West Brom beats Arsenal 2-1 in Premier League
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Arsenal was
beaten 2-1 by West Bromwich Albion in the
Premier League on Saturday and lost two more
players to injuries on a day when everything
went wrong for the Gunners.
Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta deflected a cross
into his own in the 40th minute to hand West
Brom the winning goal and Santi Cazorla missed
a penalty in the 84th when he slipped as he was
about to shoot.
Olivier Giroud had given Arsenal the lead by
heading in a pinpoint free kick from Mesut Ozil
in the 28th but James Morrison equalized by
steering in a similar delivery at the other end in
the 35th.
Aside from losing ground in the title race,
Arsenal's injury concerns also grew worse.
Arteta had to come on Francis Coquelin in the
first half after the holding midfielder hurt his
knee, only to go off injured himself shortly after
the break. Arsenal was already without a slew
of players, including Theo Walcott, Aaron
Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and
immediately looked defensively weaker without
Coquelin.
Morrison was poorly marked on the equalizer
when he looped a 10-yard volley over Petr Cech
after Chris Brunt's excellent free kick.
Five minutes later, Salomon Rondon and James
McClean combined and Arteta turned in
McClean's cross from close range. The Spanish
midfielder's disappointing afternoon ended three
minutes after the break when he limped off to
be replaced by Mathieu Flamini.
Arsenal dominated much of the second half but
struggled to create clear-cut chances.
Substitute Joel Campbell wasted the best
opportunity in the 68th when he met Cazorla's
cross but mishit the ball as he tried to sidefoot
it into the net.
Cazorla then had the chance to level after
Alexis Sanchez was pulled down in the area but
skied the ball over the bar after losing his
footing.
The loss meant Arsenal slipped from second to
fourth place, while West Brom climbed to 12th.
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