Arsène Wenger vented his frustration at a “nightmare” performance by Arsenal as his team were beaten 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion after missing a late penalty. The Frenchman’s woes were worsened by two further additions to the club’s long casualty list, with Francis Coquelin and Mikel Arteta forced off early at the Hawthorns and now at risk of missing Tuesday night’s meeting with Dinamo Zagreb, which Arsenal must win to keep alive their faint Champions League hopes.
Arsenal had not lost to Albion since 2010 and looked on course to extend that sequence when Olivier Giroud headed them into the lead in the first half. Instead Wenger’s men quickly relinquished their advantage, with James Morrison drawing Albion level within seven minutes before Arteta deflected a James McClean cross into his own net to put Albion 2-1 in front. Arsenal missed several chances to equalise themselves, most obviously when Santi Cazorla slipped and ballooned a late penalty over the bar.
“It was a very bad afternoon for us,” said Wenger. “We had 70% possession, scored an own goal, missed a penalty, gave away a goal on a set piece and missed open goal chances – that’s perfect to make the afternoon a nightmare.”
Wenger was particularly angry that his team gave away their lead so soon after gaining it. “It was a huge goal when we scored and then you just make sure they do not come back with an easy goal,” said Wenger. “We were 1-0 up in the 28th minute and then 2-1 down before the 45th, so our defending on that level was very, very poor.”
Wenger said he did not know the extent of the injuries to Arteta and Coquelin, saying the former suffered a recurrence of a muscular problem while Coquelin will undergo a scan tomorrow on the knee he damaged in a tackle on Claudio Yacob. Before this match Arsenal’s injury list already included Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.