Mark Hughes admitted Arsenal were too good for Stoke on Saturday as Arsene Wenger's clinical Gunners went top of the Premier League table with a 3-1 victory at Emirates Stadium.
Stoke took the lead with Charlie Adam's 29th-minute penalty after Granit Xhaka elbowed Joe Allen in the head, but Theo Walcott levelled before the interval with Mesut Ozil and Alex Iwobi completing the comeback in the second half.
The Potters had plenty of chances as Marc Muniesa and Peter Crouch forced Petr Cech into making fine saves either side of half-time, but Hughes believes that few sides can stop Arsenal in their current form despite praising his own side for going toe to toe with the table toppers.
"We created a number of good opportunities when in previous years we have struggled to even get shots on goal here," Hughes told BBC Sport. "We had a number of good moments even before the penalty.
"We stood up to them and maybe conceding the equaliser before half time lifted them and hurt us more than we thought.
"We had to push the game and look for opportunities at the other end - a lot of teams will struggle to come here and cope with the pace and power Arsenal have at the moment.
“You have to take it on the chin and go again."
Wenger said after the game that Lee Mason's decision to award Stoke a penalty left everybody "amazed", but Hughes added: "I thought he [Joe Allen] got sideswiped and was in possession of the ball in the box, my initial thought was it was a penalty."
