arsenal, who deployed a much less physical style under Wenger, but have since become the Premier League’s set-piece kings during Mikel Arteta’s reign.

It’s an irony that isn’t lost on Pulis.

“We always seemed to have it over Arsenal, psychologically as much as anything else,” Pulis tells FourFourTwo. “Arsene was bemused by the fact that Rory could throw the ball that well, and bemused that we could cause so much trouble by doing that.

“He tried to ban throw-ins, then he complained about the length of the grass on the pitch, then he mentioned that our pitch was the smallest in the league – it wasn’t, it was the same size as the pitch at Goodison Park.

“He found all these reasons to have a dig when they came to play at the Britannia, but it was brilliant – if we could have played Arsenal every week, we would have done, because it was so enjoyable.

“The crowd were always up for it.

“Mind you, for the first two or three years in the Premier League at Stoke, every home game was extraordinary.”