Nobody will be more thrilled by Albion drawing Arsenal again in the fourth round of the FA Cup than Jake Forster-Caskey.
The England under-21s midfielder is a Gooner with fond memories of Ray Parlour smashing a goal past Chelsea in the final 13 years ago.
Forster-Caskey was watching from the sidelines when Albion lost 3-2 to Arsenal at the same stage of the competition at the Amex in 2013.
He will be hoping to be involved this time and, if he is, he will be unintentionally refreshed.
The illness which prevented Forster-Caskey from playing a part in the successive 2-0 wins at Fulham and Brentford could prove a blessing in disguise.
He will not see it that way, especially after scoring against Reading on Boxing Day, but he has been on the go for months for club and country.
Forster-Caskey has been involved in 21 of Albion's 24 games in the rigorously demanding Championship.
In 17 of those games he has played from start to finish in central midfield, where the workload is considerable.
Add to that his contribution in helping England under-21s reach the Euro finals in the Czech Republic next summer and that is a lot of matches and a lot of high-responsibility minutes for a 20-year-old.
Contrast Forster-Caskey's workload with that of his England under-21s colleague Will Hughes at Derby County.
Hughes has taken part in 28 matches, four more than Forster-Caskey, but in the majority it has only been a bit-part.
He has started and finished just 13 of them. He has invariably been taken off within an hour or used from the bench.
That is the way it should be really at this stage of Forster-Caskey's development.
Albion have been depending on him too heavily, the consequence of a deteriorated squad in which he has become too much of a key figure too soon probably for his own good in the long run.
Forster-Caskey has a long career ahead of him. As much as it is uplifting to have a home-grown product breaking through and playing regularly, Albion also need to be careful that he is not burnt out in the engine room by his mid-20's.
Original article
The England under-21s midfielder is a Gooner with fond memories of Ray Parlour smashing a goal past Chelsea in the final 13 years ago.
Forster-Caskey was watching from the sidelines when Albion lost 3-2 to Arsenal at the same stage of the competition at the Amex in 2013.
He will be hoping to be involved this time and, if he is, he will be unintentionally refreshed.
The illness which prevented Forster-Caskey from playing a part in the successive 2-0 wins at Fulham and Brentford could prove a blessing in disguise.
He will not see it that way, especially after scoring against Reading on Boxing Day, but he has been on the go for months for club and country.
Forster-Caskey has been involved in 21 of Albion's 24 games in the rigorously demanding Championship.
In 17 of those games he has played from start to finish in central midfield, where the workload is considerable.
Add to that his contribution in helping England under-21s reach the Euro finals in the Czech Republic next summer and that is a lot of matches and a lot of high-responsibility minutes for a 20-year-old.
Contrast Forster-Caskey's workload with that of his England under-21s colleague Will Hughes at Derby County.
Hughes has taken part in 28 matches, four more than Forster-Caskey, but in the majority it has only been a bit-part.
He has started and finished just 13 of them. He has invariably been taken off within an hour or used from the bench.
That is the way it should be really at this stage of Forster-Caskey's development.
Albion have been depending on him too heavily, the consequence of a deteriorated squad in which he has become too much of a key figure too soon probably for his own good in the long run.
Forster-Caskey has a long career ahead of him. As much as it is uplifting to have a home-grown product breaking through and playing regularly, Albion also need to be careful that he is not burnt out in the engine room by his mid-20's.
Original article