West Brom 1 Arsenal 1 - Report and pictures

Having been the better team for large parts of the game, Alan Pardew's team found themselves staring defeat in the face after Alexis Sanchez squeezed a free-kick through a brittle Baggies wall seven minutes from time.

There will be an inquest into that goal, which has officially gone down as a James McClean own goal, but in the 89th minute, referee Mike Dean pointed at the spot after Callum Chambers handled in the box.

Jay Rodriguez tucked it home to send The Hawthorns bananas. The Albion forward should have had a penalty against Arsenal earlier this season so perhaps there was some poetic justice at play on the last evening of 2017.

The point was nothing less than Albion deserved, and while it may not be the victory they so desperately need after going half a season without a win, it did lift them off the bottom of the table.

In front of the largest Hawthorns crowd of the season, and arguably the most boisterous too, Albion put in yet another disciplined performance with bags of promise.

The Baggies won this corresponding fixture last season but since that 3-1 victory in March they've tasted victory in the league just twice in 29 games.

Pardew was forced into one change, and replaced the injured Salomon Rondon with Hal Robson-Kanu up front.

Arsenal lost Mesut Ozil to a knee injury while Jack Wilshere started a fifth consecutive league match for the first time in more than four years.

Before kick-off, there was a poignant tribute to Richard Eades, a former Baggie bird mascot who lost his life suddenly on Boxing Day.

His young family were joined on the pitch by mascots from local rivals Wolves, Villa, Birmingham City and Walsall.

After those sombre notes, it was a bright start to the game, as the ball zipped from end to end on the greasy surface.

Matt Phillips and Hal Robson-Kanu combined down the right for the first chance, but the winger's cross was just behind Jay Rodriguez and the striker couldn't get enough power on his header to beat Petr Cech.

The Arsenal keeper spilled a high ball soon after but Robson-Kanu's shot was blocked and Jake Livermore's cross was cleared.

Arsenal immediately went up the other end where Chris Brunt's superbly-timed tackle denied Alexandre Lacazette before the latter's shot span wide from a deflection.

Pardew had promised to focus on set-pieces and the Baggies did that. Craig Dawson was wreaking havoc in the box, leaping higher than anyone in red to knock the ball down, and he was doing the same at goal-kicks too, springing Albion into attack.

He was brilliant at the back too, where he intercepted a clever reverse pass from Jack Wilshere before heading clear in the 42nd minute while The Hawthorns rose to applaud Richard Eades.

Although the Gunners were shaky at the back, they were regularly probing on the edge of Albion's area, and Alexis Sanchez kept stabbing the ball through tight spaces to Lacazette and Alex Iwobi.

The latter curled one effort over the bar after outmuscling Jonny Evans and then stung Foster's palms from range.

But Albion shaded the first half and were threatening mainly down the right, where Phillips had the beating of Sead Kolasinac - who was forced off through injury after half an hour - and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

He was whipping in dangerous crosses, but they seemed to always be just in front or just behind Albion's front two.

The Baggies weren't afraid to play the ball out of the back, and when Arsenal did have the ball in defence, they were hunting in packs and forcing the Gunners into mistakes.

Their pressure on Arsenal's back three was disciplined and during large periods of the first half they were the team on top.

Gareth Barry was tidy in midfield, Jake Livermore was winning the ball back, and Jay Rodriguez was showing flashes of promise, but after building some sustained pressure on the Arsenal back-line Brunt whipped a free-kick over the bar from a good position.

Albion started the second half just as brightly, and were sending ball after ball into the box but they were still not sticking.

Robson-Kanu was pulling into wide positions and receiving the ball plenty of times, but that left just Rodriguez in the box, and Albion were finding it difficult to pick their man out.

The Hawthorns liked what it saw though, and lifted the noise levels in an effort to spur their team on to a much-needed victory.

Foster had to kick away a Lacazette shot after a neat one-two with Iwobi on the edge of the box and then the Arsenal No.9 touched a Sanchez pass inches wide of the post before the Chilean tried his luck himself and found the side netting.

That spurred the Gunners into their first sustained period of pressure, but Albion's back-line stood strong, epitomised by a crunching sliding tackle from Hegazi to deny Iwobi in the box.

Albion's midfield looked spent though and Pardew made a double substitution with 20 minutes to go, bringing on Grzegorz Krychowiak and James McClean for Matt Phillips and Chris Brunt before sneding Allan Nyom on for Hal Robson-Kanu to switch to a back five.

Rodriguez had an opportunity 12 minutes from time when the weary Arsenal defence backed off him, but his shot was straight at Cech.

But then, seven minutes from time, Sanchez broke Albion hearts with a tame free-kick that slipped through a brittle Baggies wall.

The Chilean won the free-kick himself in a dangerous position, before Pardew and Darren Moore screamed at James McClean to join the edge of the wall.

Sanchez struck it straight at the Irish international but he turned his back and let it hit his thigh before deflecting into the goal.

That looked like being a cruel blow for the Baggies who didn't deserve to lose this game.

But five minutes later, Mike Dean awarded a penalty to the Baggies for a Callum Chambers handball.

It was soft, but after more than 50 games without a spot-kick, Albion were due one.

The Baggies had gone so long without a penalty that the crowd didn't know who was going to take it.

Rodriguez stepped up, and he struck it down the middle to send The Hawthorns into raptures.

There was still time for Arsenal to claim their own penalty up the other end, but this time Dean said no.

It would have been harsh on this Baggies team who proved, once again, that they won't go down without a fight.

KEY MOMENTS

83 GOAL ARSENAL - Sanchez wins a free-kick before hitting it straight through the Albion wall. It deflects off McClean, who turns his back on it and goes in.

89 GOAL ALBION - Jay Rodriguez tucks home a penalty down the middle after Mike Dean spots a handball by Callum Chambers.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Gareth Barry - Supreme in midfield.

POSITION IN THE TABLE

19th, with 16 points from 21 games.

TEAMS

Albion (4-4-2): Foster, Dawson, Hegazi, Evans (c), Gibbs, Phillips (Krychowiak 71), Barry, Livermore, Brunt (McClean 71), Robson-Kanu (Nyom 75), Rodriguez. Unused subs: Myhill, McAuley, Nyom, Yacob, Burke.

Arsenal (3-4-3): Cech, Koscielny (Mertesacker 71), Mustafi, Chambers, Bellerin, Wilshere, Xhaka, Kolasinac (Maitland-Niles 38), Iwobi (Welbeck 74), Lacazette, Sanchez. Unused subs: Ospina, Coquelin, Elneny, Walcott, Welbeck.

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)

Attendance: 26,223 (2,717 away)