Arsenal entertain West Bromwich Albion in the 2008-2009 Premiership curtain raiser at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Arsenal manager will be looking to put the disappointment of last season behind him. In a season that promised so much the Gunners ended the campaign without a trophy. Something the Frenchman is keen to put right this season.

Baggies boss Tony Mowbray might have wished for an easier opening fixture after winning the Championship last season, with Mowbray reportedly a fan of Wenger and the Arsenal style of play. However, Mowbray is not sending his team to London for a day trip and his West Brom side were by far the best footballing team in the Championship last season and could surprise a few people this season.

Arsenal have seen a few key players leave the Emirates in the summer, with Mathieu Flamini, Gilberto Silva, Alexander Hleb and Jens Lehman all moving on. Wenger once again has kept to his policy of bringing young talent to the North London club following the arrival of Samir Nasri, Amaury Bischoff, Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin. The Gunners boss has also handed professional deals to six of the youth team.

Out of all the promoted clubs the Baggies have been most active in the transfer market, with Luke Moore, Kim Do-Heon, Gianni Zuiverloon, Graham Dorrans, Roman Bednar, Marek Cech, Scott Carson and Abdoulaye Meite all committing to the Hawthorns. Zoltan Gera, Curtis Davies and Kevin Phillips are the most notable players to leave the Midlands club this summer.

Arsenal will be hoping to win the Premiership this season, with a top-four finish being seen as a failure for the Gunners after only managing to finish 3rd after a promising start to last seasons campaign. However, many feel that Wenger has let key players leave the Emirates, while replacing them with players unproven in the Premiership. This could leave Arsenal as the most vulnerable to be dislodged from the top-four. They also have a long injury list at the moment, with Fabregas doubtful, Eduardo and Rosicky still out. While Wenger is waiting on the fitness of Kolo Toure and new signing Nasri.

Mowbray’s aim will be simple, to maintain Premier League status. While some might tip the Baggies to be in a relegation fight, having just been promoted, West Brom are also tipped by some to cause a few shocks this season, with Mowbray hoping he can take something away from the Emirates to get the Midlands side off to the best possible start.

Teams to be chosen from:

Arsenal (from): Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy, Nasri, Ramsey, Denilson, Walcott, Adebayor, Van Persie, Fabianski, Eboue, Djourou, Bendtner, Vela, Wilshere, Gibbs.

West Brom (from): Carson, Kiely, Hoefkens, Barnett, Meite, Cech, Morrison, Greening, Kim, Brunt, Bednar, Miller, Pele, Beattie, MacDonald, Dorrans, Hodgkiss.