Arsenal travelled to the West Midlands to take on West Bromwich Albion on the last day of the year looking to close the gap to fourth-placed Liverpool to just a point in the Premier League standings. The Gunners lined up in a 3-4-2-1 formation against the Baggies but it didn’t help them break down the 5-3-2 formation which Alan Pardew’s men deployed.
The game began with Arsenal on the offensive while the home team sitting back and soaking up the pressure while playing on the counter. Both teams squandered some half-chances to go into the half-time break with nothing to split them. However, the Gunners came out firing in the second half and got themselves ahead through a goal from Alexis Sanchez courtesy of his deflected attempt from a direct free kick but the Baggies came right back into the contest by converting a controversial spot-kick awarded by the referee courtesy of Jay Rodriguez.
The match might not have been the best advert for the Premier League, but it could turn out to be crucial in determining who makes it into the top 4 and who gets relegated at the end of the season.
Let’s take a look at how the Arsenal players fared in the match.
GK: Petr Cech – 6/10
The Arsenal goalkeeper collided with Jay Rodriguez in the first half but came back strong from his injury to make some key saves for the Gunners.
CB: Calum Chambers – 6/10
He tried his best to neutralise the threat of Jay Rodriguez and Hal Robson-Kanu and managed to succeed for most of the game. However, he conceded the penalty when he handled the ball inside the box.
CB: Shkodran Mustafi – 7/10
The German defender defended well for most of the game and kept the Baggies’ attack quiet up until the controversial West Brom penalty.
CB: Laurent Koscielny – 6/10
He suffered an injury which would come as a blow for Arsene Wenger going into the new year.
RM: Hector Bellerin – 6/10
The Spanish fullback tracked back well but failed to provide enough support down the right flank.
CM: Jack Wilshere – 7/10
The English midfielder tried his best to create chances for his teammates to feed on but was unable to dictate play as much as he would have liked.
CM: Granit Xhaka – 6/10
He battled hard against the Baggies midfield and got a shot in on target in the first half. However, his effect faded as the game went on.
LM: Sead Kolasinac – 6/10
He got subbed early on after suffering an injury from a Gareth Barry challenge.
CAM: Alex Iwobi – 6/10
He probably had the best effort on goal for Arsenal from open play and forced a good save out of West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster.
CAM: Alexis Sanchez – 7/10
He looked dangerous with the ball but was not able to involve himself enough in the game to secure a victory for Arsenal.
ST: Alexandre Lacazette – 8/10
Arguably, one of the biggest threats to the Baggies defence, the French striker tried his best to score but was unlucky in front of goal. He forced a brilliant save out of Ben Foster with one of his attempts.
Substitutes:
LM: Ainsley Maitland-Niles – 6/10
He came on and defended well to keep the West Brom attackers at bay.
CB: Per Mertesacker – 6/10
He came on for the final quarter of the game but failed to secure the three points for Arsenal.
ST: Danny Welbeck – 6/10
He couldn’t establish himself to the pace of the match after coming off the bench and was unable to make an impact in the game.
