West Bromwich Albion.The increase pressure on Arsenal with comfortable win

ogbudaveblog

Craig Dawson's double piled more pressure on
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger as the Gunners
lost 3-1 at West Bromwich Albion.The defender
and substitute Hal Robson
-Kanu, who scored just 75 seconds after coming
on, inflicted a sixth loss on the beleaguered
Wenger in his last nine games.Alexis Sanchez's
18th Premier League goal of the season had
cancelled out Dawson's opener but the
Gunners remain five pointsadrift of the top four
with their hopes of Champions League
qualification in the balance.They also lost Petr
Cech to injuryand replacement David Ospina
was at fault for Robson-Kanu's goal after
colliding with Hector Bellerin.Off the pitch,
Arsenal fans' civil war continued astwo planes
with the opposing banners"In Arsene We Trust
#respectaw" and "No Contract #wengerout"
flew over The Hawthorns.
The manager, out of contract in the summer,
remains a divisive figure and came under fire
from the travelling fans who called for his exit,
unfurled several"Wenger Out" banners and
criticised his late substitution of Sanchez.For
the Baggies, they equalled last season's points
tally of 43, and recovered from successive
defeats to keep their Europa League hopes
alive.And they deserved the victory from the
moment when Dawson headed them in front
after 12 minutes.Albion had scored 16 goals
from set-piecesthis season, more than any
team in the Premier League, and made it 17
when Dawson rose above Laurent Koscielny
and glanced in Nacer Chadli's corner.It came
after Cech had beaten away JamesMcClean's
fierce drive but the goalkeeper was left exposed
as the Gunners failed to deal with Chadli's
delivery.
But Arsenal hit back just 165 seconds later
when Sanchez was left completely unmarked --
thanks to Chadli failing to check his run -- to
collect Granit Xhaka's floated ball and fire in off
the crossbar from eight yards.It completed a
19-pass move but the Gunners could not
maintain their momentum as the Baggies shut
up shop again.With Jonny Evans outstanding at
the back, the hosts held firm and Cech was the
busier of the two goalkeepers before his
premature exit.He turned Darren Fletcher's
half-volley wide on 35 minutes after the
Gunners' defence had gone to sleep in his last
actionof the day. Minutes later he pulled up
afterplaying the ball out of defence and was
replaced by Ospina.The delay killed the game --
despite McClean receiving a caution for a rash
tackle on Sanchez -- and it drifted to the break
with little action.Despite all of Arsenal's
possession, the hosts looked the most
dangerous against the Gunners' fragile backline
and Salomon Rondon headed wide six minutes
after the break.And the Baggies did regain the
lead after 55 minutes through Robson-Kanu's
secondtouch after he replaced Rondon, now
without a goal since Dec. 14.Again, the Gunners
defence were at fault when Ospina came to
collect a cross, clattered into Bellerin and the
ball fell to Robson-Kanu to prod in.Arsenal
complained McClean, who was behind Bellerin
and then stepped over the ball as it rolled in,
was offside but the goal stood.This time, the
Gunners failed to hit back instantly but the
previously anonymous Danny Welbeck did
smack the bar after 65 minutes as Albion were
momentarily breached.Chadli's drive was then
cleared off the line by Shkodran Mustafi after
Robson-Kanu caused more problems, before
the Baggies wrapped up the victory with 15
minutes left.Another corner was Arsenal's
undoing as they allowed Dawson to power in
unmarked from six yards -- his third goal in
four games.There was no coming back for the
Gunnersand Wenger was subjected to chants
of"you don't know what you're doing" when
Sanchez was replaced by Alex Iwobi --
withseveral 'Wenger Out' banners visible at
the end.

Source http://ogbudave.blogspot.com/2017/03/west-bromwich-albionthe-increase.html