Arsenal travel to The Hawthorns stadium to face West Bromwich Albion, coming in to the game on the back of a comfortable 2-0 win in the Champions League to secure their place in the knockout round for the 15th year running.
Meanwhile, West Brom look to bounce back from a 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge. However, both sides are looking for wins after back to back defeats in the Premier League as both sides sit in the middle of the table (Arsenal 8th and West Brom 13th).
Jack Wilshere has been ruled out for three months and has had to undergo ankle surgery following a tackle from Manchester United’s Paddy McNair. The Gunners will also be without skipper Mikel Arteta, while Wojciech Szczesny, Danny Welbeck and Yaya Sanogo are all doubts for the midday clash tomorrow and will be assessed beforehand.
Despite these injuries, the return of Olivier Giroud is a massive boost, showing how crucial he is to the Arsenal side, scoring what turned out to be a stunning consolation goal in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.
Arsene Wenger has faced heavy criticism and scrutiny from Arsenal fans this season due to our worst start to a league campaign in 32 years. He will be looking for nothing less than three points as Arsenal look to kick-start their season and the fact that the Gunners have never failed to score in 11 league and cup trips to The Hawthorns will give the manager and fans confidence ahead of the game. Injuries have a played a big part in the downfall of Arsenal’s disappointing start this season and have been plagued by more injuries to first team players in the last two games. But, Wenger has been condemned for not bolstering the Arsenal defence which has been left short due to injuries in key areas and the departure of Thomas Vermaelen in the summer.
I believe that the Gunners will face a tougher test than may be expected going in to the game as both sides look to rectify their poor form. The Arsenal players won’t need reminding of the importance to come back with three points as they look for a run on wins to build on from the Champions League win.
Although Arsenal’s title hopes may already be over as it looks as if Chelsea will storm to the league title as their current form suggests, it is still important to push as far as possible up the table in order to compete with the so called ‘big teams’ to finish in the top four, a place which looks to be competitive this season as a result of Southampton’s excellent start to the season.
A clean sheet is likely to be vital in helping Arsenal overcome Albion tomorrow as they look to improve on recent defensive errors stop the likes of Saido Berahino, West Brom’s top scorer this season with seven league goals.
Meanwhile, Alexis Sanchez will look to continue his fantastic form in his debut season in the Premier League as Arsenal will be hoping that he can add to his tally of eight league goals. Arsenal and hungry for points as they look to improve their current position of eighth in the table which I think will help Arsenal take all three points in a 3-1 win over the Baggies.
Expected line-up
Martinez, Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Flamini, Ramsey, Welbeck, Alexis, Cazorla, Giroud
