West Brom 0-4 Arsenal: 4 Things We Learned From Demolition

Arsenal cruised to a 4-0 Premier League victory over West Brom on Saturday.

In the context of the season Arsenal are having, it doesn’t get much better than the win at the Hawthorns.

Previously, supporters have taken solace from individual moments, brief spells of pressure or the Gunners’ ability to dig in and hold on in matches. What we were witness to against the Baggies was the most complete display of the campaign. By some margin.

West Brom saw most of the ball in the early exchanges but Arsenal’s intensity from back to front soon saw the initiative wrestled back from the hosts, and Kieran Tierney‘s stunning strike was just rewards for a strong opening.

As superb as the Scot’s effort was, Arsenal’s second was utterly sublime. Gorgeous one-touch football culminated in Bukayo Saka tapping home into an empty net, a goal that will already have found its way onto the Goal of the Season charts.

Alexandre Lacazette consolidated the win with two of his own inside a four-minute spell, as the visitors glided through the remainder of the match in the snow-laden Midlands turf. Not just a win, but a fine one too.

Here’s what we learned.

Control Unlike Any Other

One of the main takeaways from the Brighton win – one to quell the overriding exaltation – was that Arsenal were still unable to dominate matches from start to finish. There was a 20-minute spell after half-time where ruthless speed put the Seagulls’ to bed. It was Arsenal at their best. Yet for all their speed and incision on the south coast, that pressure would never last.

Against the Baggies, Arsenal had that control and never relinquished it but for a few, very brief, sections of the game. Only the truly elite footballing sides can dominate a game for 90 minutes untouched. Arteta’s side gave their best attempt at replicating it.

For the first time under Arteta, the football was at its free-flowing best and sustained. The Gunners’ have controlled matches, so too played with fluidity, during the Spaniard’s reign, although never have the two held hands are firmly or for as long as they had on Saturday.

During the barren seven-game winless run, the most prominent criticisms centred around signs of regression within the team. It’s only three matches later with an elevated mood that we’re seeing indications of progression.

Interchangeability off the ball, freedom of movement, intensity in and out of possession and dictation for extended spells have all been notable developments in just 270 minutes. Arteta has spoke of his side ‘dominating’ even at their poorest. For the first time, that domination was meaningful.