West Bromwich Albion will be making the trip down to London today for their clash with Arsenal at the Emirates.
The visitors come into this clash with their Premier League life on the line. A loss will finally seal their fate as dropping back down to the Championship, and will end Sam Allardyce’s record of never having failed to save a club he has managed.
Today’s clash could well depend on which Arsenal side turns up however, like many of the results have this season.
The Gunners have been wholly consistent throughout the current campaign, but their devastating loss to Villarreal on Thursday has left a bitter taste in the mouth, and it would be anybody’s guess to assume which mentality players will arrive with.
I struggle to believe that the team will be completely motivated in the preparation for today’s test, despite the slim hope of climbing into the top seven.
Our side actually has the worse form on paper of the two. We have just one win in our last five in all competitions, having beaten Newcastle 2-0 last weekend, while WBA have eight points from their last five matches, including a massive 5-2 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
I can’t help but expect there to be further protests on matchday again on Sunday, possibly even with an increased number of participants after Thursday’s painful result.
With the fact that no home team has won with protesters outside of late, including Chelsea failing to beat Brighton, paired with the distraction of Thursday, I’m not even confident that we will win today.
I can see us ending up with a disappointing 1-1 scoreline, and I dare say that we could even leave feeling lucky to have got a point.
Does anyone believe the players will find the motivation out of anger?
Patrick