Arsenal vs West Brom – Premier League Match Preview

Dan Tracey September 25, 2017 Leave a comment 1,898 Views

The final fixture of this Premier League extended weekend takes us to The Emirates as Arsenal play host to West Brom. With the rest of the ‘big six’ already getting maximum points on Saturday the pressure is on the North London club to make sure they do not lose further ground.

Arsenal currently find themselves 12th in the table but due to the congested nature of the pack a win tonight would enable the Gunners to move up to 7th. If that is to be the case then you can just about see the table starting to level itself out as the natural order begins to be restored.

That is not to say that those top six positions will end up exactly as they are but you do get the feeling that the top three as it currently stands will be making up 75% of the Champions League places next season leaving a three way fight for 4th place between Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal.

The Sunday before last saw Arsenal earn a point at defending champions Chelsea. It was a stalemate that saw Antonio Conte fail to get the better of Arsene Wenger once again and in all fairness you could have made a soild case that it was the away side that should have come away with all three points.

They did even have the ball in the net at one point but the goal was chalked off, much to the embarrassment of one particular fan who invaded the pitch in celebration only to then be the subject of much derision after he was ejected from Stamford Bridge.

It was a point that was most welcomed though by Arsene Wenger as many would have expected the worst after their debacle against Liverpool at Anfield at the end of August. They may still be looking for a first league win on the road but they do have a one hundred percent record in front of their own fans, a run they will look to continue tonight.

Their opponents West Brom were held to a 0-0 draw at home to West Ham last Saturday, a game that in all fairness offered very little to right home about. If there was one thing that does stand out it is their lack of goals, they have only found the net on four occasions after playing five league matches.

That said they do however find themselves 10th in the table and a win by two or more goals would see them leapfrog Liverpool into 5th place. That may be unlikely though as in the last thirteen league visits to Arsenal they have only drawn two and lost eleven.

That does make for particularly good reading to Baggies fans and it is a run that manager Tony Pulis would love to bring to and end this evening. Also keep in mind that they are yet to score more than once in a league game this season so any ideas of a 2-0 win away from home may well have to be put on the back burner.

Then again the low scoring results are bread and butter for Tony Pulis, as usual it is pragmatism over performance and after being comfortably beaten by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup during their last outing he will be looking for something more when they make the trip from the West Midlands to North London.

As for the outcome tonight, what with West Brom’s terrible form in this fixture it is very hard to see anything over than an Arsenal win. Streaks are made to broken and all that but it is not something I see happening. Maximum points for Arsene Wenger as his side moves further up the table.

Here is what social media thinks will happen – there is plenty of time left to vote