Arsenal returned to the Hawthorns just a couple weeks after a League Cup victory looking to record a twelfth consecutive away win. They were met by an energetic West Brom team who fully deserved to take a point from this game and had great chances to increase the lead they had.

West Brom, and former Arsenal player Anelka in particular, were made to pay for the missed chances as Jack Wilshere made up for a poor first half display to equalise just after the hour mark.

In all it was a fair result leaving Arsenal top of the league going into the international break.

Lack of Width

Arsenal’s starting line-up had an obvious lack of natural wide players and pace and this was to show in the first half display.

The opening five minutes set the tone of match as end to end attacks took place. Mulumbu and Yacob were more than a match for Arteta and Flamini in the middle of the park which meant the space for Arsenal was out wide.

The importance of Theo Walcott to this side shows on days like today as Ramsey and Wilshere’s lack of pace really stood out. The effort was there but these are two players who are best in central midfield.

Struggling with Sessegnon

Ozil and Giroud looked like Arsenal’s biggest attacking threats but the most dangerous player was West Brom’s Sessengnon. Arsenal failed to deal with the tricky forward who won many free kicks for West Brom eventually leading to their opener.

On forty minutes Arsenal cleared a free kick but the resulting West Brom cross lead to a free header for Yacob.

The zonal marking system Arsenal use meant that he was not picked up in the area after the ball had been initially cleared.

A Tale of Two Jacks

The first half today will not be one to remember for Jack Wilshere.

Although playing out of position there was still no excuse for the amount of times he gave the ball away and he seemed to spend most of his time on the floor.

His first half was summed up with a late challenge resulting in a yellow card and his substitution seemed to be imminent.

However, he reappeared in the second half and could only look on as Nicolas Anelka missed two sitters to put West Brom out of sight.

Just after the hour mark Wenger’s faith in Wilshere was justified. After nice work from Ozil, Giroud and Rosicky, Jack smashed home the equaliser with the help of a deflection. This was particularly pleasing and shows the character this young man possesses. His form has come into question as of late but we must not forget the talent he possesses and the impact he can have on this team.

After his goal Wilshere began to drift more into the middle and created a great chance for Giroud who was well denied by Boaz Myhill.

Lack of Depth

Today highlighted Arsenal’s current lack of depth coming from the bench and Arsene Wenger will be hoping to come out of the international break with no new injury concerns and hopefully some players back from injury.

If a Cazorla, Podolski or Chamberlain had been coming off the bench today it might have just made the difference. Ozil was forced to play a lot deeper than usual and his presence further up the field was missed.

We are Top of the League

Another one all draw at the Hawthorns was a fair result and both managers came out and said they were satisfied with the point.

It keeps Arsenal top of the league and with good fixtures of Norwich and Crystal Palace to follow.

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