West Bromwich Albion played hosts to Arsenal at the Hawthorns as part of the last Premier League match of the year. Alan Pardew’s men were in dire need of a result against the Gunners after falling to the bottom of the Premier League table following Swansea City’s victory yesterday. The Baggies lined up in a defensive 5-3-2 formation to counter Arsenal’s fluid 3-4-2-1 formation and it worked up to a certain extent as the home team managed to keep it 0-0 going into half-time in a game limited in chances with both teams struggling to break their opposition counterparts down.
However, the second half was a different story with the Gunners’ taking the lead through Alexis Sanchez’s free-kick which took a massive deflection and went in while West Brom equalised from the penalty spot after the referee made a controversial decision, much to the annoyance of the away team. The contest was probably not the best advert for the Premier League but it could certainly turn out to be an important result for the West Midlands outfit as they ended the year above Swansea City in 19th place.
Let’s shed some light on how the West Bromwich Albion players fared in the match.
GK: Ben Foster – 8/10
He was a rock at the back for the Baggies and pulled off some important saves to deny the Arsenal attackers.
RB: Matt Phillips – 6/10
He tried his best to give the Baggies an outlet on the right flank but his crossing was wayward and failed to hit the mark.
CB: Craig Dawson – 7/10
He was superb at the centre of the defence and did well to earn a clean sheet for his team.
CB: Ahmed Hegazy – 8/10
The Egyptian defender was immense at the heart of the West Brom defence and commanded his backline well. He put in some important challenges to keep the Gunners’ attack quiet on the day.
CB: Jonny Evans – 7/10
Another consistent performance from the ex-Manchester United centre-back.
LB: Kieran Gibbs – 7/10
He put up a tireless display versus his old club and earned a crucial penalty which helped his team share the points.
CM: Jake Livermore – 6/10
He tried his hardest to stop the Arsenal attacks but gave away some cheap fouls in dangerous areas which could have cost his team dearly.
CM: Gareth Barry – 7/10
The veteran midfielder looked composed on the ball and shielded his backline brilliantly.
CM: Chris Brunt – 6/10
He was wasteful with his long-range shooting. The West Brom midfielder tried his best to create chances for his team but was unable to conjure up anything meaningful in the final third.
ST: Jay Rodriguez – 7/10
The former Southampton forward made Petr Cech make some crucial saves and kept his cool to convert from the penalty spot.
ST: Hal Robson-Kanu – 7/10
He worked tirelessly for his team and won a lot of freekicks in the opposition half.
Substitutes:
RB: Allan Nyom – 6/10
He came on and did a good job to fill in at right-back.
LM: James McClean – 5/10
Not the best display off the bench for the player.
CM: Grzegorz Krychowiak – 6/10
He came on and did enough to earn a point for his team.
