Arsenal: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Arteta, Flamini, Ramsey, Wilshere, Ozil, Giroud
Subs: Fabianski, Monreal, Vermaelen, Rosicky, Gnabry, Ryo, Bendtner
Jack Wilshere’s first Premier League goal in three years rescued a point for Arsenal as Arsene Wenger’s side fought from one-nil down at half-time to grab a draw against West Brom. Claudio Yacob had headed the home side in front before the break and despite chances for both teams to grab a winner following Wilshere’s low volley, a draw was just about the right result.
Much like the game at Swansea a couple of weeks ago the first fifteen minutes were spent trying to manipulate the ball through a very crowded midfield and while our play was tidy enough, the home side weren’t unduly troubled.
The first shot in anger came from West Brom’s Premier League debutant Berahino. The England under-21 international, who scored the winner at Old Trafford last weekend, stepped inside Jenkinson, fired goalwards and saw his effort take a wicked deflection off Flamini’s arse. The ball looked destined to end up in the back of the net but Szczesny somehow changed direction to dive full stretch and palm the ball clear. It was a superb save.
After that we probed. And probed. And probed. Our passing was crisp, Giroud the perfect foil for the movement of Wilshere, Ramsey and Ozil. However, we lacked end product. Arteta had a shot blocked (by Giroud), Gibbs fired over, Wilshere hit wide and Giroud dipped an effort straight at keeper Myhill.
In between Flamini picked up his customary booking – for shin kicking Amalfitano – while both Ramsey and Wilshere, who kept getting caught in possession, needed treatment for knee and eye problems respectively.
Despite being in control for much of the half we got sloppy in the minutes before the break. The Baggies won a couple of corners targeting Gibbs’ flank and while the second was initially cleared by Jenkinson the ball was quickly worked out wide to Amalfitano who crossed to the near post for an unmarked Yacob to head downwards past Szczesny at the near post. (1-0)
Wilshere capped a poor personal 45 minutes with a booking for a clumsy challenge much to the enjoyment of the raucous home fans.
We started on the back foot from the off in the second period and were very lucky not to find ourselves 2-0 down when Anelka somehow squandered a tap in from two yards after great work by Berahino. The ex-Gunner also conceived to miss another guilt edge chance six minutes later when he cut in on goal from the left, after being played onside by Koscielny, only to curl the ball wide of Szczesny’s far post.
In between Jack squandered a great chance to equalise. Fed by Giroud he shot over wildly although the replay suggested he was unlucky not to get a penalty after getting crunched on the ankle by Billy Jones. The England man would have been most people’s choice to be subbed on the hour mark but instead Rosicky replaced Ramsey who seemed to be nursing the knee he had earlier knocked.
Of course it had to be Jack who grabbed the equaliser. Ozil won the ball in midfield, bound down the right wing and fed Giroud. The Frenchman held up play, skipped past one man and laid the ball to Rosicky on the edge of the box. The Czech flicked the ball back to Wilshere who promptly hammered home a low volley. It took a slight deflection which left Myhill wrong footed but it was a fantastic strike all the same. (1-1)
The energy and trickery of Berahino and Sessegnon meant the homes side were a continued threat on the break and Szczesny had to be alert to push away a Billy Jones long-range effort. It was end-to-end stuff and you sensed it could go either way in the final 15 minutes.
Taking confidence from his goal Wilshere played a fantastic through ball to Giroud who rounded Myhill but couldn’t find a finish with the goal beckoning. It was the Gallic hitman’s last serious bit of action with Wenger sending on Nicklas Bendtner in his place for the last five minutes.
For all the frenetic play there was little goalmouth action in the final moments. While the Gunners’ surrender their winning run away from home they do, thanks to West Ham’s 3-0 win over Spurs, return to the top of the table. Not an insignificant little stat as we head into the international break.
We really should have brought on Gnabry.
I wonder if Wenger gave up trying to win when he brought on Bendtner.
And Giroud’s hold up play is impressive.
Westbrom is a good team, but if the referee did his job well, we would have won easily. I think westbrom used orcs tactic, kept fouling all days. But the ref did nothing, and it looked like american football goddammit. Lee mason is fucked up ref
Referee was poor
The referee was not poor, he’s shit!
I could obviously recall the handball on that Jones guy plus the tackle on Jack inside the WBA penalty area which could have given us the full points if it were not for the referee…..
Your name speaks volumes. Return to hades you muppet
don’t say anything positive it would be a shock to your system
i really dont get comments like that.. wenger gave up trying to win? how? by bringing on a striker for another striker? surely he wouldve chucked on vermaelen or monreal if he had given up. you could see all the pundits saying take Jack off at HT, but Arsene knows best – clearly! end of the day, was unhappy about jack losing possession over most the first half, clearly he was being targeted, clearly the ref was a knob to let it all go, but when a player keeps giving 100%, theres not much else you can ask of him.… Read more »
A very decent point against a good west brom team. Take a point all day long. It’s Games like this when our injuries and lack of options up front can hurt us.
But a good day bearing in mind that shower of shit down the road proved once again just what they are.
Credit to West Brom, they really made life difficult for us today
Credit to West Brom, they played the best imitation of a Tony Pulis team since Tony Pulis got on the dole. Credit to the referee too for being so manly and tough, what a brave Northern lad trying to bring the game back to the 1950s, before Johnny foreigner and Arsene Wenger came along and caused broken Britain. But most credit of all to the Arsenal team, this is a fixture we would have lost in the past. Great mental strength to come back, especially by Wilshere and Flamini who just got on with the game despite the aforementioned cunts.… Read more »
Exactly what I thought. The Baggies are the new Stoke.
How was that not a penalty on Wilshere and how did Mason not book anyone for those fouls on Wilshere throughout the game and then book Wilshere for something less than what he had been subjected to, several times beforehand ?
Still, without all of that, a point is not all that bad, given the result they had against Utd last week.
They are not the new Stoke!!
West Brom were impressive today.. Sessegnon and Amalfitano looked good, and sure they were physical, but they gave us a bloody good game and we did very well to take a point from the game.
i agree the ref was poor, and I wanted that penalty near the end, but Jack’s card was definitely deserved.
Top of the league!!!!
Yes, they have some very talented strikers who played well, bar Anelka (haha). But their defence was fouly, and the way Boaz Myhill punted free kicks on the halfway line into our box is basically Paul Robinson playing for Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn. So all in all, good individual performances by some of them, but overall I would still describe their tactics as negative. Which makes it very encouraging that that we managed to create many clear cut chances against a stubborn defence, through the short give-and-gos in the first half and the counterattacks in the second. All in all it’s… Read more »
Still top of league but a chance missed to go on top with two points clear. Anyway who would have thought we would be top of the league going to this Comedy Break specially after the day one.
Hope all our players come back unscathed…..
COYG
completely agree. neither team really deserved to lose this one. Like you said West Brom were very well organized and even looked dangerous going forward, but to be fair we were pretty well organized defensively as well and didn’t look like being beaten easily. Ramsey looked tired today which is fair considering he hardly gets substituted nowadays, and i’m glad Wilshere put in a good response after the week he’s had. He had it a bit rough in the first half, but its seems like he was given a bit more freedom to roam in the second and looked much… Read more »
I agree, it’s a good point, considering how both teams played, our current injury situation, the ref, and the fact we’re still on top going into the break. The other, probably less felt bonus is that this draw silenced the stupid media going on and on about us winning the title, but, equally, a draw isn’t disastrous enough for them to switch the narrative into one of how the wheels came off our title challenge today. They really are ridiculous.
Fucking Ref
Is that the same Ref as the villa game? Looked like we coulda had a pen there. A couple of times
A fair result in the end I guess.
But Lee Mason is an utter cunt
He forget his whistle at home? What the fuck…
I wont say that. he gave some really soft fouls against us.
C*NT
I agree everytime WB got touched, he went down and Ref blew his Whistle..The funniest was Gibbs ‘foul’ on segesson in which he went down like he has been shot from point blank range…
Wilshere, didn’t get anything whole day and not even the penalty..
He definably wasn’t going to blow up for a foul on an Arsenal player unless it was actual assault. If I was Wenger, I’d withdraw Jack from the England squad just to make a point. Cite the need to recover from the finger in the eye, and damage to his ankle from a late tackle and a scissor tackle from behind (the last 2 waved on by the ref and both in the box). I’m an England fan, and there is no way I’d want him to miss 2 crucial qualifiers, but Mason today let him get kicked up and… Read more »
and just to make clear (before someone picks it up), I don’t expect protection or preferential treatment, just the bastards to actually give the fouls.
1. Good point, top of the league before the interlull- good confidence builder
2. hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah Spu*s
I count it as 139 seconds since my stream finished.
Black magic.
Do you think Blogs only sat around knocking their beers down the whole match?
Nah. I’m sure he switched to Scotch at halftime.
Nah. I’m sure he switched to Scotch at halftime.
MOTM for me? The away supporters… Well played Arsenal!
He smokes when he wants….?
Tough game, jack rallied well after the first half he had. Jenkinson looked a bit shaky..
We were flat for large periods of the game though which is a little concerning. Hopefully we can get some bodies back after the interlull
Still top and spuds lost 🙂
Ref was fucking shite. Our boys gave it all and if the ref had been any decent we might’ve won it. Imagine this is United under Fergie the ref would sure find a way to give a penalty.
I don’t think he would have had to look very far, 2 easy options I saw.
Good motivation to go full guns blazing after the break.
How much did we miss Walcott’s pace? Oh well I see this a point won, besides we deserved a penalty so it’s not all doom and gloom that said just look at Tottenham…looool
FOYS!!!
Not just Walcott’s pace, we missed Sagna too. Sagna has improved going forward and his link up play with the midfielders is top drawer stuff. There were times when it looked like we lacked width in this particular game but it doesn’t mean we changed our style of play, far from it. IMO the reason is; When Sagna plays, his energy levels and experience means he can rush up and down that flanks, and also finds our midfielders in those positions where they can now give those inch perfect defense splitting passes. When he is on the pitch, almost all… Read more »
Definitely, Jenko has a good cross but I feel that too many were made today because he wasn’t sure what to do…
Can’t wait till all our options are available..
One thing is for sure. Jenks is no where near challenging Sagna for a right back. And why is Wenger reluctant to make changes?
Anyways, a point is not so bad against a good West Brom side.
Changes.. yeah even i thought.. but i concluded this way. May be he sees something which I don’t!
Fucking had forgotten how it felt like not to win a game…….oh well
Lee Mason seems to be stuck in the 80s.
Good result considering the game, fast paced, nothing to lose from west brom players, etc etc
Now that Arsenal drew a game knee jerkers and trolls will be back in full
Damn you Lee Mason! With all injuries considered, we did okay.. Can’t wait ’till our wingers are back in action
Good point all round. Think there was a time where we might have surrendered a game like that. West Brom tried to bully us a bit but there’s some bite in this team now and we gave as good as we got, if not more. These hard earned points are going to be vital come the end of the season and could make all the difference
Very sloppy at times, could have got the win if we made better decisions or if we had an unbiased referee and jenkinson showed he’s a long way from a regular. But fair play to the lads, it could have been worse (like losing 3-0) and could prove to be a very valuable point.
Positives are that we’re still top of the league and the spuds showed how mediocrely shit they are.
Now to get our players back after the break and keep the unbeaten run going.
COYG!
I cant believe there was people out there who were askin for Arsene’s head few weeks back. That sayin, ‘Arsene knows’ didn’t come outta nowhere! Go back to last season and there was more idiots askin for Jenkinson to be first choice and don’t get me wrong, I love Jenkinson cos he’s a die hard fan just like many of us and works hard but he’s nowhere near Arsenal standard RB. What we missed the most in this game was directness which 3 of winger, Theo, Poldi and the Ox offer but obviously with our luck, they’re all out injured!… Read more »
WTF ?
Ramsey coming off cost us the win, you just know that he would have been on the end of something come the 80th or so’th minute. Such is his confidence he outranked Özil of the freekick in the first half. Anyways we’re still top, we could have done better, Cazorla…that is all.
p.s. well done sp*ds for fucking it up again.
That referee was full of shit, he didnt know what a foul is
On another note seems like Arsenal can only lose point(s) if the ref is being an utter nob
Funny if wilshere had gone off (sub) we would have never scored……….
Funny he was our worst player by some margin in the first half. I think we might have gotten our tactics wrong in this game. I think if we started the game with a different formation we might had this one sown up in the first half. But I suppose its the mark of a great team that can salvage a point when other things go wrong.
With our top four (!) choices on the wings injured (Cazorla, Theo, Poldi, Ox), our tactics in that regard are fairly limited. So we have 5 central midfielders on the pitch and against a team like West Brom that’s going to prove hard to make effective. We couldn’t stretch them vertically which traditional wingers would have done. Theo stays further forward, as does Caz and Poldi. That clears up space and makes counterattacks more immediate. That’s what I wished to have seen more, but with 5 central mids you aren’t going to get counter-attacking football.
I lost count how many times I told the ref to fuck off. Anytime jack gets shoved he plays on, fair enough he wants more leniency. But then as soon as Sessegnon goes down like a sack of spuds he blows for a foul. Fucking hell one rule for the home team and another for us it seems. The foul stat is something like 3 for West Brom and 11 for us. Ridiculous. Aside from that Wenger might’ve misjudged putting Arteta in the middle instead of Ramsey, our most in form player ATM. The midfield looks slow because of it.… Read more »
Jack needs to stop running into trouble though. Just play it simple sometimes and stop trying to wriggle through three players.
Flamini & Arteta was in the centre against Napoli last week, and it turned out great, that’s why Ramsey is played on the wings.
But agreed Gnarbry should’ve been in there to stretch Westbrom vertically a bit.
Jack should’nt play on the wings again, he’s just a more central man.
We so badly need Walcott back!
Downward spiral
TDs are presumably from those who don’t get irony (AVB quote, amyone?)
4 points in 2 tricky away games and a win against Napoli, all in a week. Not bad at all.
“Flangebracket”
My new favourite word.
Away support need to take a bow, greatest away supporters in the league. We got a point and spuds lost 0-3. I’m taking away the positives.
I,LL settle for the draw could have bein bet could have won it
Damn!!! Interlull time… Noooooooooo
In this case, I welcome the interlull. Today demonstrated once again that Jenkinson, while full of application, currently lacks the ability to play at this level. The break gives us time to get Sagna back before we play another game, and we should also have Cazorla back, too. Walcott?
The break couldn’t come at a better time for us.
In fairness to the ref, replays showed the hand ball wasn’t a pen the bloke put his arm behind his back so couldn’t have done more and the other one the player got the ball first.
Can’t blame the ref, we played average but got a very decent point and are still top and showed charachter. Happy days.
Are you insane ?! Yes the wba player got the ball but his tackle was reckless he shatter wislhere and than got the ball 100% penalty,as for the handball I agree with you his arm was close to his body right call but, that would have been a penalty awarded straight away to man utd.
Chances aren’t guilty.
“gilt edged”
Sir Jenks didn’t play at all well today. Against munich and some other teams he was superb, but today i was really disappointed. Hopefully he can pick him self up, analyse his performances and take a leaf out of Sagna’s book. COYG
I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand it was a tough game and we were not at our best so a draw was probably a fair result. Jack in particular was very poor today (and yes i know he scored). But on the other hand I don’t know why we didnt get gnabry or bendtner on in place of Arteta or Jack to support Giroud and go for a win with 10 or 15 minutes left. If that was one of the other title challengers I doubt they would have been content with a draw. Still,… Read more »
Happy with the draw after a scrappy match
Perhaps it proves how good we are that we got the equaliser after a very slow first half
Well done to the fans and everyone should be delighted we are league leaders just before the interlull
Wilshere got absolutely battered, where was the ref’s whistle?
We need Cazorla for the extra creativity. Thank goodness he will be back after the interlull. Cazorla plus Özil plus Walcott….. With Podolski and Chamberlain options off the bench. Our win streak has ended but we are still top. Norwich at home is the perfect type of fixture to get us up and running again.
I was most dissapointed with the pace of our game in the first half. We looked like we were playing a pre season friendly at times and it actually seemed to take the goal to shake us out of our coma. I realise there was a certain amount of fatigue but we didn’t show any urgency or drive. Apart from that, I think we just need to accept that that was an off day. They will happen. And a point away from home against a mid table cllub on an off day is pretty good. Top of the league still.… Read more »
WBA is the new Stoke. Fuck Yacob cunt. Wilshere eye were swollen in seconds and ref does nothing about it. And fuck the WBA home crowd for booing Wilshere. And a fitting kick in the face for them when our No 10 scored.
Ref could have given us a penalty on one of the foul on Giroud, but NOOOO because we are Arsenal. Fuck.
But I’d take 1 points any day. Top of The Table we stay.
In the live blog, blogs called a Brom player a “flangebracket”
giroud should have score at least one of those two chances! especially the volley one….what a big misss. i said it all the time.. ill said it again that we need world class striker. Giroud will b one in future i beive but today i must say its two point lost cos of Giroud not being good enough in his finishing really
Giroud created that tasty goal for Wilshere (TR7 assisted)
anyone can make that simple pass…chamakh could hv done that…simple pass to rosicky really. im not trying to say hes shit though…hes actually really good and improve alot this season but hes nowhere near the quality of striker required for a team going for the championship…thats my point…and today he really cost us that two points
We all know of Giroud’s shortcoming, he is bad when striking the ball. But there is a lot more to being a striker than striking stunning half volleys for the highlight reels.
Giroud’s hold up and combination play is already top class. He attacks crosses well and his movement off the ball is good. If on top of that he can strike the ball like RVP, he would be called Ibrahimovic. I think there aren’t plenty of Ibrahimovics around. And none of them are quite as good looking as HFB.
Today’s negative factors: 1.Not starting Rosicky 2.Giroud 3.Jenkinson 4.The ref
Can’t wait for Lukas!
It was only a matter of time before teams started parking the bus against us
Wilshire was rubbish today apart from the goal he have every ball away still good point away from home
Agree with you if you’re talking about the first half, second half he was outstanding in my opinion…that glorious pass to Giroud
what
I honestly feel that to go to a place like the hawthorns to play against a team like West Brom with very high confidence due to the fact they beat united at Old Trafford last weekend its a good one point for us. event though i wanted the wins so badly butbWe need to get every point we can get and I believe we are capable of good things this season so we must keep it up cauz this season is like a long marathon so we must be consistent and keep our spirits up.Btw the referee was bad and… Read more »
Good point away that keeps us top of the league.
With all our first teamers out injured, why do so many people say we lack depth?
Also would have liked to see Gnabry come on when the game got stretched.
Haven’t seen the game yet alas, but you can’t win every match. Had a feeling that a wake-up call might have been on the cards as you can’t keep beating teams away non-stop and WBA are in a spell of form. Also worth pointing out that we went out on a high before an international break last year beating West Ham, and then hit some shocking form after coming back starting with that 1-0 defeat to Norwich. In a way a draw is a very good result as the team will leave neither deflated, nor starting to believe their own… Read more »
Ramsey got a knock on his knee that is why he was subbed and also he was tired,and great opportunity for wenger to say that ramsey is injured for 2 weeks, the guy need a deserve rest and comeback firing for the next game.