As Arsenal prepare to take on West Brom at the Hawthorns this afternoon, here are 12 things you should know about both sides:
1. Both teams come into this fixture on the back of impressive away victories, after West Brom won away at Old Trafford, and Arsenal beat Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.
2. Morgan Amalfitano opened the scoring with a delicate chip over David de Gea, but the West Brom midfielder was equally impressive with his passing. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he completed a pass in Manchester United’s half every 2.8 minutes.
3. Jonas Olsson underlined his worth to the West Brom side against Manchester United, as he made the third most clearances in the league with 10.
4. Olsson also leads the way in the league this year for number of clearances made, with the Swede having made 64.
5. West Brom fans could be forgiven for cursing their luck when Ben Foster suffered a foot injury near the start of the season, but on the back of Boaz Myhill’s performance on Saturday, the England shot-stopper may struggle to regain his place. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that no other keeper made more saves than Myhill’s 5.
6. West Brom manager Steve Clark may have pulled off a major coup by completing the signing of Stéphane Sessègnon from Sunderland. The Beninese forward has always had great skill with the ball at his feet, and he showed off his skill set against Manchester United completing six dribbles, the second most in the league. Sessegnon is 10/1 with 888sport.com to score the final goal of the game this afternoon.
7. Aaran Ramsey scored again as Arsenal extended their record to eight consecutive away victories.
8. The Welsh midfielder has been in scintillating form so far this season, and this was no different on last weekend, as he managed to complete a pass in the opposition half every 2.8 minutes.
9. Ramsey’s dominance of the centre of the park was also evident in the number of interceptions he made. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index highlights that the 22-year-old made four interceptions against the Swans – the third most in the league, and more than any of his team-mates.
10. Rumours have been circulating Per Mertesacker is about to be offered a new contract by the Arsenal hierarchy, and after examining the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, it isn’t hard to see why. He has a tackle success rate of 100%.
11. Fellow centre-back Laurent Koscielny has been in good form for Arsenal too, making 17 interceptions – more than any of his team-mates.
12. At the other end of the pitch, a player who really seems to be finding his feet is striker Olivier Giroud. The French international has taken 16 shots at goal so far this season, and found the back of the net four times. You can find him at 4/1 with 888sport.com to score first this afternoon at the Hawthorns.
