Arsenal travel to West Bromwich Albion this Sunday for the two sides second meeting in 11 days in all competitions. Arsenal are currently flying at the top of the Premier League with five wins in their last six. The Gunners have made their best start to a league campaign in nearly ten years and will be in a bullish mood for the fixture. West Brom come into the game on the back of a famous 2-1 win at Old Trafford of Manchester United. The Baggies have won their last two games in the Premier League and have shown signs of real improvement. Steve Clarkes’ men had a rocky start to the season losing two of their first three games and failing to win in their first four. A strong home win against Sunderland in Paolo Di Canio’s last game of his reign at the Black Cats seems to have been a turning point of West Brom.
Team News
West Brom’s two long term injury absentees Zoltan Gera (Hamstring) and Matej Vydra (Hamstring) as well have been joined by a number of players who are facing late fitness tests to be involved on Sunday. Summer signings Victor Anichebe and Stephan Sessengon, Nicolas Anelka, Chris Brunt, James Morrison and Shane Long have all returned to training and hope will hope to feature. Scott Sinclair (Hamstring) is out until after the international break after picking up an injury against Manchester United.
Arsenal’s injuries have been well documented since the start of the season. Abou Diaby (ACL), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Knee), Lukas Podolski (Hamstring), Theo Walcott (Abdominal), Yaya Sanago (Back) and Santi Cazorla (Foot) all miss out. The latter two of that list are due to return after the international break. Arsenal’s newest injury absentee is Bacary Sagna who picked up a hamstring injury during the week. Tomas Rosicky returned in the Champions League this week and will return to Premier League action this weekend.
Interesting Facts
West Brom do not have the best of records when it comes to playing Arsenal. The Baggies have lost their last four in the league against the Gunners. They have only won one of their last five home games against Arsenal in the league. Their last league win against Arsenal came at the Emirates in September 2010 where they won 3-2. Arsenal have only failed to win at the Hawthorns twice in all of the teams Premier League meetings. Arsenal have won twelve consecutive away games in all competition including a penalty shoot-out win against West Brom in the League cup last week.
Key Men
West Brom have been buoyed in their last two league games by the performances of signing Morgan Amalfitano. Amalfitano has joined West Brom on loan for the season from French club Marseille and has showed his quality with two goals in two league games. The most recent of these was a stunning solo effort against Manchester United where he also contributed the assist for Saido Berahino’s winner. Amalfitano’s statistics for his first two games make for interesting reading. The winger has recorded a 100% shot accuracy. As well as this he has created ten chances two of which have resulted in a clear cut chance. His ability to create as well as score could be vital to West Brom this season.
Arsenal have been led this season by the remarkable form shown by Aaron Ramsey. The midfielder has been in imperious form scoring eight goals in all competition including four in the Premier League. The midfielder has also been extremely combative for Arsenal with thirty-three tackles of which almost 88% have been successful. Ramsey has also made 456 passes, the third highest in the Premier League this season which show how involved he has been in Arsenal’s play. Ramsey’s all round play has stepped up dramatically, a far cry from last season where he was much maligned by pockets of Arsenal support. Wenger will hope that his impressive form will continue for the rest of the team and his relationship with Ozil and Giroud will continue to flourish.
Prediction
The form guide for this one would suggest that Arsenal should be placed as the firm favourites for game. Twelve straight away wins is some record, and with the confidence that the Gunners are currently exhibiting. That being said, West Brom are coming into the game off the back of a historic win at Old Trafford, so they will also be in a confident mood. Despite this, Arsenal’s quality in the final third should be too much for West Brom and the good organisation they have shown at the back should be enough to see them through. A 2-1 win for Arsenal would be a strong prediction for this match.
