This was always going to be a game that Arsenal simply wanted to get over and done with and move on, but we also needed to beat West Brom away to make sure that we stayed at least level on top of the Premier League and did not allow the current injury list to derail the challenge for the title.
You got the feeling early on in the match that this would not be an easy day for the Gunners, especially when our main man in midfield Francis Coquelin was forced to limp off with just 12 minutes gone after hurting his knee in a challenge.
Arsene Wenger replaced him with Mikel Arteta but you could see straight away that the Spaniard did not have the same presence and bite. Having said that Arsenal were good value for the lead we took in the 28th minute. Referee Clattenburg gave us a rare free kick, Ozil whipped it in and Giroud got his head to it.
The home side had offered very little going forward but were handed the chance to equalise with a poor free kick decision. Replays show that Arteta won the ball and Clattenburg was mere feet away bit he got it wrong. That does not excuse the defensive weakness from us which allowed Morrison to reach the ball and finish well but it was a cruel blow.
It dod not take long for things to get worse either and the unlucky Arteta was at the heart of it again, as he was unable to do anything but direct McLane’s cut back into his own net. It could even have been a penalty as ot came off the Spaniard’s arm.
Clattenburg then complete an awful 45 minutes by producing a ridiculous yellow card for Giroud after ignoring numerous fouls on the French striker.
After Ozil hit the post shortly after Giroud was denied a good penalty shout early in the second half ot really did feel like one of those days and when Cazorla made a horrible mess of a late spot kick, it was time to accept a dreadful day in the west midlands and move on.