West Brom denied Arsenal the chance to go top of the Premier League standings by recording a gutsy 2-1 win at the Hawthorns on Saturday.
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Olivier Giroud headed home Mesut Ozil’s free kick to put the Gunners in front, but a James Morrison volley and a Mikel Arteta own goal turned things around in a five-minute spell before the break.
The botched penalty pretty much summed up Arsenal’s day as injuries to Francis Coquelin and Arteta compounded further misery on the North Londoners in a game that won’t be looked back on with fond memories.
Subbstitute Joel Campbell had the chance to make an immediate impact with the Albion goal at his mercy but the Costa Rican could only scuff his shot wide to the disgust of the onlooking Wenger.
Wenger said ahead of the weekend’s action: “I am anxious because before he went away with Chile he was a bit jaded. It is a big blow today for us as if the game reflects the result then okay but when you drop points when you have come out of a game and think you have not done the maximum to produce you can not be happy”. “Our defending on that level was very, very poor”. The other one for Coquelin is a knee problem, I don’t know how serious that is. You expect what you always expect in the Premier League; a committed, physical, fast game and a game where we can not afford to make any mistakes. I can only speak for myself.
Wenger also ruled out suggesstions that the recent terror attacks may have affected the mental focus of Arsenal’s French players Giroud and Laurent Koscielny. On my side I would not explain our defeat by that.
Despite attempts to draw level, the Gunners found no way back and their disappointing afternoon was compounded late on when Santi Cazorla failed to convert from the penalty spot.
“When you are on the pitch, you are on the pitch”.
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Injuries have been a thorn in Arsene Wenger’s side for years now. We do though need to regroup quickly if we’re going to find the momentum we need to get us through the hectic Christmas period.
