Mikel Arteta, who replaced Coquelin at the Hawthorns, also had to be replaced after picking up an injury, and will miss the visit of Dinamo Zagreb too.
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Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin is expected to be ruled out until at least 2016 after suffering suspected ligament to his knee.
Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal can still salvage their calamitous Champions League campaign as they prepare for Tuesday’s do-or-die showdown with Dinamo Zagreb.
“If you ask my deep gut feeling, I want to stay in the Champions League”, the Frenchman told reporters when asked if failing to make the last 16 might actually aid their Premier League title ambitions. “Give West Brom credit for fighting, but we produced enough to win this game”.
Özil broke the assist record he created against West Brom at the Hawthorns when he setup Giroud.
“It is a big blow for us”. We were lacking concentration during the set-piece for 1-1. It’s a shame because we started the game well, we went 1-0 up, and then after it became more hard for us.
Albion ended up winning 2-1, despite having just one shot on target. “One is a muscle problem for Arteta, and the other one is a knee problem for Coquelin”, Wenger said after the match, as per Sky Sports.
Wenger refused to blame Cazorla for his missed penalty, which came amid confusion, as it seemed referee Mark Clattenburg had ordered a retake for encroachment.
As it turned out, Clattenburg had penalised the midfielder for taking two touches as he slipped.
“It looks hard to have players come back Tuesday night”, said Wenger.
“I have seen a few but I don’t really know what happened. I would not explain our defeat by that”. I think it’s sad. We are all down. “When you are on the pitch, you are on the pitch”. “The referee said he took two touches, so it was a free kick to us”.
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Arsenal had a chance to level with seven minutes left when Alexis Sanchez fell under Brunt’s contact in the box. Arsenal pressed back and but Ozil hit the post and Joel Campbel missed a guilt-edged opportunity. The lads are very pleased. This result will give Pulis’ mean supreme confidence going forward as they climb to 12th after this determined, deserved victory.
