Arsenal will host West Brom Albion this Saturday afternoon at the Emirates Stadium, in their sixth game of the ongoing Premiership season.
The last time the two sides met was at the same venue, and the game ended 2-0 in the host’s favour.
Arsenal with 11 points are second, and just behind champions Chelsea, in the League table, and are among the few unbeaten teams, this Premiership season.
Head to head, in the Premier League, Arsenal and West Brom have met eight times, with Arsene Wenger’s squad emerging winners in six games, while Albion have won on just a solitary occasion against the three-time champions.
In fact, in the last ten matches between the sides, Arsenal have emerged winners eight times, while one match in 2004 was drawn. West Brom Albion recorded a solitary home win during this period.
In nine home matches, in the Premier League, Arsenal have conceded just two goals. Added to that is West Brom’s failure to score a goal in their most recent four away matches in the League. Consider also that in their last 18 away games in the Premiership, West Brom have failed to win a single one, while losing 14, and drawing the remaining three.
All of the above facts might make Arsenal look more formidable than they are. But Sunderland’s injury time strike via Darren Bent last weekend proved that Wenger’s men could be tackled, by a team that’s prepared to attack.
That said, Arsenal’s own attack is not a mediocre act, by any stretch, with 19 goals to show for in five matches played this Premiership season. The defence has also stood up, with only three goals finding the back of Arsenal’s net, in these five matches.
Arsenal could find West Brom hard to handle this season. West Brom are coming off a morale boosting 3-1 win against Birmingham, their third win in five Premier League matches, this ongoing season. However, Albion are a defensive side, and just seven goals scored in five matches is a clear pointer to this fact.
For Arsenal; Fabregas has been ruled out for three weeks with a hamstring injury. The Spanish midfielder is key to Arsenal’s performance this season, and with their match against Chelsea coming up, this is bad news, indeed.
Arsenal’s probable eleven: Almunia, Koscielny, Sagna, Squillaci, Clichy, Song, Wilshere, Denilson, Arshavin, Chamakh, Nasri
West Brom’s probable eleven: Carson, Scharner, Shorey, Jara, Olsson, Thomas, Tamas, Mulumbu, Brunt, Odemwingie, Fortune