Mark Hughes Delighted to Prove Doubters Wrong With 1-0 Win Over Arsenal

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes was ecstatic at his side's performance in their 1-0 victory against Arsenal to secure their first Premier League points of the season. 

Hughes hopes it ends speculation on Stoke's ambition this season, following heavy criticism of the Potters after their opening 1-0 defeat to Everton. 

He told Stoke City's Official Website: “They asked questions of our ambition, myself as a manager and the players, and for me, that has been hugely unfair. Maybe because of the fixtures we are facing during the early stages of the season, some people thought we would be an easy target." 

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The Stoke City gaffer also stated he felt his side is stronger now than before the transfer window due to the new arrivals that have been added to his squad this summer: 

“Our view is that if you are stronger at the end of the window than you were at the start then it is a case of job well done, and in my view we most definitely are. There are still two weeks of the window left open too, so we are very pleased with where we are at right now, and we feel that we can go on and have a really successful season.”

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Hughes admits that his decision to hand Paris Saint-Germain loanee Jese his debut just three days after signing him was a risk: “It was a gamble, there is no doubt about that because he has only had two days training with us. 

''I just thought that given what I had seen from him on the training pitches, and the fact that he was desperate to be involved and make an impression, it was a gamble worth taking." 

Mark Hughes will be so extremely glad he took that risk as new signing Jese scored the winning goal in Stoke's 1-0 win over Arsenal.