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Arsene Wenger labelled Arsenal's defeat to West Brom a "nightmare" as they missed the chance to go top.
The Gunners went down 2-1 at The Hawthorns to lie behind Leicester, Manchester United and Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League.
The Baggies clinched their first home win over the Gunners in 10 years after Santi Cazorla slipped and missed a late penalty.
James Morrison's volley and a Mikel Arteta own goal gave the hosts - who only managed one shot on target - victory after Olivier Giroud opened the scoring.
Wenger said: "It was a very bad afternoon for us. We had 70 per cent possession, we scored an own goal, we missed a penalty, we gave away a goal from a set-piece, that is perfect to make the afternoon a nightmare.
"We missed open-goal chances. I believe West Brom did fight with 100 per cent commitment as well and you have to give them credit for that.
"At 1-0 we had just to make sure they did not come back with an easy goal and that's where we were guilty, because apart from that I cannot fault the team who gave what they could until the last minute. We produced enough to win the game."
The French national anthem La Marseillaise was played before the game in tribute to the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks last week and Wenger believes his French players, Giroud and Laurent Koscielny, were focused.
Show all 23 1 /23West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings <b>West Brom:</b> Boaz Myhill – 7 out of 10 Left stranded for Giroud’s header as he was given no chance from close range. Otherwise commanded his area very well, and his good day’s work was summed up with a late save from Koscielny’s volley.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Craig Dawson – 7 out of 10 Had his work cut out in the second half as Sanchez switched to the left. But he did well to reduce the threat from Gibbs and frustrated the Chilean forward late on.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Jonny Evans – 7 out of 10 Showed his valuable experience as he stuck to Giroud in open play, giving the Frenchman no chance of getting a clear-cut effort on goal.
West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Jonas Olsson – 5 out of 10 At fault for Giroud’s opener as he lost his man at Özil’s free-kick. Guilty of messing around with the ball ahead of Arsenal’s penalty, though that may have had its desired effect on Cazorla.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Chris Brunt – 7 out of 10 Perfect delivery gave Morrison the chance to score from his free-kick. Tried to get forward when possible, but today he knew his duty came in defence and he forced Bellerin to try and go outside him each time he attacked.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings James Morrison – 8 out of 10 Expertly finished with the outside of his right foot to volley home and level the scores from a Brunt free-kick. Worked his socks off to try and disrupt the Arsenal midfield axis, with a fair amount of success.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Darren Fletcher – 6 out of 10 Sat quite deep to partner Yacob in shielding the back-four, although he didn’t have many stand-out moments.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Claudio Yacob – 6 out of 10 Another who was fairly anonymous when it came to game-changing decisions, but he was always in position to cut out a killer ball and Tony Pulis could ask no more of him.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings James McClean – 8 out of 10 Fantastic run down the left before crossing into goal-mouth produced Arteta’s own-goal. He gave Bellerin plenty to think about as he drifted across the midfield at will.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Stephane Sessegnon – 6 out of 10 Played in McClean for the second after committing Koscielny to pull Arsenal’s defence ragged.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Solomon Rondon – 5 out of 10 Fairly anonymous and was hauled off for Saido Berahino in the second half. The England Under-21 striker looked much more of a threat.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings <b>Arsenal:</b> Petr Cech – 6 out of 10 Slightly off his line which allowed Morrison to volley the ball over his head, but there was little he could do for the second goal. Reaction save stopped a late Berahino effort although the whistle had already gone.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Hector Bellerin – 6 out of 10 Lost Morrison for the goal as he was caught napping when the ball was airborne. Looked short on match fitness, although he was his ever keen self to work down the right in search of the equaliser.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Laurent Koscielny – 5 out of 10 Still not his normal self and Wenger was right to question whether he should play him in the build-up to the match. Simple header back to Cech went for a corner, and he lost Berahino late on.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Per Mertesacker – 5 out of 10 Went AWOL for the second goal which forced Arteta back into defence. Looked nervy on the ball, and still struggles to connect with attacking aerial balls.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Nacho Monreal – 6 out of 10 The Spaniard didn’t press forward as much as he has recently with Gibbs in front of him sticking to the left, and that had an impact on Arsenal’s attacking threat as there were few overlaps from the left-back. Fairly solid in defence though, with little threat coming down his flank.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Francis Coquelin – 5 out of 10 Lasted just 13 minutes after his own sliding tackle saw him suffer a knock to his knee. Replaced by Mikel Arteta, with disastrous consequences.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Santi Cazorla – 4 out of 10 His form has deserted him recently. His passing was terrible in attacking positions, and his dreadful penalty attempt sums up Arsenal’s day. Slipped as he kicked the ball, sending it into his standing foot and over the bar.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Alexis Sanchez – out of 10 Worked extremely hard but couldn’t fashion many chances for himself. One clear effort saw the ball escape his reach with the goal at his mercy.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Mesut Ozil – 7 out of 10 Broke the record for consecutive assists as his floated free-kick saw Giroud head home to register a seventh straight game in which he’s set up a goal. Probed throughout and looked to be Arsenal’s creator for the equaliser – only it never came.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Kieran Gibbs – 5 out of 10 Dangerous cross late in the first half went unpunished as no one in red could reach it. Not an out-and-out attacking player though and it showed, and he was replaced by Joel Campbell with half an hour to go.
West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Olivier Giroud – 6 out of 10 Emotion poured out of him before kick-off as La Marseillaise rang out, and he soon had something to shout about as he headed in Ozil’s free-kick. Booked late in the first half as Arsenal lost their way, and he faded in the second half.
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West Brom vs Arsenal player ratings Mikel Arteta – 1 out of 10 Terrible introduction for injured Coquelin after 13 minutes in. Conceded the free-kick that led to Morrison’s goal – though he appeared to get a toe on the ball – before handling in an own-goal to give Baggies the lead. His nightmare outing was capped when he was injured three minutes after the break, and was replaced by Mathieu Flamini having played 36 minutes.
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He said: "Once you are in the competition you are in the competition to be professional. How much did it affect them? I don't know, I can only speak for myself.
"When you are on the pitch, you are on the pitch. I would not explain our defeat by that."
Arteta and Francis Coquelin limped off to add to Arsenal's injury woes ahead of their must-win Champions League game with Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday.
Mesut Ozil also hit a post as the visitors dominated, but failed to break down the Baggies in the second half.
This was just Albion's second home league win of the season, but it lifted them to 12th and eight points above the bottom three.
Boss Tony Pulis said: "There's been games here this year where we've been disappointed because we've lost. I thought Arsenal were very good, particularly second half when they ramped it up.
"Sanchez was just wonderful - his movement, his play.You've got Ozil and Cazorla who have wonderful talent. The lads deserve it for the effort and commitment, but we've played better and done better and not got the results."
PA
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