Pictures and analysis of West Brom 1 Arsenal 2

West Brom produced a rousing finale which drew an appreciative ovation from their fans. Now they must do the same for their season.

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West Brom produced a rousing finale which drew an appreciative ovation from their fans. Now they must do the same for their season.

Rightly or wrongly, the sense of the region's best Premier League campaign suffering from premature fade-out is in the air after Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Arsenal left the Baggies boasting only three wins in their last 13 games.

Despite giving the Gunners a two-goal start, this was a game Albion might still have won never mind rescued. With Arsenal reduced to 10 men at the first sign of pressure, the contest finished with the home side racking up any number of opportunities to turn the result around.

But they remained in eighth despite a second successive defeat and one point from the last nine – and that is key to the problem.

Albion are rock-solid stable after an incredible couple of years which have seen the club crack the top 10. That has done wonders for their long-range planning but, as their underpowered first hour against Arsenal revealed, taken the edge and intensity out of their football.

That's why head coach Steve Clarke was keen to start discussing future targets after this defeat. And those targets begin with an immediate challenge to these players to hit 50 Premier League points for the first time before next season adding the one entry missing from Albion's log book of this modern era – a serious, major cup challenge.

Albion's mid-table security may be a little dull but it has some serious advantages, of course. With survival never in doubt, new sporting and technical director Richard Garlick has been able to get on with the planning for what promises to be a busy summer of personnel changes.

It's a big challenge for Albion to get even better within the club's natural restraints but the word is that "interesting" targets are already on the list. What's more, with the stadium expansion halted and oodles of cash coming in from the new media deal, even famously-cautious chairman Jeremy Peace must concede the club can do a bit of business without risking the sober financial planning which has taken Albion this far.

All positive stuff and all influenced by the momentum with which Albion finish this season – which brings us back to this curious cameo against the Gunners.

Clarke returned to his tried and trusted planning for the game – "whenever we have played the big teams we have started with one up front this season" – and left Romelu Lukaku on the bench. This was tactical, he insisted, and nothing to do with the domestic difficulties entangling the player's family back in Belgium.

But the change in urgency, mood and attacking threat when the rampaging Lukaku did make his entrance just after the hour left The Hawthorns pining for what could have been.

Of course, it must be acknowledged by then the game was set to its course. Albion had been neat and highly competent beforehand but without truly threatening Arsenal; the visitors, however, had taken what seemed an unshakeable grip with two splendid goals by Tomas Rosicky.

The first owed much to Gervinho twisting and turning Gareth McAuley into submission to set up the chance, but the second saw Rosicky escape all markers to hit a stunning volley that Ben Foster could only parry back into his path for a simple finish. Fifty minutes gone, two-down.

At that point, Arsenal had a lead to protect and Albion only one target to pursue – to try to rescue something, anything from the afternoon. Whether it was this which flipped the game on its head or Clarke's more emboldened attacking set-up as he turned to his substitutes but, revitalized by Lukaku's support for a previously-isolated Shane Long, Albion were suddenly a different team – and so were Arsenal.

We have read much about the Gunners' brittle defending this season and The Hawthorns saw it come to the surface as the game changed in mood and tempo. Per Mertesacker had already pushed his luck by bringing down Long before a second offence on 70 minutes led to the red card and penalty – converted by James Morrison – which brought Albion within striking distance of Arsene Wenger's team.

How they did not land a blow to at least claim equality was a source of mystery and frustration. But one by one, the chances came and went, McAuley, Morrison, Lukaku and Long all failing.

Oh what might have been. The ambition now must be to make sure we are not saying the same about the entire season in a few weeks time.

By Martin Swain