Stoke boss Mark Hughes has accused people of being "lazy" for labelling his side as bullies every time they claim a stunning result.
It was the case almost five weeks ago when Stoke conjured a superb 3-2 Premier League win over Arsenal, leading 3-0 at the break before the Gunners finally fought back late in the second period.
That result and performance has fired up Stoke as they have lost just one of their last seven matches from early December going into the return league clash with Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday.
"The last time we played them we played exceptionally well," said Hughes.
"After the game some people used certain terms to explain why we beat Arsenal, such as intimidation and we bullied them out of the result, which wasn't the case at all.
"I would argue for the first 60 to 70 minutes of the game we were by far the best team on the pitch. We played them off the park.
"We were the team that played the best football by getting the ball down, passing and moving and creating chances.
"To describe us as bullies was the wrong word, a lazy term and an easy one to label us with.
"It's a term that goes back to bygone days when people had a different impression of us.
"There are other terms that could have illustrated how well we played on the day, such as competitive, and there is a difference.
"We are competitive as we look to get the ball down and play, and we have a plan A and plan B depending on the circumstances of the game.
"We can go more direct if we feel it's the right thing to do, but if we see weaknesses in teams then we will try and exploit them.
"We are a different side now with different qualities, and weapons I would suggest, and we can use them to good effect.
"If we get it right then on our day we are difficult to play against, which we have proven this year home and away."
The reasoning behind the 'bully' remarks stems from the animosity that has often existed between the two teams, going back five years when Ryan Shawcross broke the leg of Aaron Ramsey in a league game in February 2010.
Bad blood has often flowed in matches between the two sides since, yet a dismissive Hughes added: "It just raises its head every time we play Arsenal.
"How long has it been? Five or six years? Goodness me, a lot of water has passed under the bridge.
"We seem to have to answer the same questions every time we come up against each other. There are other angles to pursue other than an incident five or six years ago.
"We're certainly sick of it, Arsenal undoubtedly are, so everybody should move on."
Germany defender Philipp Wollscheid, signed on loan for the rest of the season from Bayer Leverkusen earlier this week, goes straight into the squad.
Hughes has four players -- defenders Marc Muniesa and Marc Wilson, midfielder Victor Moses and striker Bojan Krkic -- who are also in the frame, although may not figure as they are returning from injury.