Arsenal 3-1 Stoke City

Theo Walcott's equaliser was his 100th goal in club football

Arsenal moved top of the Premier League as they came from behind to beat Stoke at Emirates Stadium.

The visitors took the lead through Charlie Adam's penalty after Granit Xhaka elbowed Joe Allen.

Theo Walcott turned in substitute Hector Bellerin's cross just before half-time for his 100th club goal.

Mesut Ozil headed over goalkeeper Lee Grant to give Arsenal the lead before substitute Alex Iwobi side-footed home the third.

The Gunners leapfrog Chelsea on goals scored, with Antonio Conte's side facing West Brom at Stamford Bridge on Sunday at 12:00 GMT.

• Mustafi ruled out for at least three weeks

• Oxlade-Chamberlain craves first-team action - Wright

• Relive how Arsenal went top of the Premier League

Arsenal now unbeaten in 14 in the league

Mesut Ozil heads over an exposed Lee Grant to give Arsenal the lead

Arsenal came into the game in great form after putting five past West Ham last Saturday and scoring four in Basel in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Unbeaten in the league since an opening-day home defeat by Liverpool, that record looked in danger when Xhaka caught and cut Welshman Allen with his elbow, prompting referee Lee Mason to award the penalty from which Stoke scored. He did not show the Swiss a yellow card.

The Gunners had already lost Shkodran Mustafi to injury, with the German later ruled out for at least three weeks. His replacement, Bellerin, had a superb game. The Spain right-back frequently drove forward and it was from his low cross that Walcott glanced the equaliser.

Substitute right-back Hector Bellerin saw much more of the ball in the Stoke half than Arsenal's, making 36 passes with an accuracy of 94.4%. The blue arrow is his cross for Walcott's goal

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain chipped a wonderful pass over the Stoke defence for Ozil to head his ninth league goal of the season, with Potters right-back Erik Pieters still running back having had to leave the pitch following treatment.

Iwobi, who scored in Basel, ensured Arsenal moved top ahead of Chelsea, having scored four more goals than the Blues. They are level on 34 points with a goal difference of +21.

Will Arsenal have the mental and physical stamina to still be in that position come the end of the season?

35 years and counting

Scot Charlie Adam scored Stoke's penalty. An Englishman has not scored for the Potters in the Premier League since May 2015 when Peter Crouch netted against Liverpool.

Stoke were also in excellent form, winning five of their previous nine games and losing just one.

They had only conceded five times in that run but history was not in their favour, having lost their past 14 visits to Arsenal and not winning there since August 1981.

Marc Muniesa went close with an early 30-yard volley before Adam sent Petr Cech the wrong way to mark his 31st birthday with his first goal of the season.

Twice Stoke came close to scoring only for Arsenal to score almost immediately afterwards. Marko Arnautovic threatened to make it 2-0 after an excellent run in the Gunners' box but was crowded out just before Walcott's equaliser.

Mark Hughes' side increasingly found themselves on the back foot in the second half but came close to an equaliser when Peter Crouch was brought on for a corner and immediately headed down to force a smart, low save from Cech.

Within two minutes Iwobi made it 3-1 to put the game to bed.

Man of the match - Hector Bellerin (Arsenal)

The Spanish right-back (left) created Walcott's equaliser, provided three key passes and also made important interventions when required in defence.

MOTD analysis

Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright: "I can see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's frustration. Last week he played well and he was very good again against Stoke.

"I do admire him a lot, but his chances are too far and few between for Arsenal. He's getting a lot further forward for the team, but with the emergence of Alex Iwobi it feels like he's not going to get the chance.

"I don't know what more he can do. It's up to the boss to give him a run, let him have a go. As soon as he does, he's always being taken off. Even when he plays well he still gets taken off."

Ex-England midfielder Danny Murphy: "Granit Xhaka is talented, a super passer. I noticed his nasty streak in Euro 2016. He's ill-disciplined at times. It was a stupid foul. He was sent off earlier this season against Swansea for a reckless tackle. He's been sent off eight times in two and a half years. He won't get picked any more if he keeps doing that."

What the managers said:

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: "We had a hesitant start, but when you play every few days sometimes it takes you time to get into a rhythm and that is what happened.

"We got a very unlucky penalty against us because it is not even a foul in my opinion. Mentally it was good for morale to get back to 1-1 before half-time.

"We are there for the fight and we have been consistent after the first game. It is down to us to maintain the focus and the desire to improve. We have a chance to fight at the top."

Stoke boss Mark Hughes: "We created a number of good opportunities when in previous years we have struggled to even get shots on goal here.

"We stood up to them and maybe conceding the equaliser before half-time lifted them and hurt us more than we thought.

"We had to push the game and look for opportunities at the other end - a lot of teams will struggle to come here and cope with the pace and power Arsenal have at the moment. You have to take it on the chin and go again."

The stats you need to know

• In Arsenal's 15 consecutive home wins against Stoke, the Gunners have scored 42 goals and conceded just eight

• No player has hand a hand in more Premier League goals this season than Alexis Sanchez (11 goals, five assists)

• Mark Hughes has lost all 10 of the away matches he has managed against Arsenal in the Premier League

• The only English player with more Premier League goals than Theo Walcott (seven) this season is Jermain Defoe (eight)

• Stoke have scored 14 of their past 15 penalties in the league, with their only failure coming from Bojan against Bournemouth last month

• Arsenal have scored a league-high six goals from substitutes in the league this season

• Hector Bellerin has assisted seven league goals since the start of last season, more than any other defender

What's next?

Arsenal are away to Everton on Tuesday (19:45) before travelling to fourth-placed Manchester City on Sunday, 18 December (16:00). Stoke host Southampton on Wednesday (20:00) with another home game to follow, against Leicester next Saturday at 15:00.