Tony Pulis. Four no nonsense centre halves in the back line. Travels round the country stinking out places…or does he? A new look attacking lineup for West Brom could prove crucial this Boxing Day.
Tactically, West Brom have proved excellent when sitting deep and allowing the individual flair of the attacking players to shine. This, of course, is in conjunction with their adeptness at set pieces and the aerial prowess of Salomon Rondon.
It’s almost a 6-4 formation for West Brom, who place a very conservative double pivot of Darren Fletcher and Claudio Yacob in front of the back four. Meanwhile, ball carriers such as Nacer Chadli and Matt Phillips can flourish.
To combat this, Arsenal need not use their French battering ram, but instead subscribe to total football – an attacking whirlwind of players switching positions in the final third is key to breaking down trench-like defences. Aaron Ramsey would be perfect for this sort of game, but in his absence, a Coq-Xhaka pivot would probably do.
In terms of matchups, Gabriel vs Rondon will be a key one. The Brazilian is good with his ground defending, but can get bullied in the air.
We also have Alex Iwobi vs Cragi Dawson. The right back is a converted centre half, and may struggle to deal with the Nigerian’s trickery and pace.
