West Brom 0-4 Arsenal- Five things we learned

Arsenal made it three wins on the bounce after a 4-0 thumping of West Brom. A brace from Alexandre Lacazette and goals to Kieran Tierney and Bukayo Saka completed the rout.

They say a week is a long time in football and for Arsenal that rings true. Just over a week ago the Gunners welcomed Chelsea to the Emirates as they were languishing down in 15th in the table and not looking like scoring, let alone winning a football match.

Fast forward ten days are all of a sudden Arsenal are a different beast. Winning three consecutive games, scoring goals for fun and clean sheets in back to back games have taken the Gunners from 15th with a negative goal difference to 11th just six points behind Spurs in 4th and have a plus one goal differential.

Here is what we learned from Arsenal’s rout of West Brom.

Emile Smith Rowe has saved Arteta millions in the transfer market.

Now can we expect him to keep producing these types of performances week in and week out? Probably not however he has shown he is more than capable of coming into a Premier League side and making a difference.

With the likely arrival of reinforcements in January, Smith Rowe will have to be content with a place on the bench however he does give Mikel Arteta something to think about as he is more than just a fill-in, he is a starter for Arsenal.

With his recent form, Arteta will not have to seriously splash the cash on creative players, instead perhaps only one is needed with the emergence of Smith Rowe. He is a young footballer who has transformed his side in just three weeks, not many players have that type of ability.

Lacazette is currently the best striker at Arsenal

Is he better than Pierre Emerick Aubameyang? At this point in time, you would have to say yes. There are no doubting Aubameyang’s qualities however Lacazette is simply on a mission at the moment.

Five goals in four games including a brace against West Brom point to a striker that has found his groove again after misplacing it for the last few months.

Aubameyang will find his shooting boots again, however, with Lacazette’s current form, the striker position is his for the time being.

Bukayo Saka is a generational talent

Without putting too much pressure on a 19-year-old, but Saka is on his way to becoming world-class if he is not already.

It is not that he is playing well in games, it is that he is dominating games and dragging his team along with him that is the most impressive thing about the young man. What a player Arsenal has on their hands and the fact that he is contracted for the new couple of years is an amazing piece of business.

Kieran Tierney is a future Arsenal captain

Say what you want about Arsenal’s defensive woes this season, most of them are not because of their Scottish left-back.

He has been a beacon of consistency and his goal and assist against West Brom was simply sensational. Taking on a defender before cutting inside onto his wrong foot and curling home a neat finish is something only a handful of left-backs can do. His crossing is a major feature of his game and we can see just what he can do if given space to deliver.

Many Arsenal fans have compared him to former Gunner Ashley Cole and going as far as saying he is better. He is not there yet but boy the gap is closing rapidly.

Holding and Mari forming a solid partnership

Back to back clean sheets is nothing to roll your nose up at. Holding has looked more assured in recent games with the Spaniard along side him and Pablo Mari has acquitted himself well as he steps in for Gabriel.

It will be a shame to see him dropped to the bench when Gabriel returns, however with Sokratis, Mustafi, and David Luiz all out of contract in the summer, he will get his chance as a quality back up behind the Brazilian.

It remains unclear as to whether the duo will be playing in Arsenal’s FA Cup match against Newcastle, however, Mikel Arteta knows he has a quality centre-back he can call on if needed.