Match Preview: Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion; EPL Match Day 11
Can you tell me what position Arsenal held in 1997-1998 going on Christmas day during Wenger’s first year in charge? Can you tell me how many points Arsenal were off United at that point? Well, if you said 6th and 12 points you can give yourself a good pat on the back. Heading in to Saturday’s match against West Brom, Arsenal find themselves again, with a monsterous climb to get something out of nothing.
Since there loss to United at Old Trafford, Arsenal have gone on a bit of a tear with only the stumble (and a missed ball) at White Heart Lane from being perfect since then. Only a few weeks ago what seemed hopeless and adrift now seems to be back on course and gaining some momentum. That’s not to say that Arsenal are suddenly going to contend for the title. Even the boss himself thinks otherwise:
“Mathematically you are not out of it but you have to be closer to speak about it. We are 12 points behind Man City and that is too much. So for us, let’s be humble and progressive”
If we are honest for a moment this is a good team. But not good enough to win the league in face of teams with more talent then we have on display. Sure, things can happen. United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs are not as good as they would seem at the beginning of the season. City is better than they were. City will likely hit a rough patch. But overall I don’t think we have enough in the Arsenal – so to speak – to get the job done for the Premier League title.
So let’s just get that out of the way now. What this march towards improvement does is put Arsenal back in their familiar position, in the hunt for a Champion’s League spot and among the league’s top teams. This accomplishes allot. It continues the revenue stream that we’ve grown accustomed (need??) and continues to make us attractive to talented players. I still think we are going to challenge for either the FA or Carling Cup. But since we are not from Germany or Spain, the Champion’s League is out and since we are not from Manchester the EPL title is a long shot.
Ah well, anyway next up on our return to form is West Bromwich Albion. Before anyone takes this opponent too lightly, lets remember that WBA jumped out to a 3-0 lead last season before a Nasri brace made it seem respectable. Let us also not forget that during the height our ineptitude last season they also drew us 2-2. However, that was last year’s West Brom. This year’s version just completed a kow tow to Liverpool that let them boss the entire match.
Sure its a light weight opponent. But not every team we play can be Chelsea. You can only play the teams on your schedule. The key here is for Arsenal to continue their momentum and start to apply pressure on the teams above us. The good thing is that hopefully any let down post Chelsea looks to have occurred at the Emirates on Tuesday versus Marseille. Hopefully, then the team can get right back to the business at hand, finish the deed against WBA and then head off into the international break happy moving from the perils of relegation to fighting once again for a top 4 spot.
As for the team make up, with the international break and the possibility of rest for many players I suspect we may see most of who we saw against Chelsea. I’ll make one change though to the squad and give Mertesacker a rest in place of Koscielny. The good thing is that regardless of those two, we have a healthy Vermaelen back. It’s finally nice to have to be concerned about our CB pairing because of players being available then worrying because of injuries. Kieran Gibbs won’t be back until after the break so Andre Santos gets the start again.
There’s been a lot of chatter about Santos and how he seems to go missing from time to time on defence. In our piece on the Case for the Defence we offered up an article on why Santos’ playing style is typical for him and for others like him from Brazil. It should come as no surprise that Wenger highly values fullbacks who can create chances:
“I feel it’s an important part of winning – having a full-back who creates,” he said. “Take the Brazilian national team, the teams who have won, you will see that there is always two good full-backs. With two average full-backs they would not have won. They had Carlos Alberto [at the 1970 World Cup] and Roberto Carlos, Cafu [in 2002].”
On the right, I think Djourou sits in favor of the growing Carl Jenkinson.
Not much change to the attacking side of the squad. Van Persie is back after being a sub against Marseille and his partners remain the same. The good thing is that we are seeing Theo turning it up a notch and Gervinho becoming a nice partner and set up man for the Dutchman. I think the whole idea we are relying on one person is absurd. Van Persie of course is on fire with scoring goals (7 in his last 3 games) but a lot of these goals are coming from the hard work of Theo and Gervinho. Robin is not doing that work himself. Though some of it he does, he has come to rely on the creativity of both wingers to get things started for him. When he accepted is player of the onth honours as well as plaudits for his 10 goals, he first thanked those two for feeding him a steady diet of balls.
How the Match Should Play Out.
West Brom come to the Emirates without both Long and Scharner. Arguably their two best players. Roy Hodgson will likely play for the point and in the end get run over by a team that is growing in confidence with each week. If Arsenal are up for it could get ugly but I suspect as usual they won’t disappoint us with moments of complete frustration.
Players to Watch:
Arsenal. Thomas Vermaelen. Right now next to Robin Van Persie there is no other player on the pitch emulating what I think it means to be an Arsenal player.
WBA. Peter Odemwingie. I swear its not because of his name but because he hurt us last season. We should be careful of him.
Probable Starting XI:
Injuries and Suspensions:
Arsenal: Wilshere (ankle), Sagna (ankle) Gibbs (stomach), Diaby (knee) Squillaci (knee) Chamakh (knee)
WBA: Long (knee) Scharner (knee)
Leading Scorers:
Arsenal: Van Persie 13 (10 league)
WBA: Long 3 (3 league)
Last Meeting (EPL):
Arsenal: 2
WBA: 2
Goals For:
Arsenal (home): 1.8
WBA (away): 1.2
Goals Against:
Arsenal (home): 0.8
WBA: (away): 1.6
Last Five:
Arsenal: WWWLW
WBA: LWWDD
Goal Difference:
Arsenal: -1
WBA: -4
Match Official:
Referee: M Oliver
Broadcast Information:
US: Foxsoccer.tv 1100 AM EST
UK: ????? 1500 GMT
GAMEDAY CHAT: It’s Open!!!!!!
www.youaremyarsenal.com/gamedaychat
YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal: 3
WBA: 0
The Final Word.
I can tell you I am genuinely chuffed about this nugget and its a brief one. But it was learned yesterday that FC Dallas and US Men’s National Team player, Brek Shea will get a chance for a “trial” at Arsenal. While its not a trial in the sense that the Gunners would sign him if they could. It is more Shea going out and doing what Jurgen Klinnsman asked his USMNT players to do and go and get experience training with European players.
Of course since Shea is the flavour of the month in American footballers there is also a lot of speculation around him moving Europe soon. So this “trial” also serves as a good chance for Arsenal to see him before anyone else.
Frankly, I’d be excited for him if he were to make the team. But that’s my nationalist pride getting in the way.
Oh well until next time . . . Stay Goonerish.
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