West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Arsenal: 5 Talking Points

Arsenal suffered their third defeat of the Premier League season as they lost 2-1 to West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns. Olivier Giroud continued his scoring run as he started the scoring when Ozil’s freekick found him near the 30-minute mark. But West Brom came back from a goal down to beat the Gunners with a scintillating James Morrison finish, and an own goal from Mikel Arteta in the first half.The defeat to the Baggies leaves Arsenal in fourth spot with 26 points from 13 games while West Bromwich Albion climbed up to 12th position after their game. With Arsenal not grabbing their opportunity to go top of the table, we look at the five major talking points from the game.

#1 Frustrating day for Arsenal

In a game which started with Olivier Giroud opening the scoring for his side, it slowly transformed into a frustrating day for the visitors as Arsenal succumbed to their third Premier League defeat. Coming back from the international break, Arsene Wenger and his side would have thought they had three more points in their bag with West Brom’s recent form.

But after having 73% of the possession throughout the game, the visitors were only allowed 3 shots on target out of their 11 total shots. Wenger cut a frustrated figure as he saw glorious chances being wasted by his players. The frustration started when refereeing decisions were going against Arsenal which led to goals.

Arteta’s own goal increased the woes for the Gunners, but the ultimate factor was the two spilled chances by Joel Campbell and Santi Cazorla. Campbell was found by Cazorla’s long pass but the Costa Rican could only manage a lame effort that went wide.

Cazorla could have levelled the score when he had the chance to convert from the penalty spot after Brunt brought down Alexis inside the box, but the Spanish midfielder lost his footing while striking the ball.

#2 West Brom finally beat Arsenal at home

James Morrison’s sublime volley was enough to bring the Baggies level on goals with Arsenal, but consistent pressure on the visitors’ defense gave the hosts the win over their long-time undefeated opponents. The Gunners had been enjoying a bright start to the new season and were full of confidence to get a result given how dominant they have been over the Baggies in their head-to-heads down the years.

But the hosts produced a marvellous comeback to make it two wins out of 20 Arsenal visits to the Hawthorns. It had been five years since Arsene Wenger’s side were defeated by Albion, and they had since won seven and drawn two of the nine meetings that followed. And with Arsenal coming off the back five wins from their last six games while West Brom had lost four league outings in that time, Wenger’s men were big favourites to continue their impressive Premier League run.

Last season too, Arsenal did the double over West Brom, earning a narrow win at the Hawthorns, before delivering a 4-1 thrashing at the Emirates. West Brom’s home ground has been known as a fortress in the past, but Arsenal have consistently picked up wins at the Hawthorns regardless.

A victory would have seen Arsenal go top of the table this weekend while Albion risked being dragged into a dogfight around the relegation zone. But the win for the hosts means that the Baggies have finally managed to beat the Gunners at their home ground after a decade.

#3 Injury woes continue for the Gunners

Arsenal not only suffered a defeat at the Hawthorns, but they lost two more players to injury, adding to an already long list of injured players. Both Francis Coquelin and Mikel Arteta were forced off with Wenger forced to make two unplanned substitutions.

Tough-tackling midfielder Coquelin has been a revelation for his side since he was introduced to the Gunners' engine room nearly a year ago but his absence is likely to be keenly felt if the injury is a long-term one. It seemed like only a matter of time before Arsenal’s injury crisis reached the stage at which they would no longer be able to get away with it. Coquelin's distraught reaction suggested he could face a significant length of time on the sidelines as it looked like a possible ligament injury.

He is one of the few players whom Arsenal could not afford to lose as they attempt to challenge for the title and qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League with their place in the competition hanging by a thread. Arsenal were already without nine players before Saturday's trip to West Brom, but it is Coquelin's absence that will cause Wenger the most sleepless nights.

The Gunners have no replacement for the role that Coquelin plays as a screen for the back four. With Mikel Arteta coming on for the Frenchman, giving away the free kick that led to the first goal, scoring an own goal and then going off injured, it means that Arsenal now have almost a team of eleven players out injured.

#4 Superb display from the Baggies

From defence to attack, West Brom were on point. They made the most of their opportunities going forward and denied the visitors any room to work with and score. Apart from Olivier Giroud’s goal, where he was not marked at all and was given enough space to score with a free header, West Brom produced a good display.

Starting from the back, Boaz Myhill made a great save from an Alexis Sanchez free-kick in the 14th minute. After going behind, West Brom responded well and James Morrison found the net from Chris Brunt's free-kick.

After the first goal, the home side then went a goal up shortly before the break via Arteta, who saw James McClean's cross deflect off Cech and onto his leg before it crept over the line. Jonas Olsson nearly netted a third for West Brom in the second half when after a superb corner from Brunt, but Cech somehow did enough to deny the Swede’s header.

The performance from Tony Pulis’s men was worthy of the three points even though they had only 27% possession throughout the game. The defence, which was under constant pressure from the Gunners’ attack, also looked solid as they made 29 clearances. The midfield did a lot of the work, tracking back. Up front, Rondon was solid and could have had a goal of his own had he not shot over the bar.

Overall, Pulis will be satisfied with the three points against Arsenal, after having lost the previous two games against Leicester City and Manchester United.

#5 Giroud and Ozil continue their good form

Olivier Giroud has now scored four goals in his last five league appearances and seven in 10 appearances. Since joining the club in 2012, Giroud has also scored more headed goals than any other player in the Premier League (16), including the one he scored in the first half.

The Frenchman has been in red-hot form recently, as he also scored for France in their friendly against Germany. With the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sánchez around him, don’t be surprised if Giroud continues to keep scoring.

Meanwhile, Mesut Ozil has been the best playmaker in the top five leagues in Europe this season so far. The German midfielder has accumulated 11 assists in the 12 Premier League games he has played. Another record that the German has created is that he has assisted at least one goal in his last seven consecutive league games.

The form of Giroud and Ozil has been instrumental in Arsenal’s good run so far, but with tough fixtures ahead, it will be important for both the players to continue doing what they do best- assist, score and win games for their team.