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Date: Sun 18 April 2010
Teams: Wigan v Arsenal
Venue: DW Stadium

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Campbell, Silvestre, Clichy, Walcott, Eastmond, Diaby, Nasri, Rosicky, Bendtner

Wigan: Kirkland, Melchiot, Gohouri, Bramble, Figueroa, Rodallega, Diame, Watson, McCarthy, N’Zogbia, Moreno

Match Review:
Wigan hosted Arsenal at the DW Stadium in the early kick-off on Sunday in a match that would see Arsenal looking to keep their outside title chances alive and Wigan looking to gain any points which could help them on their quest to separate themselves from the relegation battle. After Chelsea lost to Tottenham on Saturday, Arsenal supporters would have realised that a victory against Wigan would have seen them narrow the gap with the leaders to just three points. Arsenal made four changes from the side that lost to Spurs midweek, with Fabianski replacing the injured Almunia, Silvestre coming in for the injured Vermaelen, Eastmond starting for the injured Denilson and Walcott being preferred to Eboue.

Early on in the match, it was evident that Arsenal still had heavy legs and probably a few bad memories still from the recent losses to Barcelona and Tottenham, as Wigan very much started on the front foot. Moreno and Rodallega were causing problems for the back four of Arsenal and they didn’t look very confident with Fabianski deputising in net either. Arsenal’s first real chance came about midway through the first half when Campbell connected with a Theo free kick but his header went just wide. Shortly after Diaby played through Walcott but when it looked like a shot would have been the better option, Theo decided to play the ball back into a crowded box instead and it was cleared. Just before half, however, Bendtner was able to steal the ball away from Bramble and played the ball over to Walcott who danced his way into the box and slid the ball past Kirkland to give Arsenal the lead going into the break.

The second half started with immediate action as Ben Watson was clipped by Nasri in the Arsenal box with only a few minutes gone by but referee Lee Mason waved away the penalty shouts. At the other end, a Nasri corner was met by an unmarked Silvestre and the Frenchman headed past a diving Kirkland to give Arsenal a two goal advantage. Following that goal the pace dropped a bit and both sides looked to be cruising towards the expected result on the afternoon, an Arsenal victory. With about ten minutes left, however, substitute Victor Moses beat Sagna on the right and drive a ball into the box which was slammed home by Watson to give Wigan a chance to get back into the match.

The goal seemed to give the Wigan players and supporters a big lift and all the pressure was being applied by Wigan following that. Wigan thought they were level a few minutes later when Watson headed goalwards from a corner but Nasri was on the line to clear. A few minutes later Wigan were level though when Fabianski failed to catch a corner and the ball dropped on Titus Bramble’s head and trickled into the net. It was a poor mistake by the Arsenal keeper.

Shocked by his side’s inability to hold on to a two goal advantage, Arsene Wenger brought on van Persie in search of a late winner but much to everyone’s surprise the winner that did come minutes later was at the other end of the pitch. After some good footwork and some poor Arsenal defending on the edge of the box, Charles N’Zogbia unleashed a rocket into the top corner to gain Wigan the unlikeliest three points after being 2-0 down after 80 minutes.

41′ [0 - 1] T. Walcott
48′ [0 - 2] M. Silvestre
80′ [1 - 2] B. Watson
89′ [2 - 2] T. Bramble
90′ [3 - 2] C. N´Zogbia

Player Ratings:
Fabianski – 5
With the disastrous performance at Porto still likely in the back of his mind, Fabianski had an opportunity to put those memories behind him with a solid performance this afternoon in replace of the injured Almunia. While Fabianski didn’t have much to do for the first 80 minutes, he had to pluck the ball out of his net three times in the last ten minutes. While there really wasn’t anything he could have done for the first and third goals, the second goal clearly has to be marked down as a keeper error, as he should have at least punched the ball clear if he had any doubts about catching it.

Sagna – 6.5
I guess the one thing you can say about Sagna is that his performances are consistent. I don’t think he really ever stands out as a star player but also rarely can be excused as the one making any mistakes. I still think with a team like Arsenal that relies so much on keeping the ball on the ground and using the width of the pitch, a player like Eboue sometimes offers more at the right back position.

Campbell – 7
After putting in a star performance at White Hart Lane midweek, you had to worry whether Campbell’s legs would be up for this match. I thought he played well again and tried to lead by example as Arsenal’s stand-in captain. I was surprised by his pace a couple times this afternoon. I wonder what sort of role Campbell will play next season at Arsenal?

Silvestre – 6
Well, Silvestre scored a goal but he was also at the heart of a defence that conceded three in the final ten minutes. I really don’t want to harp on about the merits of Silvestre being one of the centre backs that we have come to rely on so I will just say let’s hope Arsene will be looking to strengthen at this position in the summer.

Clichy – 7
Another relatively good performance from Clichy. It is hard to know who to point fingers at when you concede three in the final ten minutes but I don’t Clichy did much wrong on the afternoon. He continues to look more comfortable going forward and was sharp at the back most of the afternoon.

Walcott– 7.5 (Man of the Match)
Theo’s pace caused problems for the Wigan back four at times today. After a bit of a shaky start, he settled down a bit and made a few lovely runs in behind the Wigan defense, with one of them leading to the opening goal. I think the last couple weeks will have helped his England causes. The one thing I would like to see more of though is Walcott getting back on defense as well to help the backs.

Diaby – 7
A bit of a mixed bag from Diaby. While he made his usual strong runs through the middle of the park and played a few great through balls to Theo, I still think he needs to pose more of a threat around goal.

Eastmond – 7.5
I thought Eastmond looked strong in the centre of the park considering it has been a while since we last saw him in the side. He is strong in the challenge and looks comfortable with the ball at his feet. He is definitely one for the future.

Nasri – 7
Not the greatest performance from Nasri. I think he looked a little tired and possibly a little deflated as well after what Arsenal has had to endure over the past couple of weeks. You can definitely see that he misses the space that Fabregas creates for him when the pair play together.

Rosicky – 7
Better from Rosicky today. He was creative and looked to drop back to retrieve the ball in leading Arsenal forward. As with Diaby, I think we need to see more goals from Rosicky.

Bendtner – 6.5
Another off day for Bendtner this afternoon. I think he struggles at times with being the lone striker and he too easily gets isolated upfront. While he offers an option in the air going forward, with the ball at his feet Bendtner is definitely not the most clinical.

Substitutes:
Eboue – 7
Came on for Rosicky. I thought he was positive with his runs but he should have also been supporting the back four more when we had a lead to protect.

Merida – 7
Came on for Walcott. Looked sharp when he came on and played a few nice passing plays with Nasri. I wonder whether we will see Merida in an Arsenal shirt next year?

van Persie – n/a
Came on for Eastmond. After warming up most of the second half, you have to question why van Persie wasn’t brought on earlier to help shore up the lead.

Supporter’s Review:
There was good support from the travelling Gooners. Despite a difficult last ten days, the away section seemed to be full and the Arsenal supporters were definitely the louder for the first 80 minutes. The looks on some of the Arsenal supporters’ faces after Wigan scored the third really told the story though as there was a real mix of disappointment and surprise but also acceptance. There have been a number of ups and downs this season for Arsenal supporters but this was the match when I think all Arsenal supporters finally admitted that this season would again yield no silverware.

Manager’s Review:
Arsene was understandably very upset after the match. It was telling that he was now starting to talk about the team below us that can catch us versus the teams above us that only a few weeks ago we were in a position to catch. “I believe that we were not focussed and were not disciplined and we got caught. We were a bit unlucky as well but overall, in football you have to keep focussed for 90 minutes or you risk or a bit much, especially against a team who has nothing to lose and fights not to go down. They will not give up and in the end we were punished.”

I think a result like this will only further Wenger’s acceptance that Arsenal need to strengthen this summer. While he would not be drawn to pointing fingers following the match, he clearly must be worried about the number of mistakes he has seen in goal and in defence this year and the lack of ability to kill off games upfront when Arsenal jumped out to a lead. While I know van Persie is just coming back from injury, I think Wenger did the wrong thing by not bringing him on earlier to help hold onto possession upfront and potentially really kill off the match with a third goal.

Conclusion/Final Thoughts:
This was one of the most disappointing results of the season for Arsenal. While excuses could be made about tired legs after a disappointing midweek match against Tottenham or the current injury situation, the reality is that we were 2-0 up and we somehow managed to throw it all away in the final ten minutes. This was not the first time we had blown a 2-0 lead after a similar slip earlier in the season at Upton Park so as draw at 2-2 after taking a 2 goal lead. The lack of ability to kill off matches is really worrying. I don’t know if this is due to a lack of maturity or leadership or focus but there is always a sense when Arsenal take a lead that they are vulnerable. To be perfectly honest, when Wigan scored the first I was almost dead certain they would score another, although I couldn’t have imagined three unanswered. The worrying thing is that Arsenal always seem to play better when they are chasing a match and that really is a danger game to play too often.

Arsenal’s next match sees them welcome Manchester City to the Emirates. While Arsenal don’t really have much to play for this season, pride will be at stake and the Arsenal faithful will surely want to see a result against the side that will bring back Adebayor to the Emirates.

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