Gunners fail to find Rhythm at West Brom

Jay Rodriguez’s controversially awarded late penalty denied Arsenal the chance to put pressure on the Premier League top four as they were held at West Brom.

It looked as though the Gunners had secured victory when Alexis Sanchez’s 83rd-minute free-kick beat keeper Ben Foster via a heavy deflection off James McClean, BBC reports.

But six minutes later referee Mike Dean judged Calum Chambers had intentionally handled when Kieran Gibbs tried to lift the ball over him, and Rodriguez fired the spot-kick past Petr Cech.

That made for a dramatic conclusion to a largely uninspiring game with few clear-cut chances.

Arsenal move three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool while West Brom move off the bottom of the table on goal difference.