TONY PULIS hailed Stoke City's "tremendous spirit and togetherness" after their memorable FA Cup triumph over Arsenal in the fourth round tie at the Britannia Stadium.
Pulis saw his side triumph 3-1 over the Barclays Premier League leaders thanks to two goals from Ricardo Fuller and a first for the Club from midfielder Dean Whitehead.
The triumph meant that the Potters reached the fifth round of the competition for the first time in four years and maintained their unbeaten start to the New Year.
"The spirit was absolutely fantastic once again," he said. "In the time that I have been back at the Club, nobody could ever question the spirit and togetherness.
"We have shown that once again today, because make no mistake, these was a very difficult game for us, irrespective of the side that Arsenal fielded today. They have a lot of quality and strength in depth, which is why they are currently top of the Premier League."
Pulis said that strike pair Fuller and Mamady Sidibe were "absolutely outstanding" as they made life difficult for Sol Campbell on his return to Arsenal colours.
"On their day, Ric and Mama are a real handful for any defender, and they were really up for it," he added. "But it was a tremendous team performance."
Pulis admitted that he was about to bring Fuller off before his second goal, and throw on three substitutes in an attempt to win the tie at the first attempt.
"The last thing that either Arsenal or ourselves wanted was a replay," he said. "We already have seven games in February and we didn't want another."
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted that City were the more dangerous team in the final stages and that proved to be decisive in the final outcome.
Wenger commented: "We knew this game would be more physical than technical, but I thought the attitude of my players was fantastic in the circumstances.
"We weakened a bit in the closing stages, and Stoke got stronger and stronger. It's fair to say that they looked the more dangerous than us in that period."
Asked if his three substitutions midway through the second half were designed to ensure that there wasn't a replay, he joked: "I did it, it worked!"
Television pundit Robbie Earle said the victory would silence the critics of the Potters' style of play, saying: "They scored two good goals, and they had nothing to do with long balls. Stoke thoroughly deserved the win in the end."
