Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion; they don’t pass, they get few cards, they don’t win much at the Ems.

By Bulldog Drummond

What is it that marks out West Bromwich Albion from other clubs this season?

There are three factors that seem to make them special in the the Premier League.   First the number of yellow cards.   While Crystal Palace have picked up 15, West Ham 13 and Chelsea 12, WBA are lying 16th in that chart having suffered the indignity of seven yellows so far.  Exactly the same number as… Arsenal.  The club with the least league cards is Brighton with just four.

There are two other charts where they reach the top ten.   They are fourth in the clean sheets league table with three and ninth in terms of the number of cross put in.  In both cases they are higher up the league for those attributes than Arsenal.

Perhaps the biggest difference however between the two clubs playing style comes from a comparison in the number of crosses that each have put in so far.   Here is the full Premier League chart for the season to date…

Position
Club
Passes to date
1.
 Manchester City
4,023
2.
 Tottenham Hotspur
3,490
3.
 Liverpool
3,231
4.
 Manchester United
3,164
5.
 Southampton
3,059
6.
 Arsenal
3,005
7.
 Chelsea
2,984
8.
 AFC Bournemouth
2,759
9.
 Everton
2,632
10.
 Huddersfield Town
2,469
11.
 Swansea City
2,439
12.
 West Ham United
2,319
13.
 Crystal Palace
2,309
14.
 Watford
2,196
15.
Brighton and Hove Albion
2,095
16.
 Stoke City
2,087
17.
 Leicester City
2,045
18.
 Burnley
2,044
19.
 Newcastle United
1,611
20.
 West Bromwich Albion
1,535

This suggests a certain amount of hoofidity going on as a basic playing style.  Arsenal have completed almost twice as many passes as West Brom – although we are already 1000 behind Manchester City.

If we look at the home and away table we can see that Arsenal are comfortably close to the top of the league with a game in hand.  Scoring four goals against West Brom on Monday will equal Manchester City’s 11 home goals, but will give three successive home wins.   (And yes of course I appreciate that the away record thus far is fairly awful, but I’m looking at home games because we are playing, well, basically, at home).

Pos Team Pld W D L F A GD Pts
1 Manchester United 3 3 0 0 10 0 10 9
2 Manchester City 3 2 1 0 11 1 10 7
3 Liverpool 3 2 1 0 6 1 5 7
4 Arsenal 2 2 0 0 7 3 4 6
5 Newcastle United 3 2 0 1 5 3 2 6

If we look at West Brom’s position thus far away from home we find that they are solidly mid-table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Manchester City 3 3 0 0 10 1 9 9
2 Chelsea 3 3 0 0 8 2 6 9
3 Tottenham Hotspur 3 3 0 0 8 2 6 9
4 Watford 3 3 0 0 6 1 5 9
5 Manchester United 3 2 1 0 7 2 5 7
6 Swansea City 3 1 2 0 2 0 2 5
7 Burnley 3 1 2 0 5 4 1 5
8 Huddersfield Town 3 1 1 1 3 2 1 4
9 Southampton 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 4
10 Newcastle United 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 4
11 Liverpool 3 1 1 1 6 10 -4 4
12 West Bromwich Albion 2 1 0 1 2 3 -1 3

West Brom’s results so far however, since returning from Asia, have not been that encouraging.  After a quality start with two wins, things have slipped by the wayside…

Date Game Res Score Competition
12 Aug 2017 WBA v AFC Bournemouth W 1-0 Premier League
19 Aug 2017 Burnley v WBA W 0-1 Premier League
22 Aug 2017 Accrington Stanley v WBA W 1-3 League Cup
27 Aug 2017 WBAv Stoke City D 1-1 Premier League
09 Sep 2017 Brighton and Hove v WBA L 3-1 Premier League
16 Sep 2017 WBA v West Ham United D 0-0 Premier League
19 Sep 2017 Walsall v WBA L 3-1 Football League Trophy
20 Sep 2017 WBA v Manchester City L 1-2 League Cup

Thus three straight wins, followed by two draws and three defeats with four goals in the last five games.

Although there is mass doom and gloom over Arsenal’s performance, the overall results of late are not as awful as some might suggest

Date Game Res Score Competition
06 Aug 2017 Arsenal v Chelsea W 1-1 (4-1) Community Shield
11 Aug 2017 Arsenal v Leicester City W 4-3 Premier League
19 Aug 2017 Stoke City v Arsenal L 1-0 Premier League
27 Aug 2017 Liverpool v Arsenal L 4-0 Premier League
09 Sep 2017 Arsenal v Bournemouth W 3-0 Premier League
14 Sep 2017 Arsenal v 1.FC Köln W 3-1 Europa League
17 Sep 2017 Chelsea v Arsenal D 0-0 Premier League
20 Sep 2017 Arsenal v Doncaster Rov W 1-0 League Cup

Three wins and a draw in the last four.  Of course one was against Doncaster, and another against Cologne, but to my mind the performance against Chelsea away suggested a new form of certainty has been entering the play.

Meanwhile the record of Pulis at Arsenal reads quite nicely across the last nine: no wins, no draws, nine defeats.  The last time West Brom won at Arsenal was back in 2010.  Here’s the chart.

Date Game Res Score Competition
25 Sep 2010 Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion L 2-3 Premier League
19 Mar 2011 West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal D 2-2 Premier League
05 Nov 2011 Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion W 3-0 Premier League
13 May 2012 West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal W 2-3 Premier League
08 Dec 2012 Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion W 2-0 Premier League
06 Apr 2013 West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal W 1-2 Premier League
25 Sep 2013 West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal W 1-1 League Cup
06 Oct 2013 West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal D 1-1 Premier League
4 May 2014 Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion W 1-0 Premier League
29 Nov 2014 West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal W 0-1 Premier League
24 May 2015 Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion W 4-1 Premier League
21 Nov 2015 West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal L 2-1 Premier League
21 Apr 2016 Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion W 2-0 Premier League
26 Dec 2016 Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion W 1-0 Premier League
18 Mar 2017 West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal L 3-1 Premier League

More news about the game tomorrow.  That makes something like 10 out of the last 13.

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16 Replies to “Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion; they don’t pass, they get few cards, they don’t win much at the Ems.”

  1. Just heard Ian Wright on BBC radio talking to Brighton and Man City fans, who are complimenting him on his repeated criticisms of Arsenal and defending him against the adverse reactions of our supporters.

    He is obviously loving it and he’s offering advice to our forthcoming opponents that the way to beat Arsenal is to “get in their faces” from the start. (as if West Brom need any advice of that nature).

    What an absolutely disgraceful comment by a pundit and so-called Arsenal legend (definitely in the past)

  2. I’ve been calling Wright out for the nasty little shit he is for years. Many have seen fit to insult me for doing so.

    It worries me not, because time and time and time again he proves himself to be exactly that.

    I said only a month or so ago I would not p*** on him if he was on fire, and I haven’t changed. I simply cannot stand the man.

  3. What I really wish for is that Wenger, the players and the club, finally see Wright for the charlatan he is, and stop seeing him as an idol.

    Do they not remember his repeated efforts over the years to encourage some of our best players to leave ?

    Do they not realise that ‘get in there faces’ is simply a metaphor for ‘kick them off the park’ ?

    Wenger, this is exactly what Wright is encouraging opposition players to do to your team.

    Aaron, Jack, Per, Danny, and the rest, this guy is encouraging players to kick YOU off the park.

    Whether anyone ever takes a blind bit of notice of him or not is irrelevant.

    The point is, is that really the way a so called ‘Legend’ should be behaving towards the club he used to be idolised at, and still professes to love?

    Is this the kind of guy we should have a statue of outside our stadium?

    Is this the sort of guy we should be worshipping at our club?

    I certainly don’t think so and I just hope that one day our club finally see him for the shite bag he is.

  4. Wrighty, your son wasn’t good enough for Arsenal, especially at £21 million at the time, Wenger made the right call on this one, you need to move on

  5. ‘Hoofidity ‘? Nice one that !
    Thank god that there are no EPL stadia with fully covered roofs . Imagine the damage that would be inflicted !
    Would the height of the passe be longer than their length ? Gord ?

  6. Ian Wright suffers from ‘foot-in-mouth disease ‘, and it looks rather terminal!
    His brain ( or whatever is left of it !) has gone pulpy and pliant. At the same time the rest of his body is getting bloated and idiomatous ….sorry shouldn’t that be oedematous ?

    Or could it just be an oh, so obvious case of assmosis? -http://www.definition-of.com/assmosis-
    Recent coinage for sycophancy or ass-kissing, the process of seeking or obtaining advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than by working hard.
    Synonym – Analstomosis .

    If ever the Arsenal should want to ‘reward’ him with a statue , a large blob of some pliant, form changeable and easily mouldable material will suffice . You know, to reflect his wishy-washy opinions and spineless stance !
    Rubber prices are low now!

  7. John L, Nitram, Mandy Dodd, Brickfields Gunners
    what a load of bollocks.
    John L posted how he interpreted the shows comments, did any of you others take the time to search out the show and listen to confirm?

    If you did i think you would be ashamed at your comments and at John L’s interpretation, or is there something else festering deep inside you all?

    This is the sort of lowly degeneration that has taken a hold on some of Untold commenters. There is an aura of sinister hate blowing here, and i even tend to think that you are not noticing the subtle programming carried out on your brains. Use them and think for yourselves.

    Go take a listen and tell me if you still think the same way.

  8. Para,

    Interpretation of comments is one thing, but Wright is currently irredeemable in my opinion. I met him once as a player, during the early nineties at the Hampshire hotel in which I worked. He was quite simply an arrogant, strutting imbecile who sneered his way through an entire weekend like his sh*t didn’t stink. Awful jackass. David Seaman was a very nice man.

  9. Para

    Whether John L’s interpretation is accurate or not it changes not a jot how I feel about the odious little cretin. I detest the man.

    Disloyalty and hypocrisy are 2 of the worst traits a person can have, and Wright has both in spades.

    He sits at a table in the SKY studios worming his way up Wengers arse, and then in the next breath slags off everything about the man.

    He, along with John Cross, because of there so called love of Arsenal, were 2 of the earliest media a***holes that led to me not buying papers.

    Wrights hatred of Arsenal began a long long time ago, and along with that came his constant anti Arsenal rhetoric. Via his newspaper columns and radio slots he has repeatedly encouraged Arsenal players to leave the club, not least Henry.

    He constantly criticises us yet dances around studios when we score as if he was a fan.

    He HATES Wenger and with that wishes the team and the club nothing but ill.

    Could you imagine an ex Liverpool legend ever encouraging Gerrard to leave Liverpool?

    But to be honest it doesn’t surprise me one iota that you jump to his defence given the tone of your posts. I’ve no doubt you agree with every disparaging, disrespectful, hypocritical word he’s ever said.

    The fact is Para, if you agreed with anything I said, then I’d be worried.

  10. Para

    “This is the sort of lowly degeneration that has taken a hold on some of Untold commenters.”

    Given that lowly opinion of us, wont don’t you toddle off somewhere else then?

    But sadly you wont will you.

  11. Para

    You said “what a load of bollocks.” Is it?

    Just google Ian Wright criticises…..Arsenal/Wenger etc. etc. and you get flooded.

    The following are all quotes from Wright.

    This is what he says about Wenger:

    “Arsenal Legend Ian Wright Criticizes Arsene Wenger Over His Lacazette Treatment”

    “Arsenal legend Ian Wright criticises Arsene Wenger over defensive preparation”

    “Arsenal legend Ian Wright pities Arsene Wenger: ‘It’s like watching Muhammad Ali vs Larry Holmes. No one will throw the towel in for him'”

    “Gunner Get Bad Ian Wright: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is getting away with murder and the fat-cat board members need to finally pull their fingers out, claims Ian Wright”

    This is what he says about Arsenal:

    “Board as Complicit as Wenger in Arsenal’s State of Perpetual Purgatory”

    This is what he says about Gazidis:

    “IAN WRIGHT has blamed Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis for the club’s collapse this season.”

    This is what he says about our transfer policy:

    “Ian Wright criticises Arsenal’s transfer policy”

    “Ian Wright has described Arsenal as an “absolute shambles” and expressed amazement that the club would sell Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Chelsea”

    “This is what he says about Ozil:

    “A player that is not actually performing on the pitch is coming out, calling people out and he’s not signing a contract. It’s laughable.”

    And that is just a fraction of what is out there.

    Measure that against his fawning love of Liverpool:

    “Arsenal legend Ian Wright has told Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain he is joining a “great club” after the midfielder’s move to Liverpool was confirmed.”

    “Wright, who scored 185 goals for the Londoners, tweeted: “Good luck @Alex_OxChambo you’re are a lucky man!”

    As the old saying goes, ‘there are none so blind as those that will not see’.

  12. @ Para – I often switch channels when Ian Wright , and a few others come on TV. It is a show by the Premier League , and I have found the lot of them to be so bloody biased against AW and the Arsenal.
    None of them are even remotely intelligent enough, in my humble opinion, to be commenting on subjects that they don’t fully understand nor have the information to make such assessment .
    I am sure none of them have an inside tract to Arsenal’s vault .
    They take great glee in running down MY club . Fuck them!
    Just my entitled opinion of course.

  13. I normally never ever watch the per, halftime and post show circus contorsionists . I mute the commentary as well.
    There are a few shows that are produced by the Premier League and has the likes of Dion Dublin, Wright, Alan Curbishly , Petit, and some others and I cringe at their comments .
    If someone finds the above to be prophets sprouting the gospel, well…good luck to you and helealluah !
    I in turn chose not to listen to their prattle .
    To each his own.
    Up the Gunners !
    Always !

  14. Brickfield Gunners

    Spot on.

    I spend a fortune on SKY Sports and BT Sports, and unless I want to listen to the club I love being endlessly criticised, ridiculed and abused I cant listen to 90% of there football output.

    My work and personal circumstances mean I cannot get to watch them in the flesh very often, so if I want to watch them live I have little choice than to subscribe. Really annoying.

    I am on the season ticket waiting list at least, 10 years I’ve bean told, and hope when the chance comes I will be in a position to take it up, which would alleviate the problem a bit at least.

    Then again, knowing me I’ll end up sat behind one of those aaa types.

  15. @ Nitram – While I do hope that you get your season ticket wish, I think you will have to be patient for now.
    Must be quite a surprise to many that Arsenal season tickets long waiting lists show no evidence of thinning!
    Any way , when you do get it AW will still be our manager , and most of those whiners would have left or died of broken hearts !
    Cheers !

  16. Also, isn’t it strange how Para seems to of disappeared following his ‘it’s all bollocks’ comment. Maybe he’s still trawling his way through all the Wright articles that begin ‘Ian Wright criticises……’

    Or maybe he’s compiling a list of them that begin ‘Ian Wright praises…..’.

    Or maybe not.

    He’s reappeared on some later threads so maybe I’ll ask him.

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