West Brom – Arsenal: Any Christmas singer regretting the long wait until the 2021 season, feel free to sing along.
“It’s starting to look a lot like Arsenal.”
Two delightful goals in five minutes gave Arsenal a first-half lead that did not diminish in their 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at the snow-covered Hawthorns on Saturday.
West John Brom’s Sam Johnstone made eight saves in defeat, so it could have been an even more emphatic defeat.
[ MORE: How to watch PL in the USA ]
Alexandre Lacazette scored twice and prepared Bukayo Saka for another, Kieran Tierney also sent a stunner during the explosion victory.
Arsenal’s 23 points are sixth out of the top four, although several teams ahead of the Gunners have played less than 17 games.
Arsenal have Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Southampton before starting a difficult series with a visit from Manchester United on 30 January.
Sam Allardyce’s Baggies lost three in four to stay in the relegation zone, six points behind 17th place Brighton.
West Brom has Wolves, West Ham and Man City next.
STREAM WEST BROM – ARSENAL FULL MATCH REPLAY
Three things we learned from West Brom – Arsenal
1. Arsenal looks like Arsenal: We argued on December 21 that Arsenal needed to get some better strikes, play more Lacazette, choose a formation and move on. Since then, Lacazette has scored in three consecutive matches – two matches – with Arsenal playing a 4-2-3-1 in all games and taking all hits against Chelsea to start the winning streak.
Here for pats on the back, Mikel.
Yes, of course, the Gunners were up against a substandard opponent, but seeing the north London side look like himself was a welcome sight. Arsenal have been better defensively this year, but have often failed to deliver emotion. We had two views of the traditional Arsenal on Saturday. First, there was Kieran Tierney’s magnificent solo goal, something that Arsenal artists have accomplished a great deal over the years.
More encouraging and welcome, however, was the interaction between Bukayo Saka, Alexandre Lacazette and Emile Smith-Rowe in producing the second special goal. Mikel Arteta is using his pieces in a more offensive way against inferior teams, and having Saka, Lacazette, Aubameyang and a genuine playmaker – filled on Saturday by Smith-Rowe – made all the difference.
2. The brutal stretching of Baggies produces predictable results: The 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield left Sam Allardyce puffing out his chest, but the combined score is 13-1 after four games at the helm (Aston Villa, Leeds, Liverpool, Arsenal). Goalkeeper Sam Johnstone made six saves, five of them in shots inside the area, as West Brom was always on fire. With hopes of a Liverpool draw, IIt is worth noting that West Brom drew with Man City and Chelsea under Slaven Bilic, and lost 1-0 to Spurs and Manchester United. So far, the change in the name of the change has done very little and the Baggies are six points away from safety with Wolves, Man City and West Ham next.
3. Arsenal’s invincible defense: The Gunners allowed at least one goal in six consecutive league matches after a 3-1 victory over Chelsea last week, but now they have eliminated Brighton and West Brom to build a path towards the top six.
Arsenal had 63% possession and an 11-2 lead in halftime shots. The Gunners placed more than half of those 11 shots on the board and produced eight shots while inside the 18. This is all very promising, regardless of the opponent.
Player on the field: Alexandre Lacazette
Two goals in five shots with three fouls scored. A fit man.
West Brom – Arsenal recap
The Gunners were ready to go from the jump, and it was no surprise when they moved on, even if it was from an amazing producer.
Kieran Tierney extended his mark and then cut the same man to go back to 18 and hit a beautiful goal.
Arsenal doubled the advantage with an incredible team goal, Saka, Lacazette and Emile Smith-Rowe, all delivering the goods on their way to Saka’s marker 2-0.
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]
The Baggies thought they had hit with a snow goal in the 47th minute, when Matheus Pereira jumped behind the Arsenal defense line and beat Bernd Leno between the legs to hit the post, Callum Robinson hit the rebound home, but Pereira was proved off-side.
Lacazette scored in the 61st minute, after Semi Ajayi saw a possible goal against his crossbar, before Emile Smith-Rowe’s shot was blocked for Lacazette. Saka directed the play and deserved all the mentions in the MOTM debate.
Lacazette wanted a word, however, and he leaned up before stretching his leg to hit the goal up close and make it 4-0.