Roy Hodgson has respect for Arsenal

Albion take on title-chasing Arsenal with boss Roy Hodgson warning rumours of the Gunners' demise are greatly exaggerated.

Arsene Wenger's men arrive at the Hawthorns tomorrow with landing the Premier League title their sole focus after their four-pronged chase for trophies crumbled in recent weeks.

But Hodgson is refusing to take notice of stories of Arsenal's woes despite their defeat to Birmingham in the Carling Cup final and their exits from the Champions League and FA Cup to Barcelona and Manchester United respectively.

He said: "You just have to look at the quality of their team and the experience and ability of their players and not even consider whether the past results are advantageous or not.

"If they were coming here having knocked United out of the cup, we would be saying their confidence is sky high.

"They come here having lost to Manchester United and Barcelona and people are saying they're a wounded animal so 'watch out.'

"As far as I'm concerned they're just a good team with very good players. They play good football. In particular they did in the first game against Barcelona.

"They more than matched them in the second half of that game and I saw the second half against Manchester United and they played quite well.

"By no means was it one-way traffic towards the Arsenal goal. I wasn't looking at a poor team that was lacking in confidence.

"So, we know whenever you meet a team like Arsenal home or away you are going to play against a very good team.

"You could argue the Premier League title is their one remaining focus, so any hope we might have had that they will take their eye off the ball with regards to us we can forget.

"They're going to want to win this one because if they don't, against a team that is struggling at the bottom of the table, they surrender points to their rivals, who are possibly not going to lose."

Hodgson's men know, however, that beating the Gunners is possible, having inflicted a famous defeat on Wenger and Co at the Emirates Stadium in September.

And, while he knows that 3-2 success will have no direct bearing on tomorrow's game, the head coach believes memories of that day can only help the psyche of his players.

He said: "The players that played in that game will know they are capable, if they play well, of beating Arsenal.

"That's a nice thing to have behind you but I don't think we would be foolish enough to think that, having got that good results, other results will automatically follow on the back of it. We start from scratch.

"The club did well at the Emirates and now we have to start again and do it all again at The Hawthorns.

"I don't pay a great deal of heed to that but I can't say either that it doesn't help people's confidence. It's nice, whenever you go into a game if you have beaten them once.

"When you have to play them again you feel a bit more comfortable than if your previous games against them had turned out to be defeats. I don't know if Arsene will use that as a motivator or not.

"Some coaches and managers use that type of thing to motivate the players and talk about revenge.

"Others prefer not to reopen negative chapters in the club's history and concentrate on the future. There is one thing for certain. However much you discuss that, all games in the past are gone.

"They might be pleasant memories or unpleasant memories but it shouldn't really affect the next game.

"We start afresh and it's the same dimensions of the pitch. Maybe the surface will be a bit worse this time than when West Bromwich played at the Emirates - but otherwise things are pretty much the same.

"I would be surprised if Arsene was to harp at all on the fact that Arsenal lost to Albion earlier in the season. I'm sure he puts that down to a blip, which he won't expect his team to repeat."

The Baggies boss has spent the week attempting to organise another damaging defeat on his opposite number from North London.

But, whatever the outcome of tomorrow's encounter, it is unlikely to damage the respect the Hawthorns chief has for the Frenchman, who is looking to end his club's long wait for silverware.

He said: "Arsene has had a great effect, most of all on Arsenal but also on English football because it is common now for foreign managers to be in charge of English teams, especially the top teams.

"Maybe it wasn't quite so common when he came in 15 years ago. He has set about building Arsenal as a club and a team in a certain image, recruiting the right players and producing and nurturing the type of players he thinks are right to play the type of football he wants to see Arsenal play.

"He has succeeded in that 15 years in building three or four very good teams. That should really be a template for the way football clubs need to be run.

He has lost very good players and replaced them with other very good players, so we no longer talk until the cows come home now about Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit and Ian Wright, because we have had Thierry Henry to talk about. And now he's gone we have Robin van Persie to talk about.

"He has done extremely well with the way he has gone about his business at Arsenal and the way Alex has gone about his business at Manchester United."