- Arsene Wenger broke Sir Alex Ferguson’s record to become the all-time leading Premier League manager as his took charge of his 811th Arsenal game vs West Brom.
- A deflected Alexis Sanchez effort gave Arsenal the lead on the 83rd minute with a free-kick.
- West Brom converted a late contentious penalty to rescue a point.
- READ ALSO: Bad news for Arsenal as injured superstar to be ruled out of Chelsea clash
Arsenal were held to a draw against West Brom after going 1-0 ahead thanks to an deflected Alexis Sanchez effort.
Arsenal took the lead in the 83rd minute as a Sanchez free-kick broke through the middle of an embarrassingly weak West Brom defense.
The three points looked signed and sealed for the Gunners with just seven minutes remaining.
However, on the 88th minute West Brom were handed a late penalty after Callum Chambers was deemed to have blocked a Kieran Gibbs ball.
Jay Rodriguez stepped up to convert the penally from the spot on the 89th minute.
Arsene Wenger was extremely animated on the sidelines with the frenchman clearly unhappy with Mike Dean’s questionable decision.
Man of the match
The former Manchester United star Johnny Evans thwarted Arsenal today as if the Northern Irish star was still representing the Red Devils.
Evans commanded Alan Pardew’s selected back five and the Midlands side were impossible to break down.
Flop of the match
Another frustrating evening for Alex Iwobi who struggled to create chances throughout. The Nigerian international looked isolated out wide and when he did drift inside the receive the ball he looked relatively clueless.
The youngster was taken off on the 74th minute and the Arsenal attack benefitted greatly from his departure.
Stat of the match
A record breaking day for Arsene Wenger.
?? Premier League Matches Managed:
Arsène Wenger: 811
??????? Sir Alex Ferguson: 810
??????? Harry Redknapp: 641
??????? David Moyes: 508
??????? Sam Allardyce: 494? Congratulations Arsène Wenger! pic.twitter.com/4xW6JjPE0F
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) December 31, 2017
Player ratings
West Brom: Foster 7, Dawson 6, Hegazi 7, Evans 8, Gibbs 7, Phillips 6, Livermore 6, Barry 7, Brunt 6, Rodriguez 7, Robson-Kanu 6.
Subs: McClean 6, Krychowiak 5, Nyom 6.
Arsenal: Cech 6, Koscielny 5, Chambers 5, Mustafi 6, Bellerin, Xhaka 5, Wilshere 6, Kolasinac 5, Sanchez 6, Iwobi 4, Lacazette 4.
Subs: Maitland-Niles 6, Mertesacker 5, Welbeck 5.
Reaction
Arsenal fans were understandably furious with Mike Dean’s late decision…
“Lack of consistency with refs” not true. Consistently Mike Dean is the biggest bellend on the planet.
— Jack Whitehall (@jackwhitehall) December 31, 2017
When your grandkids ask you about 2017 please don’t forget to tell them how Mike Dean took a last gasp opportunity to make 2017 all about him.
— Danny Welbeck (@WelBeast) December 31, 2017
The FA really need to look into Mike Dean. Easily the worst referee in the top flight and gets away with nonsense time and time again.
— ?? (@Mta_1991) December 31, 2017