Arsenal 2-3 West Brom: Role Reversals On Display At Emirates

Emirates Stadium, Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion , Premier League 25/09/2010 Jerome Thomas of WBA in action with Emmanuel Eboue of Arsenal Photo Marc Atkins Fotosports International Photo via Newscom

If you watched the Arsenal against West Bromwich Albion game on Saturday, you would have sworn that the team playing in navy blue and white stripes was Arsenal and that the team in red and white were the Baggies.

The Albion played a beautiful passing the game and featured far more creativity than Arsenal. Chris Brunt and Jerome Thomas were central characters in many of Albions moves. And Peter Odemwingie again showed how clinical he is in front of goal. The Nigerian has to be one of the buys of the season thus far. To me, he reminded me a lot of another Arsenal comparison, Theo Walcott.

Arsenal were lucky not be losing 4-0 at home in this game. They were fortunate that the penalty that Brunt took wasnt more clinical. And the final scoreline of 2-3 to West Brom really wasnt an accurate reflection of the entire 90 minutes. A 1-3 or 1-4 scoreline to the Baggies would have been far more accurate.

Even Arsenals attempts at goal on Saturday looked scrappy. It was West Brom who were more creative in front of goal, while Arsenal (except for the Arshavin attempts that twice the hit the post) seemed to only create half chances.

Last but not least, Manuel Almunia again showed how much of a liability he is for the Gunners. He saved a penalty but he was guilty of two horrible mistakes in the game that led to West Brom scoring. Without those mistakes, it would have been a much closer match. Watching Almunia, I pictured Shay Given and wondered what Given would do in those same circumstances. Not surprisingly, I pictured Given not making any of those mistakes.

! Congratu lations Roberto Di Matteo West Bromwich Albion on a performance that shows that newly-promoted sides can play football the right way to stay in the Premier League.

Related posts:

  • Can West Brom Now Establish Themselves As A Top Flight Side?
  • West Brom Fans Make A Stand
  • West Brom Home and Away Jerseys for 2010-11 Season: Revealed



    • International Soccer Clubs & Leagues News | Video | Commentary

    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Mr. Hodgson Or: How We Learned To Stop Worrying And Blame The Manager

    Image
    The manager has risen from club secretary to official face of the club since the creation of football teams worldwide. He has moved from the man that kept the record books to man that is larger than the football team he manages. Commentators and pundits refer to Fergusons United or Wengers beautiful, passing football. He even has books written about him. The Manager by Barney Ronay, an excellent book that discusses the rise of the manager into the modern game, unearths some of the origins of the managers image and attempts todiscuss what kind of person the manager really is. While the book wasnt ever intended to be an academic study of the merits of various tactical thoughts of managers, it does address some of the often listed character traits ofsuccessfulmanagers. When all these traits are put together, to many the manager appears to be a father figure, a scary headmaster, a politician youd like to have a beer with, or somecombination. Yet despite all this popularity, he is little mo...
    Keep reading

    England World Cup camps need to lose doomsday siege mentality

    Image
    One day last week, near the junction of Maude Street and Rivonia Road, in the Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, a line of smiling young men in shirts and shorts strolled along the pavement towards their hotel. Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie, Dirk Kuyt, Mark Van Bommel and the rest of the Dutch squad waited at the lights until there was a break in the traffic and then ambled across the road. These were some of the best known players in the world, superstars of the game, walking along city streets on their way back from training and looking as though they did not have a care. There was no security with them. None to speak of, anyway. There were no photographers running in front of them and taking their picture. There were no girlfriends tottering along beside them. None of them wore headphones. They did not insulate themselves. They seemed at one with their surroundings. It was only a snapshot of the way the Dutch are living their lives at this World Cup but ...
    Keep reading

    How an American Influence Is Rubbing Off On Manchester City

    Image
    Manchester Citys match day experience is becoming more and more American with each new season. While Maine Road was what you could expect a typical British experience of what it was like to see an English football match in the 80s, the City of Manchester Stadium experience seems as American as apple pie. In previous seasons, City have tried to focus on improving the match-day experience. Theyve added buskers, i.e. public performers, around the ground to add to the atmosphere. And recently theyve adopted American entertainment methods such as turning down the house lights before kick-off and trying to get everyone excited for the big match. Theyve also been a pioneer in English football in their usage of American social media sites such as Facebook, Foursquare, Flickr and others to create a bond with supporters. And now for their first home match in the league for the 2010-11 season, against Liverpool tonight, theyre set to unveil two new features. Both of them have a uniquely American...
    Keep reading