Arsenal vs. West Brom: 5 Players Who Can Deliver a Gunners' Win

Arsenal will hope to rebound from Tuesday's disappointing 0-0 home draw with Marseille, when they entertain a West Bromwich Albion side that has struggled with consistency so far this season.

The game also provides the Gunners with an appealing opportunity for revenge.  Last season, newly-promoted West Brom stunned Arsenal 3-2 at the Emirates.  The Baggies took a shocking 3-0 lead and hung on to claim a huge upset.

In the return fixture at the Hawthornes, West Brom again jumped out to a commanding lead.  Capitalising on mistakes from blunder 'keeper Manuel Almunia, West Brom built a two-goal advantage.  They were eventually pegged back thanks to a wonderful striker from Andrey Arshavin and a scrappy finish from Robin van Persie.

That 2-2 draw cost Arsenal two vital points in the title race, and the Gunners must avoid another slip-up against Roy Hodgson's men this time around.

Here are five players who need to deliver strong performances to lead Arsenal to a big victory.

5. Per Mertesacker

Per Mertesacker has yet to deliver a truly convincing performance in an Arsenal shirt.  The big German surprisingly retained his place ahead of the in-form Laurent Koscielny on Tuesday night.

Mertesacker needs to prove he can cope when turned sideways and could have a difficult time tracking the movement of pacy West Brom frontman Peter Odemwingie.  The veteran Nigerian striker specialises operating on the shoulder of his marker and using a quick turn and deceptive pace to get free.

Mertesacker needs to track his runs and anticipate his movement.  The former Werder Bremen talisman needs to do a better job of defending balls whipped across the box.  Mertesacker often appears flat footed in these situations and opposition forwards are able to get a run on him and nip in front to meet low, quick crosses.

This is a game where Mertesacker's intelligence and positional sense can serve him well, as long as he deals with the test of his awareness.

4. Andre Santos

He may have demonstrated plenty of promise going forward, but Brazilian left back Andre Santos continues to look very shaky defensively.  He could well be targeted in this game by tricky West Brom winger Jerome Thomas.

The former Arsenal youth prospect is a pacy and skillful wide player who could look to capitalise on the questionable positional sense of Santos, as well as his lack of straight line pace.

Thomas posed Arsenal plenty of problems last season.  A strong effort from Santos to subdue Thomas is crucial and might ease some of the considerable defensive doubts about the former Fenerbahce man.  

3. Gervinho

Gervinho needs to rebound from a terrible performance against Marseille.  The Ivory Coast forward was lethargic and clueless on the ball during Tuesday night's game and needs to play to his true ability against West Brom.

Gervinho possesses the speed and ball skills to terrorise Albion full backs Billy Jones and Steven Reid.  He must make himself a consistent threat and provide a regular supply for Robin van Persie and Aaron Ramsey.

It is also time for the former Lille star to begin adding more goals to his game.  Gervinho makes intelligent runs and has demonstrated decent goalscoring potential but needs to avoid glaring misses like the ones against Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.

If Arsenal hope to ever ease goalscoring burden on van Persie, then players like Gervinho have to find the net on a more regular basis.

2. Mikel Arteta

Alongside the goalscoring exploits of van Persie, the quiet and assured performances of Mike Arteta have sparked Arsenal's revival.  The consistent, box-to-box play of the crafty Spaniard has enabled Aaron Ramsey to operate more freely in the attacking third.

Arteta needs to deliver another faultless performance against an Albion midfield that is also not short of competent passers. He needs to get on the ball early and often and use his smart and efficient delivery to keep Arsenal's possession play ticking over.

Like Gervinho, the one area Arteta needs to improve is goalscoring.  The ex-Everton star has a powerfully accurate shot and is capable of cultured and clinical finishing from close range.

The only thing left for Arsenal's impressive midfield trio is to add more goals and the technique and intelligence of Arteta are the keys to achieving this. 

1. Theo Walcott

Theo Walcott is another player who endured something of a letdown against Marseille following his fine exploits against Chelsea last weekend.

The England winger desperately needs to put a string of impressive performances together.  It is high time that Walcott delivered a sparkling display when Fabio Capello is not in the stands.

Walcott has the lightning pace and clever finishing to score in any game and he must begin to consistently torment opposition defenses.  Against a powerful, but cumbersome West Brom back four, Walcott should have a field day, provided he is prepared to come in from the touchline more often and make the necessary runs.

Arsenal must avoid another drab home performance.  Saturday's game provides a great opportunity to keep up their impressive momentum in the league.  Roy Hodgson's teams are experts at setting up to stifle opponents, so the Gunners will need to start fast and be ruthless in the forward areas.