When you enjoy such an incredible run of victories it is natural to come away disappointed when we don't win. From an extremely tough encounter, I thought Sunday was a point gained rather than two dropped.
Returning so quickly after our League Cup exploits felt a bit odd to be honest. An annual visit keeps any pre-match travel and refreshment problems to a minimum but going back so soon gave a strange kind of familiarity to the whole day. Not that it made for a difficult build-up of course, the usual pre-match fare and the continuing warm sunshine giving all the travelling Gooners confidence.
Overall I felt it was a fair result. We could have come away with all three points in the final 30 minutes but our hosts created enough chances that could have seen us leave with nothing.
The Baggies enjoyed the best of the opening half, the most frustrating aspect was that we conceded just when we looked as though we had weathered our hosts' first real bout of sustained pressure.
All to do come half time then and in the opening period of the second we could quite easily have gone further behind. It was to prove crucial as we finally started to see our own passing game look more dominant with Jack slamming home our all-important equaliser.
The travelling yellow and blue army increased the noise levels as we poured forward in search of a winner but overall I am satisfied with a point from a tough afternoon's work.
It was enough of course to see us go into the international break top of the pile and, in a period where we have progressed in the first of the domestic cups and produced two excellent results in the Champions League, we can be nothing but happy with the way things have gone so far.
Enjoy the break Gooners, when we start all over again we have a three-week period that includes games against Crystal Palace, Dortmund (twice), Liverpool, Chelsea and Man United!
First up however, we welcome the Canaries to the Home of Football and a good old fashioned 3 o'clock on a Saturday to boot!
To all our players representing their countries over the next few days, be successful… and be safe!
Arsenal 'til we die!
Frank
@stubbsy70
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