The Hawthorns

Wednesday 25th August 2021 -  20:00
West Brom
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Arsenal
Stream on WBA TV
Key Events

Arsenal Match Preview

West Bromwich Albion welcome Premier League Arsenal to The Hawthorns on Wednesday night for a second-round Carabao Cup clash (ko 8pm).

The Baggies have made an impressive start to the 2021/22 campaign under Valérien Ismaël, winning three on the spin after sharing the spoils on the opening day at AFC Bournemouth.

Arsenal, on the other hand, will be desperate to secure their first victory and their first goal of the season.

For the first time in their history, the Gunners have started a league season with two defeats and no goals in their opening two matches.

Mikel Arteta’s men have suffered consecutive 2-0 defeats in the top flight to Brentford and Chelsea respectively. 

And Albion, who beat Blackburn 2-1 at Ewood Park on Saturday, will have their sights set on springing a surprise in B71.

Tickets

Find all the ticket details for Albion's Carabao Cup clash against Arsenal here.

Cash sales will be available from 6pm at the kiosk situated near the Astle Gates on the East Stand Car Park.

The ticket office will remain open until kick-off for collections only.

Away supporter collections will be available from the away ticket office situated next to A block turnstiles.

How to follow the game

Supporters can follow the Carabao Cup second-round tie against Arsenal with live Baggies-biased commentary on WBA TV. The game will not be streamed live overseas owing to the fact it will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

However, supporters with overseas seasonal or month passes can still listen to the game live as part of their subscription, as can Seasonal audio commentary subscribers.

Fans without a current subscription can purchase an audio match pass for £2.50 by clicking here.

To listen live, head to the Live Match Centre 15 minutes before kick-off.

WBA TV Matchday

Opposition 

Arsenal arrive at The Hawthorns hoping to kick-start their season.

The Gunners are still waiting for their first goal and first point in the Premier League after derby defeats to Brentford and Chelsea, and boss Mike Arteta will demand improvements from his players.

Arsenal missed out on qualification for European football for the first time in 26 years last term, finishing eighth for a second consecutive season. Wednesday’s encounter with Albion will be their first second-round tie in the EFL Cup since 1995, when they overcame Hartlepool United 8-0 on aggregate under Bruce Rioch. 

Arteta, who is approaching his two-year anniversary as Arsenal boss, will know the importance of securing a positive result at The Hawthorns, with a trip to champions Manchester City next up in the top flight on Saturday.

Classic match

Albion produced a dominant display against the Gunners in the Premier League in March 2017.

Craig Dawson headed home a double, one at either end, with a Hal Robson-Kanu goal lodged in the middle.

Alexis Sanchez was Arsenal's scorer that afternoon.

Albion News

Find out everything you need to know about Wednesday's edition of Albion News here.

Did you know?

The two sides have met four times in the EFL Cup, with Arsenal progressing on each occasion. 

The last time the Baggies and the Gunners faced each other in the League Cup was back in 2013. Thomas Eisfeld opened the scoring for the visitors at The Hawthorns, but Saido Berahino equalised to take the game to penalties, where it was Arsenal who came out on top winning 4-3 on spot-kicks.

Albion battle against Arsenal

A young Albion XI were beaten 6-0 by Arsenal in the Carabao Cup Second Round on Wednesday night.

Despite a valiant first-half effort from Valérien Ismaël’s team, the Gunners led comfortably at the break thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s brace and a Nicolas Pepe goal. 

Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette then netted either side of Aubameyang completing his hat-trick to ensure they made it through to the competition’s next stage.

In total nine Baggies made their debuts throughout the evening – six in the starting XI and three from the bench.

Albion will return to Sky Bet Championship action this Saturday at Peterborough (ko 8pm).

The boss made 11 changes to his line-up at The Hawthorns, handing debuts to Alex Palmer, Caleb Taylor, Ethan Ingram, Quevin Castro, Tom Fellows and Taylor Gardner-Hickman – with the latter replacing Rayhaan Tulloch shortly before kick-off.

And it was Albion who created the first couple of chances as Tom Fellows forced Aaron Ramsdale into a good save and Adam Reach side-footed wide.

But on 17 minutes Arsenal went in front through Aubameyang, the Gabon international converting from close-range after Alex Palmer stopped Saka’s initial shot.

The inexperienced hosts held their own against their Premier League opponents for the majority of the half until, just ahead of half-time, Aubameyang netted another rebound for his second.

Harshly, they scored again in first period stoppage time when Pepe tapped home at the back post to make it 3-0.

Any chance of a comeback was quickly dashed on 50 minutes – Saka finishing off a slick move for Arsenal’s fourth of the night.

Kenneth Zohore and Gardner-Hickman both saw attempts denied by Ramsdale as Albion continued to push forward, yet Arsenal managed to notch twice more midway through the second-half.

Aubameyang grabbed his third with a curler before substitute Lacazette rounded-off the result – a bright spot for Albion being Mo Faal, Toby King and Rico Richards all coming on to make their Albion debuts in the final 30 minutes.

Albion: Palmer, Kipré, Taylor (Richards 82), Shotton; Ingram, Castro, Snodgrass (King 74), Reach; Fellows, Zohore (Faal 64), Gardner-Hickman.

Substitutes: Cann, Delaney, Malcolm.

Attendance: 17,016 (2,744 away)