Just how much of a shock was Arsenal's 3-1 defeat at West Brom?
In some ways I was stunned by the result as I genuinely believed we could get back to winning ways in this fixture, but at the same time with the poor form we have shown in most of our March games it also wasn't that surprising that it ended in defeat.
We are only playing well in small patches and not consistently enough and, not only does that gap from leaders Chelsea continue to get bigger but we now face a very tough task to even finish in the top four.
Although fourth wouldn't really be good enough, the fact we could even miss out on even getting that is very damaging and a sign of how bad things are going for us at the moment. Apart from the FA Cup win, which without being disrespectful to the opponent was against lower league opposition, March really hasn't been good for us.
Arsene Wenger has understandably faced a lot of questions about his future following our recent poor showings, but it is hard to gauge what is going to happen. Part of me gets the vibe that he will leave in the summer, but then I also think there's a chance he could sign a one-year deal as opposed to a longer one and stay that little bit longer. Something needs to happen though as we can't go on like this! We have now lost four of our last five league games which is simply not good enough! Losing goalkeeper Petr Cech and star man Alexis Sanchez to injury completed what was a miserable afternoon for the Gunners.
Arsenal had a half chance after eight minutes when Sanchez's fine reverse pass set up Nacho Monreal, but the full-backs low ball into the box was scrambled away to safety.
West Brom took the lead soon after as Cech could only beat James McClean's strike out for a corner and from the resulting set piece Dawson rose highest to head home.
Arsenal levelled the scores within three minutes as Sanchez latched onto Granit Xhaka's pass before controlling on his chest, taking a touch a firing in from close range.
Nacer Chadli, who set up Albion's opener, was proving to be a nuisance down the right-hand side and his pass created a chance for Salomón Rondón, but the forward dragged his effort wide.
Midfielder Aaron Ramsey was next to try his luck for Arsenal and his low shot was parried by Ben Foster in the Arsenal goal before Theo Walcott saw two follow-up attempts blocked by the defence.
Foster's heroics were then matched by Cech, who did excellently to get a hand to Darren Fletcher's shot and push it behind for a corner. That was Cech's last key contribution as he was forced off injured eight minutes before the break and was replaced by David Ospina.
West Brom wasted a chance to retake the lead within five minutes of the restart as Rondón sent a header wide. But the hosts made no mistake soon after as substitute Hal Robson-Kanu scored just two minutes after coming on following a defensive mix-up by Arsenal. Ospina and Hector Bellerin got in each other's way and the ball bounced off the goalkeeper's legs to give Robson-Kanu the simplest of tasks to tap in.
Arsenal came close to equalising when Danny Welbeck's header hit the crossbar before a possible penalty shout when Shkodran Mustafi appeared to be fouled in the box. Even if the decision had gone the other way there is still no excusing the lack of times we tested Foster over the 90 minutes. 77% possession and only two shots on target is not good enough!
Ospina kept Arsenal in the game when he blocked Robson-Kanu's effort before Mustafi cleared Chadli's shot off the line. But the Gunners were undone by another set piece 15 minutes from time as Dawson headed in from McCLean's corner.
Sanchez was forced off injured soon after and the post-match comments from Wenger about this left me somewhat puzzled. It seems Sanchez was injured by a tackle in the first half and his ankle was in a bad state. Wenger said he should not have played in the second half, but the player insisted that he wanted to come out. Whilst it is admirable for the player to show such passion to want to keep on playing, if the manager thinks he should not have played in the second half then he shouldn't have played, it really is that simple! He is a great player and can change the game in the blink of an eye, but keeping him on also seemed to risk especially given how important a player he is to us.
Ramsey shot high and over the bar in stoppage time to sum up what was a frustrating day for the Gunners, especially after Manchester United's win over Middlesbrough the day after saw us drop down to 6th.
OPPOSITION VIEW
West Brom fan Rob Myatt was understandably delighted at the result from what he believes was "the most enjoyable game of the season".
"Pulis yet again proves why his style of football works," said Myatt. "Every single stat was in Albion's favour except possession, and when we have the ball playing the counter attack style of football, which we just couldn't get going at the Emirates earlier in the season, we are devastating.
"It's clear to see where Arsenal's frailties are and we clinically exploited them. Rondon coming off with an injury was a blessing in disguise as Robson-Kanu, despite not being prolific, will never give up on anything and combined with the likes of McClean, Nyom, Fletcher et al. The work rate of our players outshone the obvious individual talent of Arsenal.
"From my point of view, it was the most enjoyable game of the season and gives me hope for a few more points on our horrific run in."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
When we are on a poor run of form seeing that we face Manchester City next doesn't fill me with too much optimism. However when things are going against you maybe it will take a massive game like this to make our players stand up to be counted.
We are a massive 19 points off leaders Chelsea and already face a harder fight than ever to even finish in the top four so this is a must win game. If we under perform we could get thumped so Wenger will have to get his tactics spot on and the players will have to step things up several gears and prove their worth.
We need to avoid our league form getting even worse. Manchester City are beatable, but only if we play to our full potential, create a lot more chances and be a lot more clinical.
It is the first of two games against City in April, with Pep Guardiola's men also being our opponents in the FA Cup semi-final later in the month. These are two huge games and, although it will be a very big ask, we need to make sure we win them both.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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