West Brom 3-1 Arsenal : Craig Dawson double gives the baggies total control

 
Arsenal‘s top four hopes were dealt a major blow as they lost 3-1 to West Brom at the Hawthorns this afternoon to remain rooted in fifth in the Premier League table.
The Gunners were sloppy on set pieces as Craig Dawson punished them to score twice for the home side, leaving the visitors with just one win in
their last five in the league.
It’s been a miserable few weeks for Arsenal as both their title hopes and Champions League challenge has fallen apart, with Arsene Wenger’s only wins since January coming against Hull City at home, and two non-league sides.
They got off to the worst possible start here as West Brom made it 1-0 after just 12 minutes, with Dawson given the freedom of the penalty area to run past a sleepwalking Aaron Ramsey to head home the opener.

Arsenal gave the perfect response, however, as Alexis Sanchez fired in a fine equaliser from an equally smart Granit Xhaka pass to make it 1-1 just three minutes later.
Still, that was the best we saw from the visitors all afternoon as West Brom reasserted their authority in the second half.
Rocked by an injury to Petr Cech late in the first period, David Ospina messed up his first major job of the game as he failed to keep hold of a cross, allowing Baggies substitute Hal Robson-Kanu to roll it into the net just a minute after coming on.
The Colombian goalkeeper again lacked authority on a corner in the 75th minute as Dawson headed in his second of the match to make it 3-1 and effectively kill the game.
Danny Welbeck hit the bar and West Brom messed up another chance to score after yet more sloppy play from Ospina, but there was little indication that Arsenal had it in them to even threaten a comeback.
Arsenal still have a game in hand on Liverpool, but are five points behind their nearest top four rivals, while Manchester United can leapfrog them with a win at Middlesbrough on Sunday.
Given Wenger’s longevity at Arsenal is so closely linked with his repeated success in making the top four, this result surely goes some way to pushing him out of the Emirates Stadium exit door this summer when his contract is due to expire.