Alexandre Lacazette scored twice as Arsenal ruined Gareth Barry’s big night.
The French striker nodded in the rebound after Alexis Sanchez had hit the crossbar and he then rifled home a penalty to secure a 2-0 win over West Brom.
It meant Baggies midfielder Barry finished on the losing side on his record-breaking 633rd Premier League appearance.
Alexandre Lacazette celebrates scoring his second goal
What they said
When asked about the decision not to award West Brom an early penalty for a foul on Jay Rodriguez, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: “The referee left the advantage and they nearly scored from that. They hit the post. He could have given the penalty or not. He let the advantage. If he gives a penalty and doesn’t give the advantage and they miss the penalty, you say ‘Why did he not give the advantage?’.” West Brom boss Tony Pulis said: “People say Rodriguez is being too honest. Is honesty the thing to do? We haven’t had a penalty for over a year now. The facts are the facts. I’m just pleased everyone has seen it. I don’t want to talk about the referee (or Arsenal’s penalty). We created, forget the referee’s decisions, lots of opportunities and lots of chances. We’ve got to put those away. I’m pleased in some ways, disappointed in others.”
Tweet of the match
Star man – Lacazette
You can’t argue with two goals from the Arsenal striker, even if this was a game where nobody else stood out. Lacazette became the first Gunners player to score in his opening three league appearances at home since Brian Marwood in 1988.
Moment of the match
Sanchez whipped in a free-kick which Baggies goalkeeper Ben Foster just managed to touch onto the crossbar, but like all good poachers Lacazette was on hand to nod home the rebound.
Data point
It probably had not escaped anyone’s attention that this was Gareth Barry’s 633rd Premier League appearance. Unfortunately for the veteran midfielder he suffered the 187th top-flight defeat of his career. He did not add to his 52 goals, but on the plus side nor did he receive a 120th booking.
Player ratings
Arsenal: Petr Cech 6, Shkodran Mustafi 6, Laurent Koscielny 6, Nacho Monreal 7, Sead Kolasinac 6, Granit Xhaka 5, Mohamed Elneny 6, Hector Bellerin 6, Aaron Ramsey 7, Alexis Sanchez 7, Alexandre Lacazette 7. Substitutes: Olivier Giroud (for Lacazette, 82) 6, Mesut Ozil (for Sanchez, 83) 6, Ainsley Maitland-Niles (for Ramsey, 90) N/A. West Brom: Ben Foster 6, Craig Dawson 6, Ahmed Hegazy 6, Jonny Evans 6, Allan Nyom 5,Grzegorz Krychowiak 6, Gareth Barry 6, Kieran Gibbs 6, Jake Livermore 6, Jay Rodriguez 6, Hal Robson-Kanu 5. Substitutes: James Morrison (for Livermore, 63) 6, Salomon Rondon (for Robson-Kanu, 64) 5, Matt Phillips (for Nyom, 74) 6.
Who’s up next?
BATE Borisov v Arsenal (Europa League, Thursday, September 28)
West Brom v Watford (Premier League, Saturday, September 30)
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