Arsenal's bitter rivalry with Stoke takes a new and unexpected turn | OneFootball

It all started in February 2010 when a shocking Ryan Shawcross challenge broke Aaron Ramsey’s leg.

The bitter atmosphere between Arsenal and Stoke was turned up to 11 that day and has never really been turned down since.

Although they are not playing each other regularly nowadays seeing as the Potters are languishing near the bottom of the Championship, the north London side have still found a new and inventive way of getting one over on the Staffordshire side.

According to a story in the Daily Mail on Tuesday, Arsenal have agreed to play tonight’s EFL Cup game against Nottingham Forest as a ‘gesture of goodwill’ so that Sabri Lamaouchi’s men will have enough time to prepare for Friday night’s game with – you guessed it – Stoke.

Despite only playing Aston Villa on Sunday, Arsenal accepted the brief 48 hour turnaround as they did not want to hamper Forest’s league preparations.

Playing the game on Wednesday would have only given Lamaouchi’s team their own 48 hour window, and although Arsenal have admitted that their quick recovery may not be conducive to a good performance, they were willing to compromise on behalf of Forest.