Dale Eve and his Stoke City Under 21 teammates endured a difficult afternoon at the office as Arsenal recorded a 3-0 win at the Britannia Stadium.
Alex Iwobi gave them a first half lead which was followed by two impressive finishes from Ainsley Maitland-Niles and first teamer Serge Gnabry who wrapped up the points for the visitors.
Arsenal was quick out of the blocks and could have taken the lead within the first 10 seconds when Chuba Akpom latched onto a long ball but his lob cleared the bar.
Akpom was involved again 10 minutes later as he received the ball from Iwobi but this time the striker dragged his shot wide of the upright.
Arsenal's early dominance bore fruit when Iwobi netted the opener on 18 minutes. He took the ball into the box before looping in a lob which evaded goalkeeper Eve to put them ahead.
Stoke were very unfortunate not to level proceedings on 23 minutes as George Waring rattled the woodwork. He was fed the ball by Charlie Ward and pulled off an excellent turn on the edge of the box but his effort cannoned off the post.
The visitors could just have easily have made it 2-0 a minute later when Akpom fired in an attempt from a narrow angle but Eve was there to make a vital block with his knee.
Stoke City were still very much in the game at this point and a determined run from Eddy Lecygne saw him force his way past two defenders only for his effort to be charged down by a third. The midfielder believed his shot had been handled but referee Andy Hendley remained unmoved.
Arsenal saw out their lead until the break but were again fortunate not to concede two minutes into the second half as Waring headed inches wide of the target from Curtis Strong's cross.
Arsenal punished Stoke for that miss when Maitland-Niles doubled their advantage with a spectacular 25 yard strike. The midfielder took a touch before firing an unstoppable effort past the helpless Eve.
City were still creating chances and in the 55th minute Elliot Wheeler squared the ball in to Waring but the striker's frustrating game continued as Matt Macey made the save from point-blank range.
Arsenal then sealed the win on 70 minutes as German youth international Gnabry smashed a squared-ball into the roof of the net.
More disappointment was to come for Stoke in the closing minutes as captain Mason Watkins-Clark picked up a second yellow card after a miss-timed tackle.
