Ryan Giggs has said that Arsenal’s defeat to Stoke City on the weekend proves they aren’t a top side.

The former Manchester United player has used the Stoke defeat as evidence for Arsenal not being a top team, saying: “Arsenal were the better team this weekend but ended empty-handed at Stoke,” reports the Metro.

“They were always going to be under pressure when they lost their first game after missing out on Champions League and with the Alexis Sanchez and Arsene Wenger unrest.

“But you just feel they can’t get away with playing badly and still grind out results, something the top sides can.”

Winning while playing badly has long been considered a trait of any good side, despite the fact that any team is capable of doing it. For example, Stoke didn’t play well at all against us, yet won the game. Does that make them a top side?

There’s a large random element to football. Luck plays a big part and it’s fair to say that Arsenal didn’t have that fortune on Saturday. We didn’t receive a penalty for Bellerin being hacked down in the penalty area, and had a great goal from Lacazette incorrectly ruled out for offside.

Besides that, Arsenal had 77% of the ball and created enough chances to win the game. On another day, Arsenal probably win comfortably. Still, the scoreline says 1-0 to Stoke, and Arsenal only have themselves to blame for not doing the things they can control better.

The defending for the goal was poor and the finishing could have been a lot better at the other end. It’s tempting to draw all sorts of conclusions from the defeat, but the season is two games old, and only one team of the so-called top six – Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Manchester United – have managed to win both.