By Daily Sports on December 24, 2016

Arsene Wenger and Tony Pulis will lock horns once again when Arsenal play West Brom at Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day.

The two managers have a history of heated touchline disputes although Pulis admitted last season that they now have a "better relationship" than before.

Two consecutive defeats in the Premier League have seen Wenger's side go from top of the pile to nine points behind Chelsea in less than a fortnight and Pulis will be confident of getting something out of the game in north London.

Wenger spoke about the recent criticism of Mesut Ozil in his pre-match press conference and backed him to respond on the pitch.

“I don’t give him any leeway when the team doesn’t have possession,” said Wenger.

“He has to do his job like everybody else and usually he does it well.

“We have to respond. Mesut Ozil is an important player, a big player, and the big players always respond to criticism on the pitch.”

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been ruled out of the game through injury but Wenger confirmed that his absence will be a matter of days, not weeks.

Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck both returned to full training ahead of Sunday's match although it is likely to come too soon for both of them.

German defender Shkodran Mustafi is out until early January while Santi Cazorla and Mathieu Debuchy are still on the sidelines.

Arsenal have no suspended players for this game.

Alex Iwobi is expected to start in place of the injured Oxlade-Chamberlain against West Brom, although Lucas Perez could be involved with another game against Crystal Palace coming up in quick succession.

The central midfield partnership of Granit Xhaka and Francis Coquelin struggled to get a handle on the match at Manchester City last week but with Ramsey still out it seems unlikely that Wenger will disrupt the duo.

Theo Walcott will continue on the right hand side after netting six of his eight goals this season at Emirates Stadium. He's started all 16 Premier League matches he has been available for this season. (goal.com)

•Photo shows Alex Iwobi

Source Daily Sports

Posted December 24, 2016

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