During his brief tenure as saviour of the nation, Stuart Pearce excelled at infuriating Arsene Wenger. Roy Hodgson has a chance to flaunt his qualifications for that task. 

With a combination of fancy foreign methods, coats made-to-measure for Peter Crouch and touchline tantrums, ArseneWenger has doggedly secured a top-four spot in every one of his 15 years at Arsenal.

However, a disastrous four-match winless streak has alerted the vultures at Tottenham and Newcastle, leaving the Gunners vulnerable to a final-day plummet and the humiliation of winning a spot in next season’s Europa League.

West Brom suit their casting as saboteurs. They have kept five clean sheets in six at The Hawthorns, and find motivation in the pursuit of a first top-ten finish since 1980/81. They also have a habit of signing off in style, avoiding defeat in the final game of their five previous seasons in the Premier League despite being relegated in three of them.

Key stats:

1. Arsenal have won their final away fixture in only two of the last seven campaigns, and none of the last three.

2. Six of the last seven meetings have produced over 2.5 goals, with both teams scoring in five of them.

3. West Brom have taken just a point from seven clashes with the current top four (at home to Man City).

4. West Brom’s miserly 19 goals scored in 18 games in front of their fans represents a joint-Premier League low.