Premier League
West Brom
Nov 29, 2014 12.45pm
0
1
HT : 0 0
FT
Arsenal
  • Graham Dorrans 53' yellowcard
  • Cristian Gamboa 84' yellowcard
  • goal Danny Welbeck 60'
  • yellowcard Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 93'

Live Commentary: West Bromwich Albion 0-1 Arsenal - as it happened

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West Brom 0-1 Arsenal - as it happened
© Getty Images

West Bromwich Albion took on Arsenal in the first of 30 Premier League matches over the next week or so.

The Baggies have still won just once at home all season after Danny Welbeck's second-half header won the game for the Gunners.

Read how it all unfolded at The Hawthorns in our minute-by-minute updates below.

2.43pmTime for us to say goodbye here, but why not now click here to go to our live scores hub and pick a commentary or two from there? Analysis and player ratings from The Hawthorns will be live on site in the next hour. Enjoy!

2.42pmThat takes Arsenal up to fourth in the table, but they might not be there after the weekend's other fixtures. West Brom stay 13th but are in danger of being caught by those below in what is a very tight bottom half of the table.

2.39pmIt was a great header by the Englishman after Cazorla got the better of Wisdom down the left and dinked in an inviting cross.

© Getty Images

2.37pmFoster went forward from goal late on, but couldn't have an effect as West Brom fall to defeat at home to Arsenal. It wasn't the best game and it was won by Welbeck's powerful 60th-minute header.

90+5 minFULL-TIME: WEST BROM 0-1 ARSENAL

90+4 minWest Brom are pushing, but they might just run out of time.

90+3 minBOOKING! Clear yellow card there as Oxlade-Chamberlain hacks down Gamboa when trying to win the ball deep in the West Brom half.

90+2 minSamaras does really well to dig out a cross just before the ball was about to go out of play down the left. Martinez does well to claim the ball and keep hold of it under pressure.

90 minCLOSE! I mentioned earlier how Gardner can be a threat from distance and he's almost fired West Brom level with a swerving shot that took a slight nick off Ramsey and flew wide of the post. Four minutes added on.

86 minLess than five minutes of normal time remaining then and Arsenal don't look too comfortable. They've thrown away so many leads lately and their fans won't be feeling too confident at the moment.

84 minBOOKING! Second booking of the game for West Brom sub Gamboa after he tugged at Welbeck's shorts and halted his run.

81 minOFF THE BAR! So close to a Baggies equaliser as Berahino gets up well to meet Dorrans's cross and hits the bar with his header.

78 minARSENAL SUB: The Gunners' second change sees Oxlade-Chamberlain replace Giroud. Welbeck will go up front.

77 minGardner is always a threat from distance and his left-foot shot takes a deflection which means it's an easy save for Martinez. West Brom seeing more of the ball in the Arsenal half.

76 minWEST BROM SUB: Another change and West Brom's last one as Samaras comes on for Sessegnon. It sounds like the West Brom fans have booed that change, they're not happy!

74 minWEST BROM SUB: Ignore me, Pocognoli has to come off and is replaced by Gamboa. The latter will probably go to his preferred right-back slot, with Wisdom coming over to the left.

71 minWorrying signs for West Brom as Pocognoli stays down with an injury. He gets a bit of treatment by the physios and appears well enough to continue.

70 minCan West Brom get themselves back into the game now? As things stand they're going to lose their third home game of the season. They've only won once at The Hawthorns in 2014-15.

68 minHere's a great photo of Welbeck heading home the opener:

© Getty Images

64 minWEST BROM SUB: It doesn't take Irvine long to make a change as defensive-midfielder Mulumbu comes off for big striker Anichebe.

60 minMoments after seeing the below stat, Arsenal score just before the 60th minute! It's a well-worked goal as Cazorla beats Wisdom down the left before clipping a cross into the middle where Welbeck powerfully heads it at goal. Foster gets a strong hand to it, but he can't keep it out.

60 minGOAL! WEST BROM 0-1 ARSENAL (WELBECK)

57 minWe're almost at the hour mark.

55 minGibbs gets to the byline and dinks in a cross that's begging to be headed home. There's an Arsenal player arriving as well, but unfortunately for the Gunners it's the miniature Cazorla who leaps but just gets under it.

54 minSIDE-NETTING! Berahino goes close with West Brom's first shot at goal from a narrow angle on the left. He tried to fox Martinez with a near-post shot and it might have gone in had it been the other side of the post as Martinez had been wrongfooted.

53 minDodgy goalkeeping again from Foster as he fumbles a looping cross. The ball bobbles around in the area before Mertesacker takes a swipe at it and drags it wide.

53 minBOOKING! First yellow card of the game is shown to Dorrans after he brought down Ramsey.

52 min"HANDBALL!" bellow the Arsenal fans after Ramsey's shot strikes Dawson in the box. That was never going to be given because of the close proximity between the two players.

49 minRemember, Arsenal were forced into a change in the first half when Monreal went off injured, with Gibbs coming on. Wenger only has two changes at his disposal.

47 minOooh, Arsenal can count themselves very lucky there. Berahino is clean through on goal but the flag goes up. Replays show that Koscielny was probably just playing him on. Very close, but the benefit of the doubt should have gone to the attacker there.

46 minKICKOFF! We're back underway at The Hawthorns. No half-time changes from either manager.

1.45pmWho can make an impact off the bench for the Baggies? Giorgos Samaras and Victor Anichebe are the two most forward-thinking players on the bench and I reckon the latter would do best here. His physicality could certainly rough Arsenal up a bit.

1.42pmI said before the game that Wenger had basically gone with one of the most attacking lineups possible. It's resulted in eight shots for the visitors, four of which have been on target. West Brom need to sort themselves out going forward - they haven't had a single attempt on goal.

1.40pmWe'll be covering every 3pm kickoff in the top flight individually, with live commentary starting an hour before kickoff. Pick your favourite game, or follow all of them!

1.38pmAs things stand in the Premier League, Arsenal will be climbing a couple of places up to sixth. West Brom will stay 13th with a point, but that could of course all change after the rest of the weekend's games.

1.35pmOur instant half-time report is already live on site and you can recap the opening 45 minutes right here.

1.33pmNo goals at the break then after a bit of a nothing half. Arsenal, unsurprisingly, have looked the more threatening, but their finishing has been below-par.

45+2 minHALF-TIME: WEST BROM 0-0 ARSENAL

45+1 minWest Brom end the half on top as Sessegnon beats his man to the left byline but can't find a navy and white shirt with his cutback. That'll be that.

45 minJust the one minute of time added on at the end of the first half. Both managers will have stern words for their sides after a fairly lacklustre 45 minutes.

43 minWest Brom have looked a little better in the last five minutes or so. If they scored now and stole a half-time lead it would be so undeserved, but absolutely perfect going into the break. Either way, the game needs a goal.

41 minShots: West Brom 0-8 Arsenal. Score: West Brom 0-0 Arsenal.

39 minHere's a snap from Getty Images of Welbeck and Wisdom battling for possession.

© Getty Images

37 minCLOSE! Stupid play from Mulumbu as he dilly-dallies on the edge of his own box before giving it away. Cazorla picks up the loose ball and prods it into the path of Ramsey, whose right-foot shot towards the near post just flies wide.

35 minFoster does well to claim a couple of Arsenal crosses as the Gunners continue to press for the opener.

31 minCHANCE! Wonderful passing from the visitors as Giroud, Ramsey and Sanchez all link up before Welbeck backheels it into the path of Cazorla. There's no-one near him and he has a clear shot at goal from the edge of the area but can only weakly sidefoot it and it's an easy save for Foster.

30 minAlthough West Brom are yet to have a shot at goal, they have had just slightly more possession with 51% of the ball.

27 minFrom great to garbage in a matter of moments for Foster as he hesitates when trying to clear with his weaker right foot and has the ball nicked by Giroud. The Frenchman is out wide on the right and doesn't really have a sight of goal so just fires it across the six-yard box, where there's no Arsenal player to tap it in. West Brom survive.

26 minCHANCE! Sanchez hits the wall with his free kick, but Arsenal go close moments later as Welbeck is slid in down the inside-right channel and hits it first-time. Foster is off his line quickly and makes a smart save.

24 minGiroud goes over very dramatically when trying to win a penalty, but it was a fair challenge by Mulumbu. Moments later Cazorla wins a free kick in a great central position about 25 yards out...

23 minARSENAL SUB: Monreal tried to continue, but he's unable to as Gibbs replaces him in a like-for-like swap at left-back.

21 min

19 minWelbeck looks up to Foy pleading for a penalty after a challenge from Wisdom, but the referee is having none of it. The Arsenal man tried to get his body across Wisdom and either get off a shot or win a spot kick, but it was great defending by the Liverpool loanee.

16 minAlexis tries to find the surging Chambers on the overlap but underhits his pass to the Englishman, allowing Pocognoli to intercept.

15 minWelbeck, by the way, has started out wide on the left so that Sanchez can play on the right. The former has played there plenty of times in the past for Man Utd and England, but he's looked most at home through the middle. With Giroud now fit again, is Welbeck's time as the main striker over for the time being?

13 minGibbs is sent out to warm up on the touchline as it's looks like Monreal is struggling with an injury. Bad news for the Gunners as they've only just got Koscielny back from injury.

10 minDawson, who is the only West Brom player to have played every minute in the league this season, makes a key block to deny Cazorla.

8 minGreat defending by Koscielny as he hacks clear in the area after Lescott got up well at the back post to nod a corner back across goal. West Brom will certainly want to be dangerous from set pieces today.

6 minSHOT! Alexis drives forward from the middle before taking a shot at goal, but like Cazorla can only hit it at Foster, who makes a comfortable save.

5 minBetter from West Brom as they enjoy a little more possession. Arsenal are sitting fairly deep when they don't have the ball, but West Brom will need to be careful of their ability to counter-attack.

3 minFirst shot of the game comes from the boot of Cazorla and it's a sweet hit by the little Spaniard after being teed up by Welbeck. He's so good off both feet and this time uses his left but can only nail it down the throat of Foster.

0 minKICKOFF! Off we go in the West Midlands in the first of 30 Premier League matches over the next week or so. Bring it on!

12.42pm

12.38pmThe two teams are now in the tunnel. Can Arsenal go into the top four, or will West Brom move to within a point of the Gunners?

12.35pmPREDICTION: Ten to go at The Hawthorns so it's time for my pre-game prediction. I fancy Arsenal to win it 2-0. Why not watch our Sports Mole Sofa discussion below as well.

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12.32pmAs well as Giroud being back, Arsenal fans will be delighted to see Laurent Koscielny back in the side. Only Man Utd's Phil Jones (5) has made more Premier League interceptions per league game than the Frenchman (4.17).

12.28pmWenger has also been speaking to BT Sport and is confident that his attacking lineup can work well together: "I think it can work, with Danny Welbeck on the flank and Olivier Giroud more in the middle. Alexis Sanchez is playing as well so let's see if we can find the balance between attacking well and defending today."

12.24pmBaggies boss Alan Irvine knows what is key for his side today, he tells BT Sport: "You know what a good attacking force Arsenal are. There is no doubt. They pass it extremely well, their movement is terrific and they have individuals who can open you up with a dribble. If you give it back to them cheaply they can hurt you all afternoon so our usage of the ball will be key."

12.22pmWest Brom's recent record against Arsenal in the league isn't great - they've failed to win in seven and lost five of those games. One of the draws was here at The Hawthorns last season, though, when it finished 1-1.

12.18pmWest Brom sub Cristian Gamboa catches up with Costa Rica teammate Joel Campbell ahead of today's match:

12.16pmAs well as being in a bit of a rut in front of goal, Berahino has also been reportedly arrested for drink-driving thisweek. Read more about that here.

12.13pmMoving onto the West Brom side, their key player is certainly Saido Berahino. He recently earned his first England call-up and was unlucky not to see any game time under Roy Hodgson earlier this month. He has seven Premier League goals this term but is in a bit of a slump without a goal in four Baggies games.

12.09pmIt will be interesting to see how Sanchez plays with a target-man in Giroud. The Chilean has been so key this season.

12.06pmDespite Giroud's inclusion, Arsene Wenger keeps Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez in the team so it's an awfully attacking lineup from the visitors today. Mathieu Flamini is the only real defensively-minded midfielder and West Brom might look to exploit that. Welbeck is moved out wide to the right for the first time in an Arsenal shirt.

12.03pmGiroud made his return from a broken leg a month early last week against United and rocketed home the late consolation goal. He missed Wednesday's Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund, but is fit to start today.

12pmREFEREE WATCH! The man with the whistle at The Hawthorns is Chris Foy.

© Getty Images

11.58amSzczesny and Wilshere were both injured against Manchester United a week ago, while Arteta has also been ruled out with a calf injury. Gibbs and Oxlade-Chamberlain drop to the bench.

11.56amArsenal, meanwhile, have five changes in their starting lineup from their last Premier League match. Damian Martinez, Laurent Koscielny, Mathieu Flamini, Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud replace Wojciech Szczesny, Kieran Gibbs, Mikel Arteta, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere.

11.53amStarting with West Brom, that's two changes for the Baggies from last week's 2-0 defeat at Chelsea. Claudio Yacob was sent off so is suspended and replaced by Youssouf Mulumbu, while Sebastien Pocognoli gets the nod ahead of Chris Baird at left-back.

11.51amARSENAL XI: Martinez; Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Flamini, Ramsey; Welbeck, Alexis, Cazorla; Giroud
Subs: Macey, Gibbs, Bellerin, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Campbell, Podolski

11.49amWEST BROM XI: Foster; Wisdom, Lescott, Dawson, Pocognoli; Gardner, Mulumbu, Brunt, Dorrans; Sessegnon, Berahino
Subs: Myhill, McAuley, Gamboa, Baird, Anichebe, Ideye, Samaras

11.46amMorning all! Matchday 13's Saturday lunchtime game in the Premier League sees West Brom take on Arsenal at The Hawthorns. Plenty to talk about between now and kickoff in an hour, so let's get started with the team news...
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