THE VERDICT AFTER 534 GAMES WITH 8 PREMIER LEAGUE CLUBS OVER 20 YEARS BIG SAM FINALLY SINKS!
BIG NAMES, BOLD OPINIONS
WEST BROM are dropping down a level and maybe Arsenal have found theirs. They aren’t up to much when it matters and against the good, but put them in with the lame and you watch them dance.
There were times here when they were actually rather good. Not brilliant, of course, but decent. On top, comfortable, that sort of good, particularly in the first half. Even Willian had a strut and a swagger about him.
But it’s all part of the mystery, isn’t it? That a side so hopeless and so flat in a game of great significance on a Thursday can find a bit of drive and verve in a fixture of such limited consequence on a Sunday.
A bit, because Arsenal do not do absolutes. A bit, because nothing is ever fully super in these parts these days, beyond the delusions of their ownership. A bit, because it is all a middling mess, which is how they came to make a battle of a sure thing in this game, before eventually sealing the victory that ended Sam Allardyce’s record of never being relegated from this division.
For a time, the big man sensed his side had a chance. They were long gone at 2-0 in the first half, beaten down by goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Nicolas Pepe and the gifts of Bukayo Saka, but they got it back to 2-1 through Matheus Pereira. From that point, West Brom managed 15 minutes of pressure and a few chances, before Willian, that symbol of falling standards, slapped in a free-kick. It was good, too. Go figure. Go make sense of anything with this mid-table operation whose supporters must surely yearn for the days of hyperventilating to that fan channel about Arsene Wenger.
Under Mikel Arteta, who knows where they will head and for how long before a change of direction or investment or strategy. Europe remains a mathematical possibility, but a sharper one is that they will only contest domestic matters next season, the first such campaign in 25 years.
The fuzziness of the club was represented by the team sheet. For this one Arteta made six changes. Probably about right when you reflect on the midweek nothingness they offered against Villarreal in the Europa League semi-final, but still it had a ring to it of a manager who is struggling for clear thoughts.
In the minutiae it meant PierreEmerick Aubameyang was on the bench, with the unusual stationing of Saka at left back, though his attacking instincts survived the transition. Thrived, even. Indeed, he was the driving force of everything that was good by Arsenal in the opening half.
He was aggressive, nimble, a menace and a reminder of the quality young players at this lost club. Quality young players who deserve competent leadership from pitch to boardroom.
While Saka was weaving his patterns,
West Brom were by no means passive. In Pereira they have a delight of a player who can be lovely to watch on the right day. With one early shot from 25 or so yards he beat Bernd Leno and it dipped only fractions of an inch outside the far post. With another drive he was a little wider but sufficiently close to have Leno in a panic.
Yet the visitors were soon in dire shape courtesy of two goals in six minutes. The first came from the left and a move involving Willian and Saka, who crossed for Smith Rowe. Semi Ajayi was loose with his marking and the 20-year- old buried the volley. A good finish, but back to Saka. It was his 19th assist in all competitions since making his debut in November 2018.
The second was an item of beauty from Pepe. He was heading towards the byline down the right when he checked inwards and on to his left foot. The shuffle bought a little space from Conor Townsend, but nothing that followed could be pinned on him. The speed of the shot, its angle, the tariff of difficulty — superb, really, and another question of how players so capable so often appear anything but.
It was all very comfortable, and then it wasn’t, because this is Arsenal, and so Pereira made it 2-1 with a low hit from the edge of the area. West Brom stepped up the intensity only for Willian to spoil it all with a fine free-kick.
For Allardyce, it is an underwhelming end. He came in and made this side a touch better and gave them hope, if only a little. But the fire was too big, so down they go. ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Leno 6.5; Chambers 6.5, Holding 6.5, Gabriel 6.5, SAKA 8; Elneny 7, Ceballos 7 (Partey 76min); Pepe 7.5, Smith Rowe 7 (Tierney 63, 6), Willian 7; Martinelli 6 (Lacazette 60, 6). Subs not used: Runarsson, Bellerin, Odegaard, Aubameyang, Cedric, Nketiah. Scorers: Smith Rowe 29, Pepe 35, Willian 90. Booked: Ceballos. Manager: Mikel Arteta 7. WEST BROMWICH (4-4-1-1): Johnstone 7; Furlong 5.5, Ajayi 5.5, Bartley 6.5, Townsend 6.5; Phillips 6, Yokuslu 6.5, Gallagher 5.5, Robinson 5.5 (Diangana 67, 6); Pereira 7; Diagne 5.5 (Robson-Kanu 53, 6). Subs not used: Button, Livermore, Peltier, O’Shea, Gardner-Hickman, Grant, Taylor. Scorer: Pereira 67. Booked: Gallagher, Robson-Kanu. Manager: Sam Allardyce 6. Referee: Peter Bankes 7.