Three things we learnt from Arsenal’s critical victory over West Brom

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Tony Pulis has made his side hard to beat this season

Some people have been labelling it as the Tony Pulis effect, but West Brom have really surprised people this year by fighting their way into the top half of the Premier League.

A free-scoring Arsenal side struggled to find their way through the Baggies, much like Chelsea toiled in their efforts during their victory at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago – with Northern Ireland international Gareth McAuley leading the defensive line, West Brom have become stubborn.

It’s not just in defence where West Brom are thriving this season though; they found it hard to find the back of the net last year, scoring a lowly-total of 34 goals across their 38 league games at a rate of 0.89 goals per fixture.

Cast forward a few months and Pulis’ side have scored 23 goals in 18 matches, with the ex-Stoke manager able to get the best out of Salomon Rondon and Nacer Chadli, whilst Matt Phillips has really impressed after stepping up into the first team.

It’s a very un-Tony Pulis side, if stereotypes are anything to go on, but it’s working and if it continues it could leave West Brom looking at their highest ever Premier League finish come May.

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