WEST BROMWICH ALBION v ARSENAL
Barclays Premier League
Tuesday 3rd March 2009, 7:45pm
The Hawthorns

With a run that has seen Albion lose five and draw two of their last seven games, one of the last teams you would want to see arrive at The Hawthorns is Arsenal. Despite the Gunners being in the middle of a supposed ‘crisis’, Arsene Wenger’s young team are currently sitting in fifth place in the league, are through to the quarter finals of the FA Cup and looking good for a place in the Champions League quarter finals too.

However, whilst talk of a crisis at the Emirates is simply ridiculous, there can be no doubt that Wenger is experiencing one of his toughest spells as Arsenal manager. With five successive league draws, four of which have been goalless, they are now six points behind fourth placed Aston Villa sparking fears that a place in next season’s Champions League may be slipping out of their reach.

There’s no doubt that Arsenal have suffered badly with injuries this season. With so many of their best players being out at various times, and with them perhaps lacking the depth in squad strength that main rivals Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have, there was always the chance that an ‘Aston Villa’ or ‘Everton’ could overtake them domestically. For the Gunners, a win at The Hawthorns is vital.

The North Londoners will be expecting three points but first they must end the club's longest goalless sequence in 15 years, and with the Baggies’s defence currently giving goals away left, right and centre (19 goals conceded in 7 games), the chances are that they will.

For all of Albion’s pretty football, they remain, as they have all season, poor up front and poor in defence - definitely not a good combination. Whilst the absence of Jonas Olsson has been a big blow, there can be no excuse for the appalling defending of late, witnessed yet again at Everton on Saturday. With the defence leaking goals like a sieve and with the forward line struggling too, there can be no doubt, Albion are plunging back towards life in the Championship.

With Tony Mowbray seemingly focusing on the upcoming games against Stoke and Bolton, it looks as though he has already given up hope of pulling off a shock against the Gunners but a win is not impossible. Arsenal are not the team they were, and although they will still have numerous quality players in their line-up, they will miss the likes of  Walcott, Eduardo, Gallas, Adebayor and Fabregas badly.

If Albion can raise their game, and the home support must give them their complete backing, the game might not be the foregone conclusion so many think it will be.

Prediction: Albion 1-1 Arsenal

Mark Thomas

TEAM NEWS

Albion

In goal Scott Carson will retain his place with Dean Kiely providing back-up on the bench.

Tony Mowbray will definitely be without defenders Jonas Olsson (knee) and Neil Clement (knee). The Baggies' boss is likely to keep faith with the same back four that started against Everton on Saturday - Gianni Zuiverloon, Ryan Donk, Abdoulaye Meite and Paul Robinson. To provide cover on the bench Mowbray will pick from Pele, Marek Cech, Leon Barnett and Carl Hoefkens

Captain Jonathan Greening could return to the starting line-up against the Gunners following his surprise return to action at Goodison Park on Saturday. Borja Valero could be the man to make way for him with Chris Brunt, Robert Koren and James Morrison looking likely to retain their starting positions. Recent signing Youssouf Mulumbu is still missing due to a thigh strain but. Filipe Teixeira will be available despite suffering from a fractured toe. Juan Carlos Menseguez, Teixeira and Do-heon Kim look likely to start on the bench.

Luke Moore looks set to partner Marc-Antoine Fortune up front with Jay Simpson ineligible to play against his ‘parent’ club and Roman Bednar a doubt with a back injury. Craig Beattie is out on loan at Sheffield United and Ishmael Miller is missing due to long-term injury.

Albion (from): Carson, Kiely, Zuiverloon, Hoefkens, Donk, Meite, Barnett, Robinson, Cech, Morrison, Greening, Valero, Do-Heon, Brunt, Teixeira, Koren, Moore, Fortune, Bednar, Menseguez.

Arsenal

Arsenal will be without defender William Gallas due to an ankle injury. Johan Djourou will replace the French international, lining up in the centre of defence alongside Kolo Toure.

The Gunners will also be without Theo Walcott (shoulder), Eduardo (hamstring), Mikael Silvestre (calf), Emmanuel Adebayor (hamstring), captain Cesc Fabregas (knee) and Tomas Rosicky (hamstring tendon).

Arsenal (from): Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Djourou, Clichy, Arshavin, Denilson, Diaby, Nasri, Van Persie, Vela, Fabianski, Ramsey, Song, Gibbs, Eboue, Bendtner, Merida.

QUOTES

Albion manager Tony Mowbray:

"We have to get some sort of form now, maybe winning four or five.

"It will be difficult against teams like Arsenal on Tuesday, but we have Stoke and Bolton at home back to back and they are the games we have to win.

"We must get belief and confidence. But we were expected to be in the relegation zone and we are."

Albion captain Jonathan Greening:

"People will say and assume Arsenal will beat us on Tuesday. But we have to go out there and put on a good performance in and do our best.

"I remember us beating them a few years ago when Darren Carter got a brilliant goal from a left-footed volley so we've got to try and do that again. We need to draw on that experience. It was a great performance that day - and, on any day, if you play well you have got a chance. Let's hope someone can do the same for us tomorrow as Darren did before.

"People ask if this is a good time to play Arsenal but all those top teams have world class players. Even if they rested someone, they'd have someone of quality in reserve. We need to be at our best if we are to have a chance of getting something from the game."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger:

"I don't know whether the fans are losing faith. That is not my worry.

"What is important is that I do what I believe is right and we keep going, that we show great attitude and do our job as well as we can - then let everybody judge and have an opinion.

"We have been through difficult times, but it's an opportunity to show that you are strong enough to come through it."

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 4/1, Arsenal Win: 8/13, Draw: 9/4.

First Goalscorer

van Persie 9/2, Bendtner 11/2, Arshavin 6/1, Vela 7/1, Diaby 7/1, Nasri 8/1, Bednar 9/1, Fortune 9/1, Moore 10/1, Dorrans 12/1, Wilshere 14/1, Brunt 14/1, Merida 16/1, Bischoff 16/1, Randall 16/1, Kim 16/1, Morrison 16/1, Koren 16/1, Menseguez 16/1, Ramsay 16/1.

TICKET INFORMATION

All tickets are now sold out.

Cool and windy with a 70% chance of rain.

FIXTURE HISTORY

LAST LEAGUE MEETING AT THE HAWTHORNS

Albion 2-1 Arsenal
Barclays Premiership
Saturday 15 October 2005, 3:00pm

Albion: Kirkland, Albrechtsen, Davies, Clement, Robinson, Watson, Wallwork (Carter 68), Greening, Kamara, Horsfield (Ellington 78), Kanu (Moore 70). Subs not used: Earnshaw, Kuszczak.

Goalscorers: Kanu 38, Carter 76

Booked: Watson 14 (foul)

Arsenal: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Senderos, Clichy, Ljungberg (Eboue 36), Fabregas, Flamini (Owusu-Abeyie 77), Pires, Reyes, Bergkamp. Subs not used: Song Billong, Cygan, Almunia.

Goalscorer: Senderos 17

Booked: Reyes 41 (foul), Clichy 74 (foul)

Attendance: 26,604

Referee: Barry Knight (Kent)

Darren Carter climbed off the bench to leave Arsenal's Barclays Premiership title challenge in tatters and ram Sepp Blatter's words back down his throat in the best possible way. Carter had only been on the pitch for nine minutes when he swung his left foot and sent a 20-yard rocket-shot past Jens Lehmann and into the roof of the Gunners net to seal a magnificent come-from-behind win. His sensational winner left Arsene Wenger's beleaguered troops a massive 14 points behind Chelsea - and more importantly for the Baggies made a mockery of Blatter's accusations of defeatism.

Blatter caused uproar when he criticised the Premiership's predictability and claimed an Albion official had admitted his side fielded under-strength sides against the game's elite. Blatter should have been at The Hawthorns today to see the manner in which the Baggies stormed back from Philippe Senderos' early strike for the visitors. Former Gunner Kanu came back to haunt his old club with a 38th-minute equaliser before the dramatic second-half events which sent The Hawthorns into uproar. In spite of Blatter's accusations, the only weakened team on show at The Hawthorns belonged to the visitors, with Alexander Hleb, Sol Campbell and Robin van Persie all forced to join Thierry Henry on the sidelines.

The Baggies, for entirely recognisable reasons shorn of their injury-plagued playmaker Zoltan Gera, bustled with promise at the start as if intent on answering Blatter in the best way possible. They had the best of the early possession with Geoff Horsfield almost reaching Diomansy Kamara's set-piece before Kolo Toure booted clear. The Gunners adopted a typically more measured approach probably mindful that anything less than three points could all but end their title challenge even at this early stage of the season. Left-back Gael Clichy had an early shot comfortably saved low by Chris Kirkland while Baggies captain Neil Clement blocked the visitors' first real chance after Bergkamp had played in Mathieu Flamini. The vastly improved Paul Robinson - emerging as a genuine World Cup contender at left-back - got in a late block to somehow deflect Dennis Bergkamp's 17th-minute effort over the bar as Arsenal began to press with more purpose. And from Jose Reyes' resulting corner Senderos, replacing Campbell at the back, caught the home defence sleeping to steal in at the far post and volley home the simplest of openers.

Bergkamp could have made it two on his 400th Arsenal appearance two minutes later with a long-range effort which Kirkland did well to tip over the bar. Robinson made a good effort to bring the home side back on level terms in the 23rd minute with a powerful long-range drive which roared just past Lehmann's left upright. But the Gunners continued to threaten and a quick 27th-minute break by Bergkamp cued up Freddie Ljungberg who ought to have done better than his right-foot effort which flashed across the face of goal. Steve Watson, who had already been booked, was riding his luck with another careless challenge on Flamini in the Gunners half which fortunately only earned him a final warning on this occasion. Two minutes later Watson came close but his attempt to get his head on Jonathan Greening's fine right-wing cross in front of goal was denied by alert defending from Lauren. Just when the afternoon appeared to have degenerated into the kind of all-too-predictable affair for which the Premiership has attracted criticism this season, Albion grabbed their equaliser out of the blue. And to add to Arsenal's misery it was their former striker who made them pay for lackadaisical defending, Kanu blasting the ball past Lehmann after Senderos had only partially cleared Martin Albrechtsen's cross.

Albion started the second half brightly with Albrechtsen causing problems in the Gunners box with his 48th-minute cross from the right. Kamara then fired in a dangerous corner from the opposite flank three minutes later but Emmanuel Eboue headed clear well under pressure from Horsfield in the box. But the home side had a lucky escape in the 56th minute when Reyes' corner from the right fell to Toure at the far post and his awkward shot dribbled invitingly across the face of goal. With the Gunners suddenly beginning to look dangerous again, Reyes incensed the home fans by apparently diving in the box under the challenge of Robinson, although referee Knight took no action. Fabregas came agonisingly close to restoring his side's lead in the 66th minute with a fierce drive from just inside the box which Kirkland parried superbly out for a corner. Robson appeared to be banking on a brave draw when he replaced Kanu with defender Darren Moore and also introduced Carter in place of Ronnie Wallwork. But with virtually his first touch, Carter swung his left foot and sent Albion's second hurtling past Lehmann to kick-start his side's season in style and rubbish Blatter's words in the best possible way.

Sporting Life

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

Young Arsenal striker Jay Simpson is currently on loan at The Hawthorns until the end of the 2008/09 season.

PAST CONNECTIONS

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS ARSENAL

LAST TEN MATCHES AGAINST ARSENAL

DATE	COMPETITION	H/A	F-A	GOALSCORERS	GATE
Sat 16 Aug 2008	Premier League	A	0-1	Nasri	60,071
Tue 24 Oct 2006	League Cup	H	0-2	Aliadiere 2 (1 pen)	21,566
Sat 15 Apr 2006	Premier League	A	1-3	Quashie - Hleb, Pires, Bergkamp	38,167
Sat 15 Oct 2005	Premier League	H	2-1	Kanu, Carter - Senderos	26,604
Mon 02 May 2005	Premier League	H	0-2	van Persie, Edu	27,351
Sat 20 Nov 2004	Premier League	A	1-1	Earnshaw - Pires	38,109
Tue 16 Dec 2003	League Cup	H	0-2	Kanu, Aliadiere	20,369
Thu 26 Dec 2002	Premier League	H	1-2	Dichio - Jeffers, Henry	27,025
Tue 27 Aug 2002	Premier League	A	2-5	Dobie, Roberts - Cole, Lauren, Wiltord 2, Aliadiere	37,920
Sat 26 Apr 1986	First Division	A	2-2	Reilly - ?	14,821