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West Brom Fan View: Baggies will need dark arts of Tony Pulis to get a result at Arsenal

Nathan Bliss
Tony Pulis will use all of his defensive nous to try and get a result at Arsenal
Tony Pulis will use all of his defensive nous to try and get a result at Arsenal

I was critical of West Brom’s tactics in the dour 0-0 draw at The Hawthorns last time out, summed up by Albion’s first shot on target coming very late in the second-half, with Tony Pulis seemingly happy to take the point and a clean sheet.

However, this week’s fixture will be one of the rare occasions where I won’t be moaning about negative tactics, because it’s probably our best chance of getting a result!

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On Monday night, West Brom will travel to Arsenal, and we’ll need to do the ugly side of the game really well if we’re to get a result there. Plus a lot of luck going our way!

With Livermore back in the fold after his week-long break, I would expect our midfield to look the same as it did away at Brighton. I’m expected a three man midfield three with Livermore, Gareth Barry and Grzegorz Krychowiak. Overkill against Brighton, but definitely needed against the talent of Arsenal.

Grzegorz Krychowiak has impressed since joining from PSG in August
Grzegorz Krychowiak has impressed since joining from PSG in August

Even though we beat Arsenal at The Hawthorns last season, going to The Emirates is a different animal altogether, and we’ve got a really poor record in recent seasons. If anyone can pull of a 0-0 against Arsenal though, it’s Tony Pulis.


Ben Foster was in sensational form against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup in midweek, he’s going to need to produce another performance like that if we’re to get anything out of the game on Monday.

Ben Foster was sensational against Manchester City last time out
Ben Foster was sensational against Manchester City last time out

In defence, I would expect to see Craig Dawson retain his position at right-back, with Ahmed Hegazy and Jonny Evans centrally. It will be interesting to see who Pulis opts for at left-back, a steady pair of hands in Allan Nyom? Or Kieran Gibbs against his former club?

I thought Gibbs did very well on his home debut against West Ham, and I’d be surprised if he was to be dropped for this game, but if the Manager wants more height in the back four, Nyom is always a steady performer.

I would expect Chris Brunt and Matt Phillips to retain their positions in the wide areas, after they did well defensively against West Ham in the last fixture.

Last week, Jay Rodriguez found out just how hard it is to play upfront on your own in this West Brom side, you’ll get no service and be feeding off scraps the entire game! We’ll need either he or Salomon Rondon to do the same against The Gunners.

Boing Boing!