It was another miserable day for Arsenal as they slumped to a 3-1 defeat against West Brom at the Hawthorns stadium. With their seventh Premier League defeat of the season, the Gunners see their race for fourth slowly slipping away, but for West Brom, it sees them hold on to their hopes of a top ten finish.
Things looked grim for Arsenal after the hosts took the lead in the 12th minute through Craig Dawson after a brilliant corner for the Magpies, but Alexis Sanchez equalised less than three minutes later after a series of nearly 20 passes. However, second half substitute Hal Robson-Kanu poked the hosts in front less than a minute after coming on before Dawson headed in his second to put an end to proceedings.
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Dawson was the Man of the Match but how did the rest of the players fare at the Hawthorns?
West Brom
Ben Foster: 7/10
The English international did well at the back and was a calming presence in goal. Foster could do little about Sanchez’s goal, but he made a few good saves in the second half and showed good handling throughout the game.
Craig Dawson: 8.5/10
Arsenal were embarrassingly bad at defending set-pieces and were duly put to the sword by Dawson, who rewarded himself with two well-taken goals.
Gareth McAuley: 7/10
The Northern Irish defender was cool under pressure and produced three important clearances for his side to go with one block and one interception.
Jonny Evans: 7/10
Along with his compatriot, the 29-year-old was an epitome of assured defending as he held the Gunners at bay and was a constant threat from corners as well.
Allan-Romeo Nyom: 7.5/10
The left-back did well and used his pace and power time and again on the attack to threaten from the right-hand side. The 28-year-old also defended brilliantly against both Theo Walcott and Hector Bellerin and stopped them from making a big impact on proceedings.
Jake Livermore: 7/10
The English international showed exactly why he was called up by Gareth Southgate to the England squad as he ran the game for the Magpies and impressed in front of the back four. Livermore completed three successful tackles and prevented the Gunners from building play through midfield.
Darren Fletcher: 7/10
With Livermore sitting back and doing his bit, Fletcher was given the license to get forward and nearly got himself a goal after a fine first half move by the home side.
Chris Brunt: 6/10
The Irishman put in a good shift and delivered more than his fair share of crosses into the box, however, he needs to improve on his shooting. Brunt quietened down in the second half and was subbed off for Yacob.
Nacer Chadli: 7.5/10
The former Tottenham man did switch off defensively for Sanchez's goal but despite that, the Belgian played well. Chadli was at the heart of both goals with a superb corner for the opener before teeing up the second.
James McClean: 7/10
Mclean was a livewire on the left-hand side and did his best to torment Bellerin, but missed crucial chances that could have made things worse for Arsenal, before being booked for cutting down Sanchez in the second half. McClean delivered seven crosses into the Arsenal box, the most by any West Brom player.
Salomon Rondon: 5/10
The Venezuelan missed his fair share of chances in both halves and looked upset to be subbed off for Hal Robson-Kanu early in the second half.
Substitutes:
Hal Robson-Kanu: 7/10
The 27-year-old scored a mere 74 seconds after coming on with a scrappy finish past Ospina.
Claudio Yacob: 6/10
The midfielder came on to help the Magpies see the game out and did exactly that, providing some much-needed cover at the back towards the end.
Sam Field: N/A
The 18-year-old whiz kid came on a few minutes before full time but did not have enough time to make an impact.
Arsenal
Petr Cech: 6/10
Arsenal's number 1 made two brilliant saves, including a superb one-handed effort before hobbling off to be replaced by David Ospina.
Hector Bellerin: 4/10
The Spanish right-back was given a torrid time and pushed back time and again by Mclean. He was also kept under control by Nyom going forward, which nullified Arsenal’s threat on the right wing.
Shkrodan Mustafi: 4/10
Mustafi struggled throughout the match, especially in the air against the strength of both Rondon and Robson-Kanu. Arsenal need the German to improve and find some of his early season form if they want to finish the season well. Mustafi failed to make a single tackle or interception in the entire match.
Laurent Koscielny: 5/10
For once the Frenchman wasn’t at his best and he failed to recover after being beaten by Dawson for the opening goal. Both Koscielny and Steve Bould will be very disappointed with the away side's defending during set-pieces.
Nacho Monreal: 5/10
The Spaniard combined well with Sanchez going forward as they attempted to get Arsenal back in the game. However, defensively, the 31-year-old was not at his best and struggled to keep up with the pace of the game, often being given the run around by Brunt and co.
Aaron Ramsey: 3/10
An off day for the Welshman who was denied by Foster and then at fault for allowing Dawson to roam free for the final goal. The 26-year-old looked a shadow of the player who excelled at the 2016 Euros.
Granit Xhaka: 6/10
The Swiss international wasn't booked for once and showed good vision and awareness to find Sanchez in the box for Arsenal’s equaliser but was outmuscled by West Brom's defence for most of the game.
Theo Walcott: 4.5/10
An early glimpse of a goal was as good as it got for the Englishman who was brought off after the hour mark. Walcott managed just 18 passes during his time on the pitch, one of the lowest by a player from either team on the night.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 5/10
The 23-year-old did his best in the middle of the park but failed to make any impact throughout the match and was at fault for losing Dawson for the third goal.
Alexis Sanchez: 6.5/10
Another goal for the Chilean, but he struggled in the second half after being fouled by Mclean. The decision to bring him off was met with a chorus of boos and Sanchez looked typically frustrated by Arsenal’s shortcomings.
Danny Welbeck: 4/10
The striker did his best up front but saw little of the ball throughout the match, although he did hit the crossbar with a close-range header well into the second half.
Substitutes:
David Ospina: 4/10
The Colombian made his first Premier League appearance in over a year and conceded two goals in the process. The 28-year-old should have done much better for Kanu’s goal as he charged off his line and failed to clear it effectively only for it to land in the striker’s path.
Oliver Giroud: 4/10
The Frenchman came on to provide some much-needed support up front but his physical strength didn’t make any difference as he was closed down and man marked well by the home side.
Alex Iwobi: 5/10
The youngster came on with a little over ten minutes left in the match and despite trying his best, the Nigerian didn’t make too much of an impact.
