Roberto De Zerbi pinpointed mentality rather than tactical choices after Albion were shocked by Everton.

It was not the first time he had seen things that way after his side were hit for five.

And he got the response last time he took that approach.

De Zerbi was unhappy with his Sassuolo’s side’s mentality after they went down 5-3 at Sampdoria in Serie A.

True, they lost again next time out, in the last seconds at Bologna, but De Zerbi said: "I complimented my boys. When you play this type of match I can only be close to them."

Then they thumped Chievo 4-0.

De Zerbi mentions the word “mentality” at pretty much every press conference he gives.

It may well come up again when he talks to the media tomorrow.

It was certainly seen as the reason for the shocking events at home to Everton.

De Zerbi’s record in terms of bouncing back from big defeats is generally good although the opposition in those follow-up fixtures has been mixed.

Arsenal away is as difficult a game as he has had when looking for a reaction.

After losing 5-1 at Atalanta with Sassuolo, his side beat Genoa 2-1 in the following game.

A 6-2 mauling by Atalanta was followed by a 0-0 draw at Inter in the next league game (there was a cup tie in between).

His Shakhtar Donetsk side suffered a 5-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League but then beat Vorska Poltava 2-0 in domestic action.

When he was in charge at Benevento, De Zerbi suffered a 6-2 defeat to Lazio which concluded a run of eight losses in nine. They then beat Verona 3-0.

The 5-3 defeat by Sampdoria with Sassuolo does not go down as a hammering in terms of margin.

But it was a galling experience for De Zerbi and his post-match comments catch the eye in the wake of Monday’s events at the Amex.

He told Sky Sports Italia at the time: “The problem at Sassuolo is not tactical, nor technical, but psychological.

“We can’t seem to find any mental consistency and evidently the coach must also take the blame for that.

“As long as we keep doing that, we will always alternate wonderful performances with terrible ones.

“If we do not change our ways, we will never make the step up to the next level.”

Different squads, different clubs, different circumstances, of course.

But evidence that De Zerbi’s emphasis on mentality is strong and nothing new.

In terms of tactics, there is of course an argument that Albion were outdone by Everton and the first half was particularly tough to watch back.

At the same time, Albion have reason to trust their methods and the problem was the tempo, energy and quality with which they looked to carry them out.

What we can probably suspect is that Julio Enciso has done his chances of a start at Arsenal a bit of good.

Evan Ferguson too, although the ploy of sending him on later in the game could also be a valid one.

Danny Welbeck was ineffective for 45 minutes on Monday but has been good, and a clever influence, for much of the time.

His movement can help extend the game, which was lacking in the first half on Monday as things got very congested.

Solly March would appear to have suffered a significant hamstring injury on Monday, although we will know more about that tomorrow.

March added energy and urgency to that side when he went on against Everton and would leave big shoes to fill.

The Emirates was the scene of one of the more significant tactical gear changes we have seen from Albion in recent times when they went there last season.

That was on the back of six successive defeats followed by a 0-0 draw at home to rock-bottom Norwich and the loss to injury of Jakub Moder.

Things might not be so radical this time but De Zerbi will expect to see a side fired up at Arsenal.

It has happened before.