Gunners endure nightmare game

West Brom 2-1 Arsenal

Arsenal failed to seize on an opportunity to take top spot in the Premier League for the second successive game on Saturday as the Gunners lost away to West Brom.

This was one of those games that come along every once in a while where everything that can go wrong does go wrong.

First Arsene Wenger saw Francis Coquelin have to come off injured after only fourteen minutes, his replacement, Mikel Arteta suffered an injury just after half time and also had to be replaced. If this wasn’t enough, Arsenal took the lead and threw it all away with poor defending costing them dearly once again. Throw in the fact that the Gunners saw an effort come back off the post, squandered a gilt edged opportunity and missed a penalty as Santi Cazorla slipped just as he was about to strike the ball and it is difficult to label this game as anything other than a disaster.

Travelling to West Brom straight after an international break was always going to be a difficult task. The first aim for Wenger’s side would have been to keep the crowd quiet for the opening twenty minutes and keep the game tight. This was achieved with relative ease as the game struggled to break into any fluidity or rhythm and then the Gunners achieved the second task, to take the lead. An excellent free kick delivery from Ozil picked out Giroud perfectly inside the six yard box and all the Frenchman had to do was glance his effort past the goalkeeper and into the net. Arsenal were now in control, the match was there for the taking, they just had to maintain a defensive solidity to stifle West Brom.

Unfortunately, with the midfield defensive screen, Coquelin, off injured and Wenger electing to bring on Arteta in his place, Arsenal’s defence were vulnerable and couldn’t keep West Brom’s limited attack at bay. The home side hadn’t mustered any real attacking pressure before they equalised and it was therefore extremely frustrating for the Gunners to concede from a free kick in such sloppy fashion. The award of the free kick itself was laughable given the fact that Arteta had actually got his foot to the ball, but there was still no excuse for the woeful defending that followed. As the delivery came through from Chris Brunt, Olsson was allowed to get goal side of Per Mertesacker and pin the German to the spot allowing James Morrisson the space to volley home the equaliser.

Mertesacker was absolutely woeful throughout the game. The German is taller than most players he faces but hardly ever wins the aerial battle. On Saturday he was outmuscled in the air by Solomon Rondon time and time again and even when he was replaced by Berahino, Mertesacker was still beaten in the air by the significantly smaller Englishman. Why Wenger continues to persist with Mertesacker when Gabriel has performed so admirably is beyond many Arsenal supporters. At present the German is not justifying his starting position in the team and his presence there is costing the Gunners dearly.

Having thrown away the lead, Arsenal went one further and gifted their hosts the initiative as they allowed West Brom to go ahead. Sloppy play in the middle of the park saw the Gunners lose possession and the ball played to Rondon. With Arsenal exposed at the back, there was a one on one situation with Koscielny in which the Frenchman should have done better. He allowed the West Brom striker too much space and time when he should have got tighter to him. Rondon played a pass to James McLean, who was not tracked properly by Bellerin, allowing him to get to the by-line before playing a ball across goal which evaded Cech and struck Arteta before hitting the back of the net.

Arsenal had not been at their best during the first half but West Brom hadn’t done much going forward and certainly not enough to merit being in front. The Gunners attempted to increase the tempo of their play in the second period and as the home side sat back to preserve their lead, Arsenal had the lion’s share of possession. The onus was on them to get in behind a disciplined West Brom defence and they almost restored parity within the first few minutes of the restart as Ozil’s shot which seemed destined for the bottom corner of the goal, unfortunately came back off the post.

Shortly afterwards, Joel Campbell came on in place of Kieran Gibbs as Arsenal’s only real attacking threat from the substitute’s bench. The Costa Rican could and should have got the Gunners back in the game when presented with a fine opportunity. An excellent ball over the top of the West Brom defence by Cazorla found Campbell perfectly, right in front of goal. The Costa Rican just had to concentrate and strike the ball well and Arsenal would be back in the game. Unfortunately as the ball reached Campbell, Brunt slipped in front of him and Campbell, surprised, took his eye off the ball and miss hit his effort.

Arsenal continued to press forward throughout the second half, but just couldn’t get through. They were presented with a perfect opportunity just before the end of the match thanks to the award of a penalty as Brunt pulled back Sanchez in the box. Cazorla is usually extremely reliable from the spot but on this occasion the Spaniard slipped just as he was about to strike the ball and he spooned the ball over the crossbar. This was just not to be Arsenal’s day.

It is difficult to read too much into such a game. On another occasion the Gunners would have comfortably taken all three points. Having said that, they must learn from their defensive mistakes. Wenger cannot persist with Mertesacker at centre back and now also faces an anxious wait to find out the extent of Coquelin’s injury. This was the nightmare scenario for the manager as it is one of the areas in his squad in which he does not have a true replacement. Arteta and Flamini are just not at the same level and this injury could well cost Arsenal dear. At the end of the season, the lack of summer transfer activity could well be something that Wenger regrets but he can do nothing about that now. The team’s defensive problems however can be addressed on the training ground and need to be resolved as soon as possible. Alexis Sanchez was outstanding on Saturday, but even his superhuman efforts could not get his side out of the hole his defence had put them in. Wenger must solve this problem fast.