English Premiership: Arsenal see it as a blip, pessimists as a full-blown crisis. The next three weeks should indicate which view is right. A 19-day period that starts with Wednesday's game at PSV Eindhoven and ends with a match at home to Chelsea could go a long way to shaping Arsenal's season. "I'm not worried at all," said Patrick Vieira, but the captain must be in a minority.

By the end of a stretch that also includes a trip to Anfield, Arsenal might, as Vieira expects, be through in Europe and still in a strong Premiership position.

Equally they could have slipped embarrassingly out of the Champions League and further adrift in the title race. All that can be said with assurance is that this was not the ideal way to prepare for Eindhoven.

Arsenal cannot be eliminated from the Champions League there but will need a point to control their own destiny if Panathinaikos win at Rosenborg. The regularity with which Arsene Wenger's players are conceding soft goals makes it hard to feel confident for them against the Dutch League leaders.

On Saturday Arsenal again got into a winning position but failed to capitalise, repeating recent slips against Panathinaikos (twice), Southampton, Crystal Palace and, almost, Tottenham.

Three teams threatened with relegation have drawn with the champions in as many weeks. Wenger acknowledged his defenders were increasingly nervous at 1-0.

The word "nerves" was telling because that has been little associated with Arsenal - at least in the Premiership. There was an assuredness about the team as they went 49 games unbeaten but recent results have shattered that. Significantly they have also fed opponents' belief.

Arsenal are no longer seen as such a fearsome prospect, even when ahead. It would be ridiculous to say an era has ended but an aura apparently has.

"The way Arsenal have been playing over the last few weeks, you always feel that, if you are patient with your play, you can get a goal," said West Bromwich's manager Bryan Robson.

Wenger, inevitably, had a positive spin. He believes his team are close to their best, strangely called this draw "an accident" and is confident ahead of Wednesday:

Arsenal's defending is obliging them to score plenty but their attack was not at its best against an obdurate West Brom. They controlled the game but a final element was missing.

Thierry Henry and particularly Dennis Bergkamp can do better, Cesc Fabregas finally looked his age and only Robert Pires posed a consistent threat. Wenger has not decided whether to go to Eindhoven with Bergkamp, who has an Achilles problem.

Luck deserted Arsenal at times, team-mates blocking goalbound shots, but it was hard to feel sympathy. Pascal Cygan wasted a great chance for 2-0 and Russell Hoult's two good saves were counter-balanced by his awful error for Pires' goal, the midfielder's shot slipping through his gloves.

Arsenal's problems were also down to West Brom, who used only one striker and sat deep to deny Henry space to sprint into.

Freddie Ljungberg said Arsenal looked forward to PSV because it is "easier" against more attacking teams but defensively they need to tighten. Jens Lehmann's kicking from back passes was poor, Cygan looked vulnerable and Arsenal missed Gilberto Silva and Edu.

They were weak on crosses, West Brom going close from one and equalising from another when Arsenal stopped, assuming they would win a throw, only for Jonathan Greening to keep the ball in expertly and set up the substitute Robert Earnshaw to score.

"Whenever we have our backs to the wall we always seem to bounce back," Henry said. The next three weeks are the time to prove that is right.

Guardian Service