Barclays Premier League

ARTETA DOUBLE HITS THE PENALTY SPOT

A penalty in each half from Mikel Arteta saw Arsenal to a 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates. The Baggies never tested their hosts, who didn't have to hit top form to canter to an easy win. The Gunners wasted a hatful of chances to score, with Gervinho particularly wasteful and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hitting the bar in the second half, but the 26th minute yielded dividends. Santi Cazorla appeared to dive under Steven Reid's non-challenge and Arteta stroked his spot-kick straight down the middle, the Spaniard producing a carbon copy of a penalty after 65 minutes after Chris Brunt's foul on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. A curled effort from Brunt in the first half and an off-target header from substitute Romelu Lukaku at the death was all that the Baggies could conjure up. They have now lost their last three Premier League games and need to turn things around, while struggling Arsenal should draw confidence from today's outcome, not to mention three valuable points.

FULL TIME ARSENAL 2 WEST BROM 0

Time is up for the Baggies; Arsenal run out 2-0 winners.

MISKICK

Lukas Podolski somehow manages to put a low ball from Wilshere over the bar from six yards out with a horrible slice. Good thing the game is already in the bag.

TOP BLOCK

Wilshere picks up the ball in midfield and finds Sagna, powering forward to receive the return pass just inside the box. The young midfielder pulls the trigger, only to see his goalbound effort bravely blocked by Jonas Olsson.

SUBSTITUTION

Shortly after Romelu Lukaku puts a header wide from inside the area, Arsenal replace Santi Cazorla with Lukas Podolski.

LONG-RANGER

Markus Rosenberg sees no reason not to try his luck, hammering a shot at goal from fully 30 yards. Wojciech Szczesny beats it away.

CONFIDENCE DEPARTED

With the final whistle rapidly approaching, West Brom look nowhere near coming back into this. Where is the confidence they displayed up until recent weeks?

SUBSTITUTION

Despite missing a hatful of chances, Gervinho has contributed well to the Gunners' overall play. He gets a round of applause as Tomas Rosicky takes his place on the field.

YELLOW CARD

Steven Reid picks up a booking for flooring Giroud with an over-zealous shoulder barge, and Arteta sends the resulting free kick skimming low past the left-hand post.

SUBSTITUTION

Arsene Wenger's first substitution of the match sees Francis Coquelin take the place of Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has impressed in bursts.

SUBSTITUTION

Steve Clarke sends Markus Rosenberg on for Zoltan Gera.

WICKED WILSHERE

Very encouraging for Arsenal and England fans alike has been the form of Jack Wilshere today. The young midfielder has taken on players for fun and used the ball wisely. On this occasion he bursts past two defenders into the box but can't quite find Gervinho with the final pass.

CLASSIC ARSENAL

Arsenal concoct a beautiful passing move as Cazorla plays in Oxlade-Chamberlain, who beats a man to pull the ball back for Olivier Giroud. The move can't quite produce the goal it deserves as Goran Popov gets his boot to the ball and concedes a corner.

GLANCING HEADER

Giroud gets across Olsson to meet Bacary Sagna's cross with a glancing header that ends up high and wide of the target.

CORNERS DON'T COUNT

West Brom enjoy a series of corners but can't make them count; the closest they come is when Mertesacker flicks a header across his own goalmouth and Gareth McAuley almost reaches it at the back post.

GOAL!!! ARSENAL

This time there's no mistake from Mike Jones as Brunt clearly chops down Oxlade-Chamberlain with a hasty tackle inside the box. MIKEL ARTETA strokes the ball home with a carbon copy of his first goal; straight down the middle.

SUBSTITUTION

The anonymous Odemwingie is replaced by Romelu Lukaku, whom the Baggies fans will be hoping can bully the Arsenal back four a bit.

OH DEAR GERVINHO

Gervinho messes up another golden chance, this time air-kicking from seven yards out as Mikel Arteta sends him through with a sumptuous through ball.

YELLOW CARD

Chris Brunt has a rush of blood to the head and chases the linesman for 20 yards following an offside decision. A yellow card is the result.

WASTEFUL GERVINHO

Wilshere finds Kieran Gibbs with a ball out to the left, the full back chipping a lovely cross into the area. Gervinho is there to meet it but plants his header wastefully wide from ten yards out.

YELLOW CARDS

Giroud and Olsson both find themselves in the referee's notebook following a silly squabble. Nobody is quite sure what caused the disagreement.

THE MAN WHO CRIED WOLF

Gervinho travels with the ball, making his way into the area where he lays it off to Cazorla. The playmaker goes to ground under what looked like a genuine foul, but this time gets nothing. Moments later Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's driven effort from 18 yards cannons back off the bar.

INJUSTICE DONE

Per Mertesacker slides in on Shane Long with a terrifically-timed challenge and is understandably outraged as the ref awards a free kick the other way.

HEADED WIDE

Chris Brunt whips a super free kick into the penalty area, McAuley rising above the pack to head down and wide from the penalty spot.

SECOND HALF

The second half is go, with neither gaffer having made any changes at the break.

ONE TEAM IN IT

It's been a one-sided opening 45 minutes, with Arsenal not on top form but nevertheless dominating things. West Brom have looked bereft of confidence and ambition and as such have offered little. The solitary goal of the game so far was not deserved however, Santi Cazorla clearly diving to win a penalty which Mikel Arteta calmly converted. More genuine chances have come and gone for Jack Wilshere, Gervinho and Cazorla, while Chris Brunt provided the Baggies' only bright moment of the half with a desperately close curled effort. His side will need to offer a lot more if they want to get anything out of this game, while Arsenal need to close the deal before they start to feel the pressure.

HALF TIME ARSENAL 1 WEST BROM 0

It's half time here at the Emirates, with the hosts entering the break a goal to the good.

AUDACIOUS ATTEMPT

Mertesacker challenges for an Arsenal corner and is foiled by Jonas Olsson. The Swede's header drops nicely for Oxlade-Chamberlain, the England winger clearing the bar with an acrobatic overhead kick.

GERVINHO TAKES CONTROL

Gervinho sticks out a boot to control Arteta's powderpuff effort and goes for goal himself, forcing Boaz Myhill into a decent save. The rebound almost falls to Cazorla, who is jostled out of its path by the burly Reid.

LUCKY ESCAPE

Mertesacker gets away with it as a cross bounces off the big German's hand inside the Arsenal box. Luckily Mike Jones gives a free kick the other way for a push by Peter Odemwingie.

SHODDY SHOOTING

Jack Wilshere gets it all wrong as he slides in to convert a Gervinho low cross from no more than three yards out. That was a shocking miss.

POOR FROM GIROUD

Another ball forward bounces off Giroud, who is not having a good day so far.

ARSENAL ON SONG

Arsenal look hugely improved since scoring the opener, and are now passing the ball around the park with confidence. The Baggies seem cowed and unwilling to commit men forward.

MAKE SOME NOISE

As you would expect, that goal has given the crowd heart and they're finally making some noise. Let's see if it can gee up the Gunners further.

GOAL!!! ARSENAL

Santi Cazorla spins and falls inside the box as Steven Reid moves towards the Spaniard, and the referee signals a penalty. That looked an awful lot like a dive. MIKEL ARTETA steps up and plants a confident spot-kick straight down the middle and into the back of the net. West Brom can be justifiably unhappy about that one.

BAGGIES BITE BACK

West Brom create their first decent chance of the match as Youssouf Mulumbu's blocked shot falls to Brunt, who takes a touch before narrowly missing the target with a terrific right-footed curler.

BACK IN THE MIX

A hefty knock sees Chris Brunt forced from the pitch to receive a couple of minutes' treatment, but in the end the midfielder is given the all-clear to continue.

WHAT A MISS

An Oxlade-Chamberlain run takes the youngster to the byline where he's able to pull the ball back to the penalty spot. Santi Cazorla races onto it and swipes the chance over the bar with his left foot. A player of Cazorla's quality should have at least hit the target there.

POOR FIRST TOUCH

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's diagonal dink from the right flank finds Olivier Giroud inside the area, but the Frenchman's touch lets him down and the ball is booted clear by a combination of West Brom's two centre backs.

CURLER FROM ARTETA

Mikel Arteta glances up 25 yards from goal and tries to curl one into the top corner, the effort just clearing the angle of post and bar.

UNLUCKY GERA

Zoltan Gera powers through the middle of the park and shapes to get a shot away, only for Per Mertesacker to take the ball off the thwarted Hungarian's toe.

SUBSTITUTION

Liam Ridgewell has picked up an early knock and leaves the fray to be replaced by Goran Popov. Steve Clarke gives his disappointed player a few words of consolation.

JUST WIDE

An attempted punch by Boaz Myhill falls straight to Thomas Vermaelen, who nods the ball to Gervinho. The Ivorian has a great chance to open the scoring from inside the area but can only flash a volley narrowly wide. Gareth McAuley ran into the post trying to defend that action but is alright to continue.

LONG LOOKING DANGEROUS

Arsenal have an early scare as James Morrison's clever flick nearly finds it way through to Shane Long, but Wojciech Szczesny is alert to the danger.

KICK OFF

Referee Mike Jones blows the whistle and we're underway here at the Emirates.

LINE-UPS ANNOUNCED

Arsenal replace the stricken Walcott and Podolski with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud, while Bacary Sagna comes in for Carl Jenkinson. West Brom bring Liam Ridgewell in for Goran Popov, while Chris Brunt and James Morrison replace Claudio Yacob and Graham Dorrans. Shane Long starts up front, with Markus Rosenberg dropping to the bench.

WEST BROM TEAM NEWS

Ben Foster continues his recovery from an operation, while James Morrison and Peter Odemwingie could be restored to the starting line-up.

ARSENAL TEAM NEWS

The Gunners are missing Bacary Sagna and Laurent Koscielny with foot and thigh injuries respectively. At the other end of the pitch, Theo Walcott is sidelined by a calf problem and Lukas Podolski's hamstring complaint keeps the German out.

ONE TO WATCH

Olivier Giroud has come on in leaps and bounds following a slow start to his Arsenal career, the France striker now having scored a respectable seven goals in 22 games for his new club. The 26-year-old, however, feels he could bag even more if his teammates were prepared to put the ball in the box rather than passing for passing's sake. The problem is that Arsene Wenger might not be prepared to abandon his long-held philosophy so easily.

AFRICA CALLING

West Brom's squad faces a stern test of strength in the new year as star performers Youssouf Mulumbu and Peter Odemwingie depart for the Africa Cup of Nations to play for Congo and Nigeria respectively. When you consider the likelihood of injuries and suspensions following a congested December schedule, it seems Steve Clarke might need to recruit in the transfer window.

WALCOTT ON HIS WAY

With just three weeks to go until the January transfer window opens, Theo Walcott's future looks increasingly likely to lie away from Arsenal. The England forward has not entered into any formal discussions over a new contract and will be free to sign a deal with a foreign club come January. On the domestic front, Liverpool are ready to pay for Walcott's services while Chelsea and Manchester City would be interested in a summer free transfer.

REF WATCH

Mike Jones is the man to take charge of this afternoon's proceedings, and the experienced referee might feel he's in for an easy ride in a fixture featuring two of the Premier League's less imposing teams. He might, however, want to watch out for Mikel Arteta, who has committed 37 fouls so far this season despite accumulating just 42 in the whole of the last campaign.

ARSENAL V WEST BROM

Three Barclays Premier League points would be a godsend for either of the two sides contesting this afternoon's classic clash at the Emirates. Both Arsenal and West Brom are in the midst of choppy patches and find themselves in need of relief, although Arsene Wenger will be the only one feeling the pressure at this point. The Gunners' total of 21 points is the lowest they've collected at this stage of the season since 1994/95, and the fans are getting restless. West Brom boss Steve Clarke has credit in the bank, having defied expectations with some scintillating early-season form that has lifted the overachieving Baggies to the dizzying heights of fifth position, but back-to-back losses have applied the brakes for now. Expect plenty of Arsenal possession in their own backyard, but as we've seen in recent weeks that can count for nothing.