West Bromwich Albion vs. Arsenal: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Arsenal stumbled in the Premier League title race on Saturday, losing 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion.
The visitors dominated possession and took the lead through Olivier Giroud's 28th-minute header. But West Brom equalized just seven minutes later through James Morrison and netted the winner via a Mikel Arteta own goal in the 40th minute.
Arsenal had a chance to pull level late in the second half, but Santi Cazorla slipped and missed a penalty.
Here, Bleacher Report selects winners and losers from the match.
Loser: Arsenal's Injury List
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Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin limped out of Saturday's match early in the first half. With that, Arsenal's perennial injury crisis deepened further.
Heading into this match, the Gunners were already without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Tomas Rosicky, Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere because of injuries. With Coquelin added to that list, Arsenal are now alarmingly light in central midfield.
Mikel Arteta came on as Coquelin's replacement, and thus formed half of the Gunners' defensive-midfield screen along with Santi Cazorla. Both players have their virtues, but tackling is neither's strong suit.
Inevitably (at least, if you're an Arsenal supporter), Arteta was guilty of poor marking on West Brom's first goal. He then scored the second himself, turning the ball into his own net with his hand.
After slogging through a poor first half, having made no interceptions and won zero tackles (h/t Squawka), the Spaniard left the match with an injury of his own in the 49th minute. That's frustrating for Arsenal supporters, but what's even more vexing is Arsenal's lack of adequate cover at the position.
Injuries are part of the game, and manager Arsene Wenger must know that Coquelin won't make it through an entire season free of the odd knock. The French midfielder has been a revelation for the Gunners since breaking into the team last season, but when he's off the pitch, Arsenal are vulnerable.
Wenger had the chance to sign cover in the summer but persisted with Arteta and Mathieu Flamini. That decision is hurting Arsenal now.
Loser: Mikel Arteta
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Mikel Arteta was a fine acquisition for Arsenal in 2011 and distinguished himself with a good run in the team over the next few seasons.
But at age 33, the Spanish midfielder has outlasted his usefulness to the club. A constant injury worry, Arteta's performance on the pitch no longer justifies his continued presence in the team.
"You can like Arteta, think he was once very good for us, and still acknowledge that his usefulness as a player for Arsenal has expired," YankeeGunner tweeted.
Surely this is Arteta's final season at Arsenal.
Winner: Mesut Ozil
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Mesut Ozil recorded his 11th Premier League assist of the season, setting up Olivier Giroud's goal with a typically well-taken free kick.
Curiously, only one of Ozil's previous 10 assists this season had come from set pieces, according to Orbinho on Twitter. But that's just a bit of trivia. The German is enjoying a fine run of form, having assisted a goal in seven straight league matches, per Squawka.
A tip of the hat also goes to Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez, who played brilliantly in the second half and didn't deserve to lose. His constant running created the Gunners' best chances to equalize in the second 45 minutes, and he won the late penalty with a characteristically lively run into the box.
Loser: Defending on Set Pieces
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Both teams were guilty of poor defending on set pieces in the first half.
West Brom took their turn first. In the 28th minute, Mesut Ozil lofted a cross into the middle of the box. Olivier Giroud was unmarked and had plenty of space to flick his header past Boaz Myhill.
Arsenal had an easy 1-0 lead, but the Gunners' defenders were the next to disappoint. In the 35th minute, Chris Brunt whipped a free kick toward the back post, where James Morrison volleyed in unopposed.
After carrying a 2-1 lead into the second half, West Brom nearly scored a third goal in the 72nd minute following another set piece. This time, Jonas Olsson headed off the bar from close range, before the offside flag rescued Arsenal.
Winner: Olivier Giroud
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Olivier Giroud entered Saturday's match in good form, having scored in four of his last six league appearances. Make that five in seven, after his flicked header briefly gave Arsenal the lead in the first half.
As Squawka noted, no Premier League player has scored more than Giroud's four headers this season. When Theo Walcott returns from injury, manager Arsene Wenger could have a selection dilemma on his hands.
Losers: Joel Campbell and Santi Cazorla
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Without doubt, this is a disappointing result for Arsenal. But it's not as if the Gunners had no chances.
In the 67th minute, Santi Cazorla picked out substitute Joel Campbell with a cross to the right. Campbell had a free look on goal following James McClean's slip, but he mishit his shot wildly from six yards. On the touchline, manager Arsene Wenger seemed unable to process the turn of events.
But Arsenal's plight would only become worse. In the 84th minute, Cazorla slipped and missed a penalty with an awful shot. Scoring would have pulled the Gunners level, with time left to find a winner, but the miss seemed to confirm defeat.
"We did give everything until the end," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said, per BBC Sport. "Maybe we were a bit too sure of ourselves. Overall it was a bad day. We scored an own goal, missed a penalty and missed a lot of chances. It is very disappointing."
It's disappointing and potentially quite costly. Defeat meant Arsenal passed up a chance to take over first place in the table, at least momentarily. Instead, the Gunners now find themselves in fourth place.
They remain within touching distance of the leaders, but with a thin squad that's been decimated by injuries, Arsenal's margin for error is already slim. Any defeat is damaging, and this one will hurt even more because it could easily have been avoided.
