Arsenal 3-0 West Brom: Sunday Mirror match report

Arsenal brushed aside a rather lame challenge from West Brom as the Gunners’ revival continues to gather pace.

This was their fifth straight home win in the Premier League, and once again the architect was Dutch captain Robin van Persie.

He scored one and made two more to secure the points for an Arsenal side mining a rich seam of form.

Manager Arsene Wenger said: “At the moment it’s ­difficult to stop Van Persie, not only as a goalscorer but as a provider too.

“He is world class. But I don’t want to put too much pressure on him — I want him to enjoy the season. A time to talk about him will probably come at the end of the season.

“We dominated and were rarely in trouble. We are ­getting stronger. We scored five goals last week and three this week without reply.

“It’s good to see our positive goal difference for the first time. I have been shocked looking at it. We handicapped ourselves with that 8-2 loss at Manchester United.

“I have always been positive about this team. One month ago we were in a very bad ­situation but the players are determined to do well and get better.

“I sense this team don’t want to turn off. At the moment we have the momentum and there is room for further ­improvement.”

Arsenal will face far stiffer challenges this season and were rarely required to get out of first gear as the visitors provided little by the way of a challenge.

But, in stark contrast to the start of the ­campaign, Arsenal’s confidence was so evident, as their ­potent attack threatened to tear West Brom apart.

Albion had won 3-2 in the

corresponding fixture last season, albeit under former coach Roberto Di Matteo, but Roy Hodgson’s side have picked up more points on their travels than they have at home in this campaign so far.

Both sides began ­lethargically and, while Arsenal dominated possession as expected, almost 20 minutes passed without a single shot on goal.

When the deadlock was ­broken, the build-up was worth the entry fee alone. Aaron Ramsey carved open the West Brom defence and when Theo Walcott’s shot was saved by Ben Foster there was no ­surprise to find Van Persie lurking to dispatch the loose ball for his 10th goal in six ­Premier League games.

With West Brom defending dangerously deep it seemed inevitable that Arsenal would increase their lead. But when they did, six minutes before the break, it came from an ­unlikely source.

Van Persie sent Alex Song’s cross into the path of the ­onrushing Thomas Vermaelen, who fired home to score his first goal since February 2010.

The game followed a similar pattern after the break, with Hodgson’s side showing little inclination to try to retrieve anything from the encounter, and Arsenal threatening.

Chances came and went as the visitors’ defending became more and more desperate.

They were given little breathing space, as wave after wave of Arsenal attacks bore down on their goal.

Ramsey should have increased the lead in the 60th minute but his snapshot from Gervinho’s pass flashed straight across the face of ­Foster’s goal.

Hodgson tried to stem the tide and increase his ­options by bringing on Somen Tchoyi.

But aside from a moment when he broke away and was ­denied by an incredible tackle by Vermaelen, he had little ­impact.

That was in stark contrast to the substitution made by Wenger, who replaced Ramsey with Tomas Rosicky and ­within minutes Arsenal had nailed all three points with a third goal.

Rosicky played the ball inside to Van Persie who once again was the provider, teeing up Mikel Arteta to fire home.

After the game, Hodgson (left) was having none of any ­assessments that judged his team had barely turned up.

He said: “I would disagree with you. I’m just not prepared to listen to criticism of my side. We have injuries that need to be taken into ­account, particularly the front men, and we lacked some quality at times.

“But if we were undone it came from Arsenal quality not our own deficiency. We were up against a very good team who are rampant.”

VERDICT: Their fans turned up but God knows what happened to West Brom?Arsenal barely broke sweat as they took the Midlands outfit apart to secure their fifth successive PL win.

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THE BIG ISSUE: Have Arsenal turned the corner after their poor start and in a position to fight for a top-four slot?

“Although Arsenal’s challenge appears to be gathering momentum following the horrendous start to the campaign, the limp challenge from West Brom is hardly a measure of how far the Gunners can go this season. Albeit their fifth straight Premier League home win since their 2-0 defeat by a Liverpool side that will undoubtedly challenge them for a place in the top-four this season, you suspect tougher challenges lie ahead for them as the season unfolds.

Their attacking threat isn’t in question although any untimely injury to Robin Van Persie, who is in the form of his life, could have a detrimental effect; it’s the Gunners defence that still looks shaky. Better teams than West Brom will exploit that weakness and you suspect that unless they bring in reinforcements in January Champions League football could yet be beyond them.