Darren Fletcher is confident Saido Berahino has the character to bounce back from his weekend penalty nightmare when West Brom visit faltering Arsenal on Thursday.
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However Arsene Wenger’s side need to swiftly return to winning ways if they are to avoid dropping out of the Champions League places and ending their manager’s 18-year streak of successful qualification for Europe’s premier club competition.
Arsenal were booed off on Sunday after the 1-1 home draw with Crystal Palace which, on the back of the 3-3 draw at West Ham United, effectively ended their hopes of a first championship since 2004.
Jack Wilshere overcame a slight knock to score for Arsenal Under-21s during a league meeting with West Bromwich Albion on Monday night.
Indeed, WBA have won only one of their last 12 away games at Arsenal and have only won one of their last 11 away games in the Premier League: L5-D5.
A 3-1 scoreline is an 11/1 shot and Alexis Sanchez, scorer of three goals in his last three games, tempts as an even-money anytime scorer shot alongside 11/10 Danny Welbeck in the same market.
However, Tony Pulis will be frustrated with the fact that his side have lost back-to-back games coming into this tie.
“We know how hard these games will be, but we go into them with no fear”.
Saido Berahino has scored just four goals in 28 Premier League appearances this season, after netting 14 in 2014-15.
In a season where critics have their pick of points where Wenger’s team failed to measure up, Sunday’s result highlighted their uneven play, and they’ll be happy to have completed their London derbies.
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West Brom are winless in their last four but can be backed at 11/4 to win or draw against the inconsistent Gunners in the Double Chance market. I’ll start on the edge of my seat and end the game hiding behind it, with another seriously uncomfortable night, and I think it could be Mohamed Elneny – one of the few impressive players – to save Arsenal.
