It was a day of firsts for the Baggies - their first major scalp since returning to the Premiership, the first time they've won in the Premiership having gone behind, the first home win over Arsenal for 22 years and, more importantly, the first win in seven games.

The opposition makes this victory more impressive, but no more important. Most Albion fans were merely hoping that Albion would put in a performance to be proud of - to get the three points is superb and it will, hopefully, be the result to kick start this season.

But, as is so often the case in the Premiership, there was a very fine line between success and failure.

The day didn't start well. Ronnie Wallwork's name was roundly booed by Baggies fans as he has become the scapegoat for poor performances. Kevin Campbell's injury meant that the booing didn't have to be repeated, but I was disappointed not to see Ellington in the starting line-up.

As it was, Sepp Blatter will have been surprised to see Robson field an attacking line-up with Horsfield joined by two injury doubts, Kanu and Kamara, in a three-man forward line. Greening and Watson joined Ronnie in midfield, with the back four unchanged.

Although hit by injuries to key players, Arsenal could still field an impressive side with Bergkamp, Reyes, Pires and Ljungberg always like to cause Albion problems.

And so it proved, after a five minute spell early on when Albion pushed Arsenal back, the visitors took control. Wallwork and Watson looked lost in midfield with only Greening looking as though he knew where to go. Kamara was having to work very hard defensively and, for the most part, doing a decent job, although his attacking prowess was largely non-existent.

The defence were standing up pretty well, but then a shot from Fabregas was deflected into the path of Bergkamp and only a fine covering block from Robinson stopped the Dutchman from opening the scoring. But the relief was short-lived as Senderos got away from Davies from the resulting corner and was able to poke the ball home from close range.

It was a strange goal. Robson apparently criticised Kirkland at half-time for not collecting the cross, which was a little harsh, but there was a definite change in tactics from Robson as there was not one player marking either post for any corner in the game. Only a truly outstanding save from Kirkland in the second half prevented Toure from getting a copycat goal when he got in front of Horsfield.

After the goal, Arsenal continued to dominate and Kirkland was called into action twice more by Bergkamp but was able to keep both efforts out.

Robson then made a change to switch back to 4-4-2 to try and quell the wave of Arsenal attacks through midfield, and it seemed to do the trick as Albion started to impose themselves a little more on the game. They began to get nearer the Arsenal goal and caused one or two problems from crosses.

The home cause was further aided when Ljungberg went off injured - Arsenal's lack of depth to their squad was amply demonstrated when the Swede was replaced by Eboue - a full back making only his second first team appearance.

And then came the breakthrough. Some neat work by Greening on the right found Kanu and he lifted a ball over the top to Albrechtsen to run into the corner. His cross was headed out by Senderos, but straight to Kanu, and the former Gunner returned it with interest with a fine shot into the far corner of the net.

It was a goal that Albion just about deserved, although Arsenal will have felt aggrieved not to still be in front.

It was a good game now, with the play switching from end to end. After a poor start, even Ronnie Wallwork was looking more like his old self as he made a number of good interceptions and intelligent passes.

The second half was excellent entertainment. As in the first half, Arsenal dominated, but their possession was punctuated by some decent football from the home side.

The Albion hero was Chris Kirkland as he pulled off save after save to keep the visitors at bay. But his back four was also performing well, with Davies in particular showing experience beyond his years to make timely tackles and interceptions.

At the other end, a great cross from Albrechtsen was met by Kanu. His header was weak but Kamara behind him was in a much better position.

Reyes, booked in the first half for going in high on Davies, incensed the home fans when he dived in the box under challenge from Robinson. Barry Knight, who'd made a string of bizarre decisions, bottled it and neglected to show the Spaniard the second yellow card he deserved.

Wallwork was substituted for Carter in the 68th minute to rapturous applause. Ironically, it had been Ronnie's best performance for some time, although by no means was it good. Carter made an immediate impact with some neat passes and some good covering of midfield runs.

When Kanu was withdrawn a few minutes later, Darren Moore's introduction was greeted with puzzlement. Within a few minutes, however, I could see the logic. Without Ljungberg, all Arsenal's attacks were coming through the middle and their excellent running off the ball was causing problems for Clem and Curtis, and gaps were starting to appear. With Big Dave in the middle, the gaps were closed and Arsenal never penetrated the back line again. Their only efforts from then on were from free kicks.

So with Big Dave helping to break up the Arsenal attacks, and Carter using the ball well, Albion looked more solid and more dangerous. But no one could have foreseen the winning goal. Kamara and Greening combined well on the left, but Lauren got a foot in deflecting the ball towards Carter. He took it on the chest and, after one bounce, struck a fierce left foot volley that flew into the top corner giving Lehmann no chance. It was a goal worthy of winning any game.

Dare I say it, but Albion looked comfortable. Ellington came on and came close to making it 3-1 with a fierce effort from a tight angle, but at the other end Arsenal were restricted to a couple of free kicks about 25 yards out that Kirkland was equal to. An extra man at the back made a difference as all balls into the box were successfully repelled.

Albion held out for a famous victory that sees them jump up to 14th place. But let's not kid ourselves, Arsenal were the better team and created a host of chances, but Chris Kirkland played the game of his life to keep them at bay. Last season, the turnaround started with a result we scarcely deserved at Man City - while one could argue that Albion's efforts may have just warranted a point, the win should give the boys the confidence to kick on and the next few weeks and establish a cushion away from the bottom three.


Marks

Chris Kirkland - 9 - MOM. A string of excellent saves, will be pushing Robinson for the England spot on this form.
Martin Albrechtsen - 7 - Another good performance from the Dane.
Neil Clement - 6 - One or two rash moments, but did pretty well.
Curtis Davies - 7 - At fault for the goal, but otherwise did very well.
Paul Robinson - 7 - Another committed solid performance.
Ronnie Wallwork - 6 - Better, but still points more than runs.
Steve Watson - 6 - Did OK, but I'd prefer to see Chaplow in that position.
Jonathan Greening - 8 - Excellent performance.
Geoff Horsfield - 5 - One or two promising moments, but generally disappointing.
Diomansy Kamara - 6 - Worked hard defensively, but offered little up front.
Nwankwo Kanu - 7 - Did some wonderful things with the ball, but lacks the mobility to lead the line effectively. Good goal, though.

Darren Carter - 8 - Fantastic goal, and generally impressive all round display.
Darren Moore - 7 - Did well to shore up the back line.
Nathan Ellington- 7 - Looked lively, deserves a start.

Bryan Robson - 7 - Would've chosen a different starting line-up, but he was adventurous and his substitutions worked well.


Jon Want, 16th October 2005.