West Bromwich Albion went into the international break off the back of an extremely impressive win over Arsenal.
West Brom manager Tony Pulis and first team coach Gerry Francis
West Brom first-team coach Gerry Francis has suggested that the Baggies’ performance in their victory over Arsenal before the international break was exceptional, the Express and Star reports.
Tony Pulis’ men went into the break on a major high as they ended their mini-run of two straight defeats by beating the Gunners 3-1 at the Hawthorns to pile more pressure on Arsene Wenger.
The victory consolidated the Baggies’ position in eighth in the Premier League table – they sit seven points clear of ninth place Stoke, and seven behind Everton – with the win, and Francis could seemingly not rate the execution of the game-plan higher.
“When you beat big teams it does give you a bit of a lift,” he said, as reported by the Express and Star. “It doesn’t give you the next three points. But winning gives everyone a lift, confidence is everything.
West Bromwich Albion’s Craig Dawson celebrates scoring
“Our performance against Arsenal with 23 per cent possession was exceptional. Our turnover and ability to break quickly was excellent.”
The victory proved to be extremely frustrating for Arsenal fans, as it arguably exemplified everything that has been going wrong at the Emirates this year.
West Bromwich Albion’s Hal Robson-Kanu celebrates scoring
Going into the contest, it was clear to most that set-pieces would probably represent West Brom’s best chance of finding the back of the net, and yet, the Gunners’ displays from corners suggested that little practice had been done as Pulis’ men scored twice from dead-ball situations.
And with West Brom proving lethal despite being dominated in the possession statistics, Arsenal fans had every right to question why after having more than three-quarters of the ball, they scored two fewer goals than the Baggies.
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