West Brom 1-1 Arsenal: Visitors left fuming as Mike Dean awards soft penalty to see West Brom equalise via Jay Rodriguez after James McClean own goal

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When Arsene Wenger eventually leaves Arsenal, he will not miss afternoons like this. Over the second half of his long tenure, there have been far too many days when he has travelled home with disappointment and frustration stinging his eyes.

This had been a hard, honest afternoon for Arsenal in the Black Country. With Christmas tiredness in their legs, Wenger’s players had run hard in the rain on the soft ground to finally edge past opposition ambitious and energised under new manager Alan Pardew.

With just seven minutes left, Arsenal had scored. It was debatable whether or not they deserved the lead but they took it anyway.

Jay Rodriguez converted an 89th-minute penalty as West Bromwich Albion held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at the Hawthorns

The crucial spot kick was awarded by referee Mike Dean, who punished Calum Chambers for an apparent hand-ball offence

Arsenal had earlier opened the scoring when Chilean Alexis Sanchez's free kick deflected into the bottom of the Baggies net

A delighted Sanchez ran off in celebration but the Arsenal goal was later awarded to West Brom midfielder James McClean

MATCH FACTS AND LIVE PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE 

WEST BROM (4-3-3): Foster 7.5; Dawson 6.5, Evans 6.5, Hegazi 6.5, Gibbs 6; Phillips 7.5 (McClean 73mins 6), Barry 6.5, Livermore 6, Brunt 6 (Krychowiak 71mins 6); Robson-Kanu 5.5 (Nyom 74mins 6), Rodriguez 7.5

Subs not used: Myhill, Yacob, Burke, McAuley

GOALS: Rodriguez 89 (pen)

BOOKED: Evans, Brunt, Dawson

ALAN PARDEW: 7.5

ARSENAL (3-4-3): Cech 7.5; Chambers 6.5, Mustafi 7, Koscielny 7 (Mertesacker 71mins 6); Bellerin 7, Xhaka 6.5, Wilshere 8, Kolasinac 6 (Maitland-Niles 37mins 6.5); Iwobi 7 (Welbeck 73mins 6), Lacazette 7.5, Sanchez 6.

Subs not used: Ospina, Walcott, Coquelin, Elneny

GOALS: Sanchez 83

BOOKED: Mustafi

ARSENE WENGER: 6

REFEREE: Mike Dean 7

MAN OF THE MATCH: Jack Wilshere

 

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Arsenal's opener, scored from a free kick given away by Craig Dawson, went down as an own goal as Alexis Sanchez's shot was going wide before it hit James McClean

Jack Wilshere had 85 touches and made 68 passes as he completed 90 minutes again

For stats and maps check out Sportsmail's brilliant Match Zone.

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Alexis Sanchez – largely peripheral until Arsenal came strong in the last quarter – drove a low free-kick at an encroaching West Brom wall and the ball ricocheted past Ben Foster off the back of James McClean, who had turned away as he jumped.

The celebrations were enthusiastic and prolonged. Unlike at Crystal Palace recently, all the Arsenal players joined in. It felt like a big moment for a side chasing the top four and preparing for a home game with Chelsea on Wednesday.

But there are certain things about Arsenal that do not change and one of them is the sheer painful fact that Wenger just can’t rely on his players.

Here, Arsenal were slightly unlucky. The handball given against Calum Chambers with two minutes left was a borderline call. Interestingly, the West Brom player involved in the incident – former Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs – appealed only for a corner as the ball bounced off Chambers’ arm.

That was telling but undoubtedly there are other Premier League referees who would have made the same call as Mike Dean. Chambers’ arm was raised in front of him and also made a slight, involuntary movement towards the ball.

So maybe it is the rule that needs changing and not, as Wenger appeared to insinuate, the referees who enforce them. It is also worth mentioning here that Wenger was not so outspoken after his team were awarded a debatable penalty at Burnley recently.

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere (right) started his fifth game in just 18 days as he continued to show off his improved fitness

Wilshere managed to get through the match unscathed but Gunners team-mate Sead Kolasinac picked up a first-half injury

Bosnian left back Kolasinac limped off the field with a knock and was replaced by sub Ainsley Maitland-Niles on 37 minutes

Maitland-Niles used a sleeping bag and an extra Arsenal coat to keep warm on the bench prior to his first-half introduction

Twenty-five-year-old England international Wilshere made a total of 40 passes during the first 45 minutes at the Hawthorns

And what is very clear and beyond debate is that Arsenal’s record away from home this season is once again far from good enough.

Once West Brom’s Jay Rodriguez had driven in his team’s penalty to earn the draw, Arsenal could reflect on the fact they have won just three times away in the league. On away form, Arsenal are currently ninth, behind teams like Watford and Burnley and only just ahead of Newcastle, Brighton and Bournemouth.

So that is the kind of fact that continues to undermine Wenger’s desperate efforts to move Arsenal forwards. In this game you tend to get pretty much what you deserve over a season and at the moment Arsenal’s position just outside the Champions League places feels right.

This was a competitive game from first moment to last. It was not always pretty and it was easy to sympathise with both managers when they spoke about the difficulties presented by the holiday scheduling.

Chances were few and far between in the first half but home goalkeeper Ben Foster was called into action to deny Alex Iwobi

At the other end, Gunners stopper Petr Cech did not look fully convincing, especially when it came to gathering high balls

Like fellow defender Kolasinac, Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny failed to finish the game. He was replaced by Per Mertesacker

Arsene Wenger broke Sir Alex Ferguson's record for most games as a Premier League boss as he took charge for an 811th time

It looked like Frenchman Wenger was going to mark the occasion with a win when Sanchez found the net with a lucky free kick

Arsenal's players celebrated as they saw the ball land in West Brom's net after the deflected shot bamboozled keeper Foster

The Gunners players celebrated the own goal as a team while No 10 Wilshere saluted the visiting supporters at the Hawthorns 

This is a time of year when football is about those who watch it and not those who play it. For a time at the Hawthorns it was a puzzle who, if anybody, was benefiting from a New Year’s Eve game low on consistent quality.

But West Brom – without a league win since August – were backed by a vocal home crowd that recognised both the effort and the slight change of style that has come with Pardew’s appointment.

Neither team managed to dominate but both enjoyed periods of superiority. It was not the worst to watch.

For West Brom, Matt Phillips was a threat down the right and Rodriguez a decent target in the middle. A header from the West Brom forward was saved early by Petr Cech while at the other end Alexandre Lacazette had a shot deflected wide and Alex Iwobi drove an effort narrowly over.

Wilshere was not celebrating a short while later. He and Shkodran Mustafi (left) were unimpressed with Dean's penalty call

A frustrated Wenger expressed his disapproval towards Dean as well when the referee came over to speak with the manager

But Rodriguez did not let Arsenal's protests distract him and he celebrated his penalty strike with team-mate Jonny Evans

With creative players like Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey missing, Arsenal lacked imagination at times but as the game wore on Lacazette, Sanchez and Jack Wilshere came to the fore.

Ben Foster saved from Lacazette on the hour and saw a toe poke from the Frenchman spin wide of his near post. Rodriguez then drove a stiff shot at Cech from 20 yards with 12 minutes to go.

The free-kick for Arsenal’s goal was carelessly conceded by Craig Dawson and the ball struck McClean as the wall encroached and then split. With only seven minutes to go, Arsenal seemed on the verge but if there is a cliff to jump over Wenger’s players will invariably find it.

Dressed in all red for the first time in almost 40 years, there were times when Arsenal were not very recognisable. There were other times, of course, when they were entirely so.  

This may prove to be one of Evans' final games for West Brom. The Baggies skipper is said to be wanted by Manchester City

West Brom paid tribute to mascot Richard Eades who passed away recently. Fans of both sides showed respect by applauding

Mascots representing Walsall, Wolves, Birmingham City and Aston Villa gathered together before kick off in honour of Eades

SHORT STORY ABOUT ARSENAL'S ALL RED STRIP

Red shorts are not a good luck charm...

Arsenal wore red shorts for the first time in almost 40 years in Sunday's 1-1 draw with West Brom.

It was decided that both their away and third strip would clash with the hosts.

Arsenal last wore their home shirt with red shorts on April 11, 1978 at QPR.

The shorts didn't bring them much luck on that occasion when as David O'Leary (left) and Co lost 2-1. 

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