The Game

Many of us are still enjoying the 1-4 away win against Tottenham Hotspur but of course it’s now time to look forward and focus on today’s game.

Roberto di Matteo’s West Bromwich Albion suffered a heavy defeat on the road when they paid Chelsea a visit at Stamford Bridge but as the Italian said, they will be very careful not to make the mistakes today at the Emirates. But having said that, I still see this game as an easy one, at least on paper.

Injury-wise, it’s not that we’re better-positioned than last week with Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott still out for weeks although Abou Diaby could return. Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Eboue also took late fitness tests before the game, hopefully they covered.

And, until you wait for kick-off, make sure to check what Sebastien Squillaci had to say about adapting to the English Premier League game and what made the difference at White Hart Lane according to Cesc Fabregas.

As always, please do join the discussion in our chat room which will also be active after the full time whistle. You will be glad to know that from this season, to provide a better chat experience to our readers, users can be banned if they post offensive comments.

Streaming Links

For those who don’t know where to watch the game, maybe we can help, follow this link for streaming options. Links are updated before and during the match.

The Line-Ups

Arsenal

Almunia, Clichy, Squillaci, Koscielny, Sagna, Eboue, Song, Diaby, Nasri, Arshavin, Chamakh

Subs: Fabianski, Djourou, Wilshere, Denilson, Emmanuel-Thomas, Rosicky, Vela

West Bromwich Albion

Carson, Jara, Pablo, Olsson, Shorey, Thomas, Morrison, Brunt, Scharner, Mulumbu, Odemwingie

Subs: Myhill, Zuiverloon, Dorrans, Reid, Tchoyi, Fortune, Cox

Half-Time Thoughts and Analysis

I wish I could use a different word but “pathetic” is the only one which comes into my mind to describe this first half of football.

Simply put, West Brom deserve to be in front – they passed better, played better and showed more determination. The reason why the likes of Samir Nasri and Abou Diaby never step up when we need it the most is beyond me.

Tomas Rosicky for Abou Diaby and Carlos Vela for Emmanuel Eboue are the two changes I would make at half time but I’m afraid we have to wait for the 66th minute to see our cards shuffled.

At half time, it’s Arsenal nil, West Brom nil.