West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings: Mikel Arteta endures horror show as James McClean stars for brave Baggies
Man-for-man marking from West Brom's victory over Arsenal at the Hawthorns
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Your support makes all the difference.Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes took a blow at the Hawthorns as they suffered a 2-1 defeat by West Bromwich Albion, with Mikel Arteta proving to be the villain for the Gunners despite playing just 36 minutes in a match where he was brought on as a substitute before being replaced.
Olivier Giroud opened the scoring when he headed in a Mesut Özil free-kick to give Arsenal the lead, with the Gunner’s Germany midfielder registering assist for a seventh straight match – a new Premeir League record.
But West Brom responded magnificently, and after Francis Coquelin as replaced by Arteta, the Spaniard gave away a free-kick inside the Arsenal half. Chris Brunt delivered the ball towards James Morrison, and the midfielder volleyed home from the outside of his right boot to place the ball over the head of Petr Cech.
West Brom weren’t done there. Before the break, they pressed down the left with Stephane Sessegnon feeding James McClean. The Northern Irishman cut the ball across goal from the byline, and Arteta managed to put it into his own net via a combination of his hand and knee.
Just three minutes after half-time, Arteta was forced from the field to cap his miserable afternoon’s work, and despite having chances through substitute Joel Campbell, Alexis Sanchez and Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal left with a disappointing defeat while West Brom celebrated a hard-fought victory in front of their fans.
So how did the players perform? Click on the gallery below to find out.
Who was your man-of-the-match? Leave your thoughts in the comment box below.
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