Premier League talking points: No need to panic at Arsenal; a case for West Brom defence

Thomas Woods on how Arsenal always seem one game away from crisis and championship contenders and how West Bromwich Albion's defensive stalwarts should keep Tony Pulis's side up.

Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez celebrates scoring his side's second goal with Theo Walcott against Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday, August 27, 2016. Hannah McKay /Reuters

After Liverpool put them to the sword on the opening weekend at the Emirates Stadium, things looked bleak for Arsenal. They had lost 4-3 to Jurgen Klopp's side but the scoreline had flattered them – they were 4-1 down at one point and utterly blown away.

Arsenal’s problems were myriad: A gaping hole in the centre of defence, exacerbated by injuries to three senior centre-backs, and Wenger’s failure to spend any money on a problem position. In midfield, Aaron Ramsey hadn’t been afforded an extended break after Euro 2016 and got injured straight away. Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud were being rested even though the team needed them. Alexis Sanchez looked like he needed a rest after nearly three years of non-stop action.

See also:

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• 'Mesut is nearly there, not completely': Arsene Wenger would like more goals from Arsenal's Ozil

The rest of Arsene Wenger’s squad is full of players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott, who seem to have been on the verge of becoming players of the highest level for several seasons without quite getting there.

But Arsenal always seem to be one result away from crisis or title contenders. One great result – a 3-1 win at Watford – this weekend and they seem to be in fine fettle again.

They are five points off Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United, but those clubs have yet to play any team who might be considered a top-six contender.

Arsenal’s first three Premier League games thus far then read: one bad result, to a top-six rival, a draw, away at champions Leicester City, and a superb away performance for victory over Watford.

There is no other team in the league whose standing in the eyes of fans and critics changes from game to game as it does at Arsenal. It leads to some knee-jerk reactions when people should really settle in for the long haul before judging Wenger’s side.

New arrival Granit Xhaka looks the real deal as a dominating defensive midfielder and the return of players such as Santi Cazorla, who spent most of last season injured, just adds to Arsenal’s depth. The arrivals of Spanish striker Lucas Perez and Germany defender Shkodran Mustafi give Wenger even more options.

City and United may have made the big-name signings this summer, but Leicester showed that it isn’t always a route to silverware. Arsenal have a lot going for them this season and it certainly wasn’t time to write them off after the Liverpool match.

If anything, that result showed that every team is susceptible to an awful performance and that it shouldn’t been used as evidence for a club’s overall decline. It just doesn’t help when that result comes on the opening day.

West Brom playing to type

This journalist wrote before the season started that West Bromwich Albion looked like relegation contenders because they lacked creativity and relied too heavily on their defence to win them points.

However, it seems like their backline will keep them up once again. Three games into the season and West Brom have yet to score from open play, yet they have four points, as good as Liverpool and Arsenal.

They have kept two clean sheets – away to Crystal Palace and at home to Middlesbrough – while centre-back Gareth McAuley has scored one of their two goals.

McAuley’s goal, in the 2-1 defeat to Everton, and Salomon Rondon’s at Palace came from set pieces. It is classic West Brom. Tony Pulis knows what works and his pragmatic approach is what will save West Brom from going down.

We are less than 10 per cent of the way into the season and West Brom are 10 per cent of the way toward the mythical 40-point survival mark.

Their style may not be pretty, but with another 10 or so clean sheets, probably 10 goals from defenders and 10 goals from Rondon, West Brom will be safely placed in about 14th and proving people wrong come the end of the season.

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