Questions, questions. A month ago, Chelsea answered them all, strutting into the Britannia stadium and out-Stoking Stoke City, stomping over their hosts with a display of power and precision.

That day, though, Rory Delap was injured and without him Stoke are mealy mouthed and indecisive. With him and his long throws, the questions they pose are somewhat more taxing and yesterday it was they who did the stomping, crushing a disjointed Arsenal.

Their goals came from Delap’s throw-ins, but Stoke were excellent value for money and even their most ardent detractors may be forced to admit that however potent their weapon of choice, they are more than a one-trick pony.

Arsenal may have known the questions, but they still had no answers and as Delap noted afterwards, “When I throw the perfect ball, it’s impossible to defend.”

Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager, said: “They’re very flat, they’re very difficult for defenders to see and because of the media coverage, people are terrified of them beforehand. But this was a victory that was good for Stoke the club and Stoke the city. There’s a special bond between the players and the fans and it keeps growing every week.”

William Gallas’s hamstring injury meant Arsene Wenger’s only defensive change after their unfathomable collapse against Tottenham Hotspur was enforced, but further upfield, the delicate gifts of Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri were exchanged for Nicklas Bendtner, Abou Diaby and Alexandre Song.

Short of emerging into the cauldron wearing tin hats, it seemed as Arsenal could scarcely have been more prepared for battle. And yet, after 11 minutes, their brittle big men failed their first real test. When Delap’s windmill arms hurled in his maiden throw from Stoke’s right, every last man and woman in the stadium knew what was coming. Except, that is, for the Arsenal defence who reacted like Stone Age men confronted by fire for the first time.

The ball looped into the penalty area. Kolo Toure leapt ineffectually and behind him Ricardo Fuller glanced home. The aristocrats looked at the floor and each other. The artisans looked delighted.

“We had a plan,” sighed Wenger. “But dealing with balls into a box of 20 people is not our strength. However, we lost a game in which we had more possession because we didn‘t create enough.”

Already conquered by Fulham and Hull City, Arsenal never recovered and Stoke might have had another 10 minutes later, but Gael Clichy hacked Delap’s header off the line after a woeful punch from Manuel Almunia.

Arsenal responded the only way they know: by trying to pass their way out of trouble. Alas for the visitors and their thunder-faced manager, they were at their most frustratingly lily-livered, for all their seeming brawn.

Wenger’s replacements were knocked out of their stately stride by Stoke’s hard-running hustlers. The home side’s central defensive pairing of Ryan Shawcross and Abdoulaye Faye were more than a match for Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner, while their unselfish forwards, Fuller and Mamady Sidibe were too manly for the nervy Toure and Mikael Silvestre.