A fairly even first half with few genuine chances suddenly came to life when Arsenal were given a free kick.
Mesut Ozil’s teasing cross was met by Olivier Giroud, who headed past a helpless Myhill and gave Arsenal the lead.
West Brom responded and less than ten minutes later they were awarded a somewhat dubious free kick for an Arteta foul.
Arsenal’s marking was just as poor as the Baggies had been and Morrison equalized past Cech.
Just before halftime the Baggies struck again, courtesy of a mistake by Mertesacker and a terrific cross from the speedy McLean, which deflected against a helpless Arteta into the net.
The second half was one of Arsenal domination and Arsenal frustration.
There were half chances aplenty, but only three really good chances. Myhill was not tested that often.
Ozil hit the post, Joel Campbell muffed a sensational pass and what looked like a certain goal, and Cazorla slipped while taking a penalty.
The last summed up the day as Arsenal need to refocus with the Champions League resuming this week.
Player Ratings:
Cech 6: He never really had a chance on either of the goals. He was not terribly busy, but he made a sensational save in the second half, although the whistle had blown the play dead.
Bellerin 5: A rough day for Hector. He made a couple of good crosses, although at times he was reluctant to attack the goal. Defensively he had a nightmare trying to stop McLean, who several times beat Hector. Hector had a role to play on both goals for the Baggies. On the first, he failed to stop Morrison cutting inside of him and getting the goal. On the second goal, McLean outran him and managed to get the damaging cross into the middle. Ouch!
Mertesacker 5: Partially at fault on the second goal, as he made the risky choice to chase a high ball, didn’t get there soon enough, and consequently there was ample space behind him which McLean attacked. Otherwise he was reasonably solid.
Koscielny 6: He had a good game for the most part and often came forward to help the midfield push the ball upfield.
Monreal 6: A tidy match, but was kept busy and didn’t contribute enough going forward.
Coquelin n/a: Arsenal will be sweating on the news of his injury. He came off midway in the first half with a knee problem.
Cazorla 5: He had a good game, moving the ball forward and keeping the Gunner’s attack supplied with opportunities. His penalty will haunt him tonight. He lost his footing and the ball “blooped” over the bar.
Ozil 6: He assisted on the opening goal and made a number of good passes, but was unable to really unlock the defence that often. He also had a shot that hit the post.
Sanchez 8: Arsenal’s best player of the match. He started on the right, drifted to the left, and by the end of the game was the playmaker down the middle. There was passion, fabulous control, and drive to his game. Unfortunately, he seldom ended up in a shooting situation. He supplied a great pass for Gibbs and it was Alexis who was awarded the penalty after he was tackled in the area.
Giroud 6: Scored a lovely early goal, but he had few opportunities after that. At times he was too isolated and his little passes didn’t produce any great chances.
Gibbs 6: Kieran started on the left wing. He showed some good touches and he had several half chances and one good chance. With the latter he took a shot off an Alexis pass that probably should’ve been passed to a streaking Ozil.
Substitutes:
Arteta 4: A nightmare for Mikel. Yes, bad things do come in three’s. First, he conceded the free kick that gave up the equalizer (replays showed that he’d actually touched the ball). Second, he turned the ball into his own net when McLean’s fizzing cross struck his hand (there was not much he could have done). Third, he injured his calf muscle. This is his third injury this season and Wenger really needs to consider buying a defensive midfielder in January. A serious injury to Coquelin (and we don’t know about this injury yet) and having to rely on Arteta and Flamini is a scary thought.
Flamini 5: He came in and did a decent job, but is he ready to play two games a week for the next month? I suspect Aaron Ramsey will be drafted into this role, not his best position.
Campbell 4: A dreadful miss. To be positive, he did manage a couple of times to get into promising positions. But the miss. With the goal gaping wide open and with a little time he mishit Cazorla’s sensational cross and blew the best attacking move of the match. One suspects that this might impact the rest of his career if the Ox returns healthy next week.