GAME ZETTE AND MATCH

Gunner serves up a double to fire Wenger’s men to seventh

IT IS true – Alexandre Lacazette can beat you every day of the week.

Each of Arsenal’s last seven home games has been on a different day from Monday to Sunday, and they have won the lot.

The Gunners came through the first instalment of three Btests in six days – Baggies, Borisov and Brighton – safely enough in the end.

But they were jammier than doughnuts for 45 minutes and needed a soft penalty before extending West Brom manager Tony Pulis’s “perfect” Premier League record at the Emirates: Played 10, lost 10.

The opener from £46million record signing Lacazette on 19 minutes was pure opportunism, his second from the spot, midway through the second half, cool as you like – and he should have had a hat-trick.

But this was not the sparkling Arsenal of old. They were lucky in the first half and wasteful after the break but seldom, if ever, has Arsene Wenger seemed more detached from the title race.

It is a measure of how far Arsenal have fallen when they are shunted around the TV schedules, and next stop is Belarus on Thursday night.

Wenger reckons the Champions League has lost some of its sparkle, but when the Gunners are traipsing home from the back of beyond later this week, he will not half miss it.

Arsenal were good value for maintaining their 100 per cent home record once Allan Nyom was punished for his clumsy challenge on Aaron Ramsey and Lacazette buried his fourth goal of the season. But climbing the table to seventh is nothing to shout about, and as their loyal patrons shuffled up the Holloway Road there was no air of triumphalism.

Pulis, that prince among purists, went into the game with a minus 17 goal difference from his previous nine visits to the Emirates.

And referee Bobby Madley can claim the assist for making that record worse.

Pulis was apoplectic as the Baggies were denied a penalty that was more cast-iron than your mum’s old frying pan after Jay Rodriguez was scythed down by Shkodran Mustafi in the box.

When Madley failed to blow, the West Brom striker reacted fastest, jumped to his feet and drilled his shot against a post.

But Madley found the pea in his whistle to penalise Jonny Evans’ more innocuous challenge on Mohamed Elneny on the edge of the Albion box.

And although Ben Foster did well to tip Alexis Sanchez’s freekick against the bar, Lacazette devoured the rebound from close range.

By this stage, Pulis was on the brink of spontaneous combustion, and his suspicions that Lady Luck is a Gooner were reinforced when Nacho Monreal made a miraculous goal-line clearance to thwart the luckless Rodriguez.

Then Gareth Barry, making a record 633rd Premier League appearance, saw his far-post header clawed to safety by Petr Cech from former Arsenal fullback Kieran Gibbs’ volleyed cross.

Arsenal midfielder Ramsey said: “Alexandre Lacazette has made a fantastic start. He’s a fantastic player and we’re lucky to have him.”