Combine their desire to overcome those two recent defeats, strong Festive record and West Brom’s struggles to get anything from games like this and the Gunners should just about have enough to get over the line."
Monday 26 December, 15:00
As if losing back-to-back games at Everton and Manchester City wasn't bad enough, it coincided with all their rivals in the top six picking up maximum points over the same spell.
From sitting top of the table when Lee Mason blew the full-time whistle in the 3-1 home win over Stoke on December 10, the Gunners suddenly find themselves nine points off the pace.
Rather than hoping to come out of Christmas sat at the summit, Arsene Wenger's men are now fourth and nervously looking over their shoulders at local rivals Spurs (one point back) and a reinvigorated Manchester United (four in arrears).
The latest bout of "Wenger's got to go" phone-ins have been particularly brutal because Arsenal took the lead in both the losses at Goodison Park and the Etihad.
Losing from winning positions provides extra ammunition for the critics and, worryingly, it's already the third time this season that Arsenal have gone 1-0 up before suffering defeat.
Some might say losing to Everton (unbeaten at home at the time) and Man City (pre-season title favourites) is hardly a crime but they'll quickly be dismissed as Wenger apologists.
Basically, the perception that Arsenal will again fall short in their bid to win the Premier League is as strong as ever.
West Brom
In theory, this could be a good opportunity for West Brom to tweak Arsenal's noses.
The Gunners are wobbling and the Baggies are healthily positioned in eighth, very acceptable for a side that has finished 14th and 13th in the last two seasons.
West Brom have won just twice in eight attempts away from home but Tony Pulis has set them up as a tough nut to crack.
They've been defeated just three times on the road - only the top six and Middlesbrough have lost fewer away games - and conceding just eight goals in eight away matches is a record that only Chelsea and Spurs can beat (both have let in seven).
And yet, there is something very obvious that leaps out when going through West Brom's results - they struggle against the top teams.
Since September they've suffered just four defeats in the Premier League but those losses were away to Liverpool (1-2) and Chelsea (0-1) and at home to Man City (0-4) and Man Utd (0-2).
Does this mean West Brom have a level and their limitations are found out by the best sides? Or does Pulis slightly take his foot off the gas in such games, knowing that these aren't the matches that make or break his team's season?
Match Odds
Arsenal are just 1.35 to get back to winning ways while West Brom are 11.00 to condemn the hosts to a third straight defeat. The draw could tempt some at 5.80.
Since losing 4-3 to Liverpool on opening day, Arsenal have won five and drawn two of their seven Premier League starts at the Emirates so they're pretty reliable at home.
Wenger's men have dominated West Brom in recent seasons, winning eight and drawing two of the last 11 league meetings.
The timing of the fixture is also important.
The games come thick and fast at this time of year with three matches crammed between Boxing Day and the opening couple of days of January. Squad depth is tested and, naturally, the bigger teams cope better.
Arsenal traditionally flourish at Christmas and have won eight of their last 10 fixtures over the Festive period. That includes five wins out of five at the Emirates.
By contrast, West Brom have lost three of their last five and won just two of the previous eight. Looking at their fixtures, Pulis will target the home match with Hull as his most likely source of Christmas cheer.
Both Teams To Score
Clean sheets have been a rare commodity for Arsenal too and both teams have found the net in 11 of their last 12 fixtures.
Head-to-heads also justify a bet of 'Yes' at Even money as BTTS has been successful in five of the last eight meetings between this pair.
Correct Score
Arsenal will have nothing handed on a plate but combine their desire to overcome those two recent defeats, strong Festive record and West Brom's struggles to get anything from games like this and the Gunners should just about have enough to get over the line.
The Sportsbook offer 'winning margin' betting and 'Home to win by exactly 1' is 14/5.
However, I'm struggling to see 3-2 or 4-3 as an option so preference is to focus on a couple of correct scorelines, 2-1 and 1-0 - the margins they lost by at Liverpool and Chelsea respectively.
With both finding it difficult to shut the opposition out, the 2-1 Arsenal win seems more likely and that's the selection.
Ref watch
Neil Swarbrick is the man in the middle at the Emirates. He's flashed 65 yellows and two reds in his 16 matches this season.
Filtering that to Premier League games, Swarbrick has shown 39 yellows and no reds from 10 outings so hasn't been as card-happy in top-flight matches.
In terms of good omens for our bet, he's been the ref in two West Brom games this season (home v Everton and away v Liverpool) and the the Baggies lost both 2-1. He showed four yellows in both matches, booking three West Brom players in each.
The last time he shook Arsene Wenger's hand after a match was in December 2014 when, you've guessed it, the Gunners won 2-1 (at West Ham). He booked three Arsenal players that day.
Recommended Bet
Yes is trading at 2.00 and the stats suggest it's the way to go. West Brom have kept a clean sheet just once in their last 14 Premier League outings and BTTS has landed in nine of those matches.
No is 1.89.
West Brom are a resilient outfit on the road and no team has put more than two past them in any game. Breaking it down match by match, they've conceded 0-1-1-1-2-1-1-1 in their eight away outings.
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