Arsenal Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs West Brom

Chris Wheatley

Arsenal Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs West Brom image

Arsene Wenger faces his old foe Tony Pulis as Arsenal play West Brom on Monday night.

The two managers have clashed in the past due to the different styles of football played by both teams and the Gunners could find it tough against a physical Baggies side at Emirates Stadium.

Wenger welcomes back a host of star names after resting several players for the midweek Carabao Cup win over Doncaster, with Alexandre Lacazette expected to return upfront.

Lacazette 8/11 to score v WBA

"I believe he has first of all adapted to the team play, he connects well with the other players, he is disciplined, he works hard for the team and on the technical and tactical aspect I am very pleased," said Wenger before the game. 

"He still needs to adapt to the physical aspect of the Premier League and that will take a little bit of time, but on the other fronts there is no problem at all."

The Baggies came out on top the last time the two sides met, with a double from Craig Dawson helping Pulis's side to a 3-1 win at the Hawthorns back in March.


ARSENAL INJURIES


Wenger will make a late check on Mesut Ozil who has missed the last two games with a knee inflammation injury.

Francis Coquelin has been ruled out for three weeks with a hamstring injury while Calum Chambers is out for a similar amount of time after sustaining a hip problem against Doncaster.

Danny Welbeck is out until after the international break with a groin injury and long-term injured midfielder Santi Cazorla is unlikely to be involved in first-team matters until the turn of next year.

Mesut Ozil Arsenal


ARSENAL SUSPENSIONS


Arsenal have no players suspended for this game.

ArsenalWestBrom


ARSENAL POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP


Wenger is expected to ring the changes for Monday night's game with the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Granit Xhaka and a host of first-team players returning to the starting line-up.

Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac will start in the wing-back roles while Xhaka and Ramsey will start alongside eachother in central midfield.

Jack Wilshere played his first full 90 minutes in three years for the Gunners against Doncaster Rovers in midweek and will be hopeful of being named in the squad.

ArsenalXI


WEST BROM TEAM NEWS


Pulis will hope to have Nacer Chadli available for the match in north London as he steps up his return from at thigh injury while Chris Brunt (calf) Oliver Burke (hamstring) and Jake Livermore (fatigue) are doubts, with the latter having revealed he has been advised to rest.

West Brom haven't won a Premier League game for over a month since their away victory at Burnley but a recent draw against West Ham and a narrow defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup could give them confidence going into Monday's game.

Forrmer Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs, meanwhile, will make an appearance against his old side for the first time since leaving the club in the summer.

Tony Pulis West Brom


BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS


  • Arsenal have won each of their last six Premier League games at the Emirates Stadium versus West Bromwich Albion, conceding just one goal in these games.

  • West Brom won the last league clash between these two clubs; 3-1 at the Hawthorns in March. They haven’t won successive league matches against the Gunners since March 1977.

  • The Baggies have suffered nine defeats away to Arsenal in the Premier League, a joint-high for them in the competition alongside away defeats to Chelsea.

  • West Bromwich Albion have won just five of their last 35 Premier League away matches (W5 D14 L16).

  • This will be the 10th time that Tony Pulis has managed a team at the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League – he’s lost every one of the previous nine there with a combined score of 20-3.

  • The Gunners have now won seven successive Premier League games at the Emirates Stadium; their second best winning run at the stadium in the competition after a nine-match winning streak between December 2014 and April 2015.

  • Gareth Barry could become the outright leader in terms of most Premier League appearances should he play in this match. He’s currently level with Ryan Giggs on 632 appearances in the competition.

  • When Gareth Barry made his first appearance in the Premier League on May  nd 1998, Arsene Wenger was only one year and 212 days in to his tenure as Arsenal manager.


TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME


The match is being televised live on Sky Sports Main Event and kicks off at 20:00 BST. 

Chris Wheatley

Chris Wheatley Photo