Category Archives: Match Reports

What happened to the FA Cup? A post mortem

Posted by JJ (Tony) in Match Reports, News, Other, Reflections and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wigan Athletic have enjoyed some unforgettable moments in the FA Cup. My fondest memory remains a trip to Maine Road to play European Cup Winners Cup holders Manchester City, in January 1971. A fine Man City footballing team full of household names like Bell, Summerbee, and Young, playing against non-league Wigan. There were more than 45,000 people there that day, estimates of 20,000 of them traveling from Wigan. Those were the days of Geoff Davies as Latics’ centre forward. Signed from Northwich for £800, Geoff scored five hat tricks in his first three months, ending up with 42 goals for the season. Latics were unlucky to be losing 1-0 to a Colin Bell goal after 83 minutes following a bad goal kick from their admirable goalkeeper, Dennis Reeves. He had split his boot but apparently did not want to lose his concentration by stopping the play. You can see it here. In the last minute, Geoff Davies had a superb header pawed onto the post by the excellent Joe Corrigan. An unlucky ending for Gordon Milne’s  Latics team whose performance brought great pride to its supporters.

I also recall watching Latics play Leeds United in the sixth round of the FA Cup in 1987. It was a scrappy affair played at a windswept Springfield Park. Sixth round remains the furthest Latics have reached in the FA Cup. When I was a little kid my Dad would talk about the epic cup ties with First Division Newcastle United in the 1953-54 season, with Latics drawing away 3-3 and being on the side of unfortunate refereeing decisions in the 2-3 reverse in the replay. That was the same season a crowd of 27,526 watched them beat non-league Hereford at Springfield Park. The figure remains a record home crowd for Wigan Athletic and also a record for two non-league teams playing at a non-league ground.

Then things changed. In the summer of 1999, Manchester United were given the opportunity to withdraw from the FA Cup for the 1999-2000 season. The reason was political: the FA wanted them to take part in the World Club Championship in Brazil. Alex Ferguson was later quoted “I regretted it because we got nothing but stick and terrible criticism for not being in the FA Cup when really, it wasn’t our fault. The FA and the government felt that playing in this tournament would help England’s bid to host the 2006 World Cup. There was a lot of undue criticism – but it was a great two-week break.” United crashed out in the first round in Brazil, England would fail in their World Cup bid, but Ferguson’s team would go on to win the Premier League by an unbelievable 18 points.

The world’s oldest competition has never recovered from that. United’s withdrawal sparked a downward spiral. How sad it is these days to see Premier League clubs fielding weak teams, citing the overriding importance of their league position. Wigan Athletic’s FA Cup record since joining the Premier League has been less than impressive. They have won 3, drawn 4 and lost 6 in the FA Cup. Last week’s debacle at Swindon is the second time they have lost to a League 2 side, having been defeated 2-0 by Notts County at the DW Stadium in 2009-2010. They have not progressed beyond the fourth round since arriving in the Premier League.

I have read some really good articles on Latics fan sites about last week’s performance against Swindon. I commend those Latics fanatics for the way they have tried to provide a factual kind of report, rather than lambast the players involved. Being Latics fans we need to have thick skins, having been through the real lows of 9-1 and 8-0 defeats to London sides in recent years. However, capitulation to big clubs like Tottenham and Chelsea is one thing, but losing so badly to teams from League 2 twice in three years is hard to take. Roberto Martinez has a great knack of stressing the positives and this time he singled out the performances of Callum McManaman and Jordan Mustoe in the Swindon game. McManaman was excellent during the first half, although he faded out in the second. Mustoe did not look out of place, but hardly excelled. Apart from the goalkeeper the rest were truly mediocre. In the second half it looked like Latics were going through a training exercise, there being so little dynamism and commitment. Supposedly the team was composed largely of fringe players bursting to prove themselves and get into the first team. That certainly did not look the case. Frankly it looked like many of them did not care. The stats show that Latics committed 4 fouls, a long way from their season’s Premier League average of 13 per game. Despite only committing so few fouls they received 3 yellow cards. Hard stats to digest! Moreover if either team played the classier football it was almost certainly Swindon. Hats off to Di Canio for his approach, but let’s not forget they were aided and abetted by a lack of commitment by their opponents.

So what is it with Latics and the FA Cup these days? Although there were two young players in the starting lineup the rest were seasoned Premier League squad players. Did those fringe players really believe that a good performance could edge them back into the first team? If so why did we not visibly see more effort from them? Was it already in their heads that the result did not matter? I simply cannot fathom this. Following the Tottenham drubbing a group of players got together to offer traveling fans their money back. Given how low those players must have felt at the time it was a magnificent gesture. I wonder if the players who underperformed at Swindon would think in a similar way?

Latics need to decide what they want from the FA Cup and give their fans due notice. I feel sorry for the dedicated fans who traveled to Swindon to watch that match. What alternatives do Latics have if they remain in the Premier League next year and the FA Cup comes up once again? One is to put their strongest team on the pitch and actually try to win. Another is to do what they have done in recent years and frustrate their fans to the point of losing their support. A third is to play the development squad and not worry about the result. A  fourth is to seek FA approval to withdraw from the competition. Whatever the decision it is my view that the FA needs to take a look at how it can revive the world’s oldest football competition, so that teams like Wigan Athletic will once again treat it seriously.

Wigan Athletic 1 Sunderland 4: Scoreline deceives as Black Cats punish Latics

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News, Other and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We felt in our match preview that this was a tough time to play Sunderland, a revitalized side brimming with confidence after claiming Manchester City’s scalp on the weekend. Rarely will you see two strikes as sublime as those of Craig Gardner and James Vaughn in the same 90 minutes, and indeed it seemed everything went Sunderland’s way. But the scoreline, and headlines in most of today’s publications, paint a very false picture of a match Wigan had the better of, and should have put to bed before crucial decisions turned it upside down.

The first half was all Wigan — almost. Roberto turned a few heads with his stating lineup, resting the key duo of Victor Moses and Mohammed Diame; Albert Crusat and Ben Watson starting in their stead. The 3-4-2-1 formation that has yielded Latics best results this season was left intact. Steve Gohouri took Gary Caldwell’s position at the centre of the back three, while Dave Jones and Ronnie Stam continued as advanced wing-backs, protected by the mostly defensive central midfield pairing of James McCarthy and Ben Watson. Ahead of them, Crusat started inside left, Jordi inside right, and Rodallega up top — though such is the fluidity of this system that Jordi’s was more of a free-role, popping up left, right and center, with Ronnie Stam constantly overlapping him on the right wing.

It didn’t take long for Latics to carve out an opening, as Crusat sped down the left wing, crossing dangerously for Rodallega, narrowly beaten to the ball by John O’Shea. The passing and movement of the opening 20 minutes was hugely promising — possession at one point was 70% Wigan — although Antolin Alcaraz and Steve Gohouri foreshadowed the shambles of the second half with some risky misplaced passes around the penalty area.

Dave Jones was having his best game at left wing-back, and soon found himself in the box after fantastic interplay with Albert Crusat and Jordi Gomez. His left-footed shot beat Sunderland keeper Simon Mignolet, cannoned back to Ronnie Stam, who laid it off with class for Ben Watson. The midfielder lunged with his right foot striking the other post before Sunderland defenders scrambled the ball clear.

The bad luck would continue, with Albert Crusat limping off two thirds of the way through the second half after a neat and effective display. It appeared he had taken a knee to the ribs, but reports say the injury was actually to his back. He was struggling to breathe before his substitution. Here’s for a speedy recovery as he has impressed on his displays thus far.

Victor Moses replaced him and minutes later, Jones again created space for himself in the box, this time shooting for the near post. It produced the save of the game from Mignolet, who not only blocked the shot with a steel hand but recovered in time to deny the lurking Maynor Figueroa.

It looked a matter of time until Latics opened the scoring amid the swirling rain and wind, but then came a series of unfortunate refereeing decisions. First, the fourth official signaled for five minutes of injury time — a bit excessive despite earlier knocks to Bendtner, Cattermole, in addition to Crusat. Mike Dean then failed to award Latics a corner after Antolin Alcaraz’ heavily deflected shot ran past the touchline. So obvious was the corner that Simon Mignolet sprinted off his line and dove to try and divert the ball for a throw-in. Moments later, at the other end, Nicklas Bendtner went down surrounded by Latics players — probably hoping to run the remaining minute of time down — and was awarded a free-kick. Replays would show there was no foul, but Craig Gardner would take full advantage to score the most beautiful free-kick you are likely to see this season. In the sixth minute of injury time.

To say it knocked the stuffing out of Wigan would be an understatement. Latics went in search of an equalizer in the second half but found Sunderland’s defense as resolute as Man City did days earlier. James McLean, a former Latics transfer target last season who had looked dangerous all match, popped up with a headed second before Martinez threw on Conor Sammon for Ronnie Stam. The shape changed to something of a 3-4-3-1, with Rodallega and Moses out on the wings, Jordi floating, and Sammon as target. And it was one of Rodallega’s energetic runs cutting in from the left that resulted in a deflected goal for the Colombian. At 2-1 down and the crowd back in the game, it looked like Latics had the momentum to go on and equalize, perhaps win.

But things would get worse. Maynor Figueroa appeared to be tugged by Bendtner and stopped playing as the Dane continued his run down the right wing, feeding Sessegnon for the goal that killed the game. If it was a foul, it was another awful refereeing decision just as Latics were regaining momentum. If it was not a foul, Figueroa made a terrible mistake as he might have blocked the ensuing cross had he not stopped in his tracks. Camera angles on the replay were not tight enough to draw conclusions.

By the time the fourth went in, Latics’ back three were a mess. Gary Caldwell’s presence and leadership was clearly missed, and many will be hoping Emmerson Boyce is restored to the starting lineup in Gohouri’s stead for the next two games. That said, they were isolated, playing in torrential conditions, and everything Sunderland seemed to attempt was working. When a shot was frantically blocked at the top of the box, James Vaughn unleashed a thunderbolt of a strike that none of us — Ali Al-Habsi included — saw until the replay slowed it down for us. Sunderland won’t score two goals like his or Gardner’s again this season.

It’s worth mentioning that Latics did have chances to equalize and reduce the deficit, but lacked a killer edge. The game swung on two passages of play — the Jones-Watson double-post, and the series of events leading to Sunderland’s first goal.

Opinion

It is hard to take yet another match in which unfavourable refereeing heavily influenced the outcome. Add this latest disappointment to the treatment at Old Trafford, the points lost to Blackburn as a result of Gamst Pedersen’s illegal corner, a fixture list featuring all three newly promoted sides in the first three matches of the season and the traditional big four in a row over the Christmas period — and it really does appear a concerted effort to make sure little Wigan finally get relegated to make way for a more profitable team. Phil Dowd and Mike Dean are two of the league’s most experienced referees. Andre Marriner is no longer a rookie. Why are they making these sort of mistakes? Sure, our defense eventually fell apart, but anyone watching the match up until the first goal — which should not have stood — would have told you that Latics looked destined to win this match until that free-kick was given.

Player Ratings

Al Al-Habsi: 6.5 —  Not to blame for any of the goals.

Steve Gohouri: 5.5 — Almost gave away a goal in the first half. Didn’t make any glaring mistakes but his nerves had a negative effect on the other two centre-backs, who had been playing very well in recent times.

Antolin Alcaraz: 6 — Put the defense under pressure repeatedly with misplaced passes.

Maynor Figueroa: 6 — Had a decent first half, but stopped playing altogether in the buildup to the third goal, which was really the nail in the coffin. Was he fouled?

Ronnie Stam: 7 — Had a very good first half, making overlapping runs down the right wing. His deliveries were top quality — we could use more attacking players who can head the ball. Also had the coolness to lay the ball off to Watson for what was almost Latics first goal.

David Jones: 7 — His best attacking display, particularly in the first half, where his intelligent passing and interplay with Crusat and Gomez led to Latics two best chances. Unlucky not to be on the scoresheet. Unfortunately, he got caught in possession in the buildup to the second goal.

James McCarthy: 7.5 — He is becoming a quality defensive midfielder. His energy levels are great, he rarely gives the ball away. I personally miss the quality of his attacking play, but it was his midfield for most of the match.

Ben Watson: 6.5 — Showed his class and technique with some lovely cross-field balls, very unlucky to hit the post.

Jordi Gomez: 6.5 — Was at the heart of Latics best attacking work, but grew frustrated — the conditions didn’t help.

Albert Crusat: 7 — Quick, neat passer of the ball, had a good first half before being substituted for injury.

Hugo Rodallega: 7 — No clear chances, but got a deflected goal and caused problems for the Sunderland defense. More likely to score than Conor Sammon or Franco Di Santo.

Subs:

Victor Moses: 7 — Called into action earlier than expected, started where Crusat left off proving a handful. But Sunderland had too many men behind the ball.

Conor Sammon: 6 — Again all effort but no end product.

Better late than never: a look back at Chelsea, Liverpool and Man Utd results

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News and tagged with , , , , , ,

Having found ourselves internet-less during the festive period, we look back on two of the best performances of the season, and another the standard treatment from an intimidated referee at Old Trafford. Overall, a pleasing festive period during which Roberto’s team has started to show its real potential.

Wigan Athletic 1 Chelsea 1

The home side were more than a match for Chelsea, who had strung several wins together before this fixture. Daniel Sturridge scored a beautifully taken goal early in the second half against the run of play, but Latics persistence paid off when Petr Cech fumbled Rodallega’s shot straight to Jordi Gomez for the equalizer.

The Good:

The entire performance, but special mention to the tackling in midfield, defensive solidity, and Jordi for being in the right place at the right time at the end of a very tiring match.

The Bad:

Shame it couldn’t have been three points.

Player Ratings:

Ali Al-Habsi: 7; Antolin Alcaraz: 8.5; Gary Caldwell: 8; Maynor Figueroa: 8; Ronnie Stam: 7; Dave Jones: 7; James McCarthy: 8.8; Mo Diame: 7; Jordi Gomez: 7; Victor Moses: 8; Conor Sammon: 6

Wigan Athletic 0 Liverpool 0

After surviving an early period of intense pressure, Latics were unlucky not to take the lead. Ali Al-Habsi proved the savior with a penalty stop, but both teams might have gotten on the scoresheet in an exciting match.

The Good:

Jordi Gomez and Victor Moses looked absolute quality against a very good team. Sure, Liverpool played an attacking game, allowing them a bit more space on the break. But in their very different styles, they were outstanding. Maynor Figueroa put in an excellent defensive performance but also managed to get forward with some dangerous shooting. Ali Al-Habsi takes man of the match for his well earned clean sheet and penalty save.

The Bad:

Dave Jones is an excellent footballer, but not a left wing back. Time and time again, he was beaten for pace. Got better as the match went on, but surely Patrick Van Aanholt — so exciting when he made his first appearance against Everton back in autumn — will be considered for this position sooner than later.

Player Ratings:

Ali Al-Habsi: 9; Antonlin Alcaraz: 7.5; Gary Caldwell: 7.5; Maynor Figueroa: 8.5; Ronnie Stam: 8; Dave Jones: 6; James McCarthy: 8; Mo Diame: 8; Jordi Gomez: 8; Victor Moses: 8; Conor Sammon: 7

Manchester United 5 Wigan Athletic 0

Park Ji-Sung gave United an early lead after Patrice Evra skipped through Latics defense in the opening minutes of the game. Wigan passed the ball well, however, and went close through a couple excellent Ronnie Stam crosses before Conor Sammon was inexplicably sent off for colliding with Michael Carrick. The FA would later rescind the suspension, but that damage in this game was done. Berbatov went on to score a hat-trick, Phil Dowd would award a penalty for a foul that occurred outside the box, and the game would finish 5-0.

The Good:

Ronnie Stam’s crossing when the game was still 11 vs. 11. He delivered three or four delicious crosses from the right wing that had Hugo Rodallega’s name all over them. Unfortunately, Hugo was not on the field and Conor Sammon was unable to make contact.

The Bad:

Unlike the previous two matches against Chelsea and Liverpool, Latics’ midfield pressure was absent, and they let United play. Once again the team was afraid of United, which is a shame, because both Chelsea and Liverpool had fielded stronger lineups against us. Conor Sammon should never have been sent off but would likely have been substituted anyway. He will always endear himself to the Latics faithful with his hard-working displays, but he appears to need an extra touch to get his shot away, and does not look comfortable attacking Stam’s crosses with his head. That said, it was the referee that killed this tie.

Player Ratings:

Ali Al-Habsi: 6; Antolin Alcaraz: 6; Gary Caldwell: 6; Maynor Figueroa: 7; Ronnie Stam: 7; Dave Jones: 6; James McCarthy: 6; Mo Diame: 6; Jordi Gomez: 6; Victor Moses: 7; Conor Sammon: 5 (Franco Di Santo: 5)

West Brom 1 Wigan Athletic 2: Moses arrives as defensive lions roar

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News, Other and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Three points of solid gold were obtained on Saturday as Latics clung on for a second consecutive 2-1 away victory in the Premier League. After the comprehensive home hammering by Arsenal it was clear what needed to happen on the training ground during the week, and the Latics delivered with a courageous, chest-thumping, steel-willed defensive performance.

On any other day, West Brom might’ve scored three or four, amassing 13 corners and 23 goal attempts over the course of 90 minutes. The pressure began early, with Chris Brunt, Shane Long and Jerome Thomas all going close, and Ali Al-Habsi back to his best with an instinctive reflex save. If you haven’t read The Guardian’s excellent profile on Ali, please do so here. Having survived the early onslaught, however, Wigan grew in confidence, gaining possession and making occasional forays into West Brom territory. Victor Moses created some space only to drag a tame shot wide, while David Jones willed his way through two or three defenders but failed to get a shot away. The match was turning, and Latics were the more comfortable side when Gary Caldwell was adjudged to have pulled Peter Odemwingie down outside the box. While most of us watched Chris Brunt and his hammer of a left boot, Steven Reid planted a stunning right-footed curler past Al-Habsi and into the upper left corner.

Wigan were stunned and had to keep their focus to avoid conceding again, but only several minutes later a quick break saw Mohammed Diame in space down the left wing. The man with the longest legs on the pitch intelligently drove a low ball into the box, causing a bit of panic, eventually falling to Victor Moses who beautifully curled it into the top right corner. The coolness and precision that has so far eluded him arrived in all its glory. You could see what it meant to him as he wheeled away in delight.

The feeling at half-time was that West Brom were there for the taking, and Wigan started the second half strongly, with Jordi Gomez moving the ball well in midfield, Conor Sammon putting himself about up front, and Moses electric. It was the latter who won the crucial penalty, spinning inside the area a second too quickly for hero-to-villain Steven Reid, whose outstretched leg tripped the Wigan man. It was a near carbon copy of the winner at Sunderland, as Jordi Gomez calmly tucked away his third goal in four games, and his second from the spot.

What followed was a relentless onslaught and aerial bombardment, with West Brom’s fine wing play resulting in what seemed like a cross a minute. But Latics defense, so maligned for their capitulation against Arsenal, delivered their finest performance of the season, channeling the spirit and solidity of the survival run of last season. Strengthened by the return of Antolin Alcaraz but led by the outstanding pair of Gary Caldwell and Maynor Figueroa, they were nothing short of heroic.

On the break, Victor Moses’ trickery and Conor Sammon’s raw pace were causing problems. On one occasion, the Nigerian international broke from midfield, and having spotted the keeper of his line, attempted an audacious chip from about 25 yards out. Foster would recover, but it was the kind of arrogant attempt that has been lacking from Moses’ play, a truly promising sign from a player for whom the sky is the limit. Minutes later, he would go for glory again, when he might’ve passed to Conor Sammon, who had gotten himself in a good position at the top of the box.

Few Latics fans will have had much of their fingernails left to chew by the time Steven Reid hit the wall with an identically placed free-kick in stoppage time, but Latics resilience and sheer determination in this one, and Moses’ outstanding contribution made this the most gratifying match of the season.

The Good:

Most everything. The defence, including Ali Al-Habsi, and Victor Moses deserve all the praise in the world. Maynor Figueroa edges our man of the match award, for which there were  many candidates, delivering an all heart performance on the left side of the three man defense. In midfield, Jordi Gomez not only took his penalty as if Latics were 4-0 up and in the top half of the table, his passing was also intelligent and effective in the spells during which Latics controlled possession. Conor Sammon worked his socks off as always, but also looked dangerous on the break and should have been given the chance by Victor Moses to finish the game off. A match to inspire pride.

The Bad:

Antolin Alcaraz’s injury. After missing three matches through suspension, reports suggest he may be out until the new year with cracked ribs. He too, was outstanding in defence until his withdrawal, and will be sorely missed in the crucial tough matches ahead. Steve Gohouri looked a bit wobbly in possession when he came on, and will need to be at his best to fill the Paraguayan’s boots.

A Neutral Would Say

Huge defensive effort helped Latics edge this one, West Brom probably deserved a point.

Player Ratings

Al Al-Habsi: 8 —  Made several impressive saves and couldn’t be faulted for the goal.

Antolin Alcaraz: 8 — Very strong performance, and comfortable on the ball. His passing and distribution is the best of the centre-backs.

Gary Caldwell: 8.5 — Outstanding, commanding performance from the captain. Defending crosses suits him better than one on one situations. A bit unlucky to have been punished for giving away the free-kick that led to the goal, but made up for it.

Maynor Figueroa: 9 — He hasn’t had his strongest season, but was at his very best this week on the left side of the back three. Great to see him succeeding in the new formation.

Ronnie Stam: 6.5 — Less present in attack than in previous outings, but worked hard. Jerome Thomas gave him a hard time.

David Jones: 7 — Decent performance, particularly in the first half, with hard work and solid passing.

Mo Diame: 7 — Broke well and supplied a good cross for the first goal. Otherwise, worked hard in midfield without doing anything fancy.

James McCarthy: 7 — Solid, earned a free-kick in a dangerous position with a driving run, of which we’d love to see more.

Jordi Gomez: 7.5 — Passed the ball well, helped Latics retain possession in spells. Earned a silly yellow card for waving an imaginary card at the ref, but was influential in midfield. Latics do lack pace on his side when he plays, particularly when Ronnie Stam is pinned back by opposing wingers, but his contribution was important.

Victor Moses: 8.5 — Scored a brilliant goal, won a penalty, and troubled West Brom all afternoon. Congratulations to him, and may it be the first of many more this season.

Conor Sammon: 7.5 — Worked tirelessly and broke with pace on a couple occasions in the second half. Isn’t doing anything wrong, but still hasn’t really had any chances. What a shame Moses didn’t spot him to put the nail in the coffin on that second half break.

Subs:

Steve Gohouri: 7 — To come on as a defensive replacement in a game this tough was a tough ask. He did look nervous with the ball at his feet, but did enough to keep West Brom out. Latics will need him to be at his best in the next few games (unless Emmerson Boyce takes his place).

James McArthur: 6 — Came on for Ronnie Stam, and struggled a little bit to get into a very fast-paced game.

Franco Di Santo: 7 — Came on for Conor Sammon, exhibited his usual good work ethic, and held the ball up well when he needed to buy the Latics a few seconds of respite. A bit lucky to be on the bench, he has rarely let the team down this season.

Wigan Athletic 0 Arsenal 4: Deflating afternoon as Latics get a drubbing

Posted by Ned in Match Reports, News, Other and tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

From the moment the lineup for Arsenal’s midweek Carling Cup match against league leaders Manchester City was announced, things looked grim for Wigan in this fixture. Wenger rested just about all of his key players against the billionaire sky blues only to unleash them fresh against second-from-bottom Wigan. It was a statement of intent from Wenger, whose focus is clearly on the Premier League this season. DW Stadium has after all, proven a tricky place for the Gunners. Latics twice came from behind in spectacular fashion to deny Arsenal in the previous two fixtures, drawing 2-2 last year and winning thrillingly 3-2 the year before. Further back, Latics fans will fondly remember Paul Scharner giving the team their first win over a “big four” team in the Carling Cup.

Despite all this, Latics started very, very well, moving the ball quickly, pressuring high, with a spring in their step after a couple of back-to-back non-defeats. It all could have been so different if Jordi Gomez had found the net when, after excellent buildup play, a David Jones cross was tipped into his path. But it wasn’t to be, and moments later a completely unmarked Mikel Arteta swerved a shot past Ali Al-Habsi, only for Thomas Vermaelen to make it two within a minute, heading from a corner. And that was basically it.

Gervinho and Van Persie would pad the score but, save for an excellent effort from outside the box by Mo Diame that might’ve changed things, the game was over when the second goal went in. Latics fell apart in all senses of the word, and despite a couple rare attacks and a decent penalty shout, it was always more likely Arsenal would score a fifth than Latics mounting any sort of comeback.

The Good:

The first 20-25 minutes. Passing the ball crisply and confidently, relatively organized at the back, they weren’t just playing well “for Wigan” they looked a better team than Arsenal.

Ronnie Stam. The new system has allowed Ronnie to play his natural position as a wing-back. It’s like having a new signing. He was again involved with most of Latics good attacking play, and showed energy and desire throughout the match.

The Bad:

This writer had high hopes that the new tactical system with three centre halves would get the best out of Gary Caldwell. He did well against Sunderland. But his lack of pace is cruelly exposed every time we play a team in the top half of the table. He was really poor. You expect him to be beaten for pace by players like Gervinho and Walcott, but he was outjumped by Vermaelen for the crucial second goal as well. If you are going to have a slow centre half you would at least hope for aerial dominance. Steve Gohouri, wobbly all season, was also poor and lucky to stay on the pitch after clearly hauling Gervinho down in the box. Alcaraz’s welcome could not come sooner, ditto Emmerson Boyce.

Less bad, but increasingly worrying is the form of Ali Al-Habsi. His mistake last week against Sunderland was forgiven after he kept Latics in the game with a string of sensational reflex saves. Conditions at the DW were extremely windy on Saturday, but he will have been disappointed with his positioning on Arteta’s opening goal. He only made one mistake that led to a goal last season (Man City, away). He’s already made three this term (QPR, Sunderland, Arsenal).

A Neutral Would Say

Wigan started brightly but were comprehensively beaten by an Arsenal team clicking on all levels.

Player Ratings

Al Al-Habsi: 6 —  Arteta’s goal was the result — in equal measures — of poor marking, windy conditions, and Ali’s positioning.

Steve Gohouri: 5 — Poor. Gave away a clear penalty (clear to all but the referee) and might have been sent off for it. Generally shaky.

Gary Caldwell: 4 — Struggles against the top players. No acceleration. Hasn’t been the same since the hip operation.

Maynor Figueroa: 6 — The best of the defenders.

Ronnie Stam: 7.5 — Involved in the best of the Latics attacking play, showed desire.

David Jones: 6 — Isn’t a natural wing-back but is doing alright there. His cross in the first half should have resulted in a goal. Either Sammon, or Jordi Gomez from the resulting rebound, could have scored.

Mo Diame: 7 — The only midfielder who is consistently comfortable against top quality opposition. He can tackle, dribble and pass the ball. Had a good strike in the second half that went just wide.

James McCarthy: 5.5 — Worked hard as always but didn’t contribute much from an attacking perspective. It was Mikel Arteta’s midfield on Saturday.

Jordi Gomez: 6 — Might have scored when the game was in the balance. Don’t remember much else of his contribution.

Victor Moses: 6 — Bright in Latics opening 20 minutes, but was kept fairly quiet.

Conor Sammon: 6 — Also useful in first 20 minutes, then chased shadows for the rest of the afternoon.

Subs:

Franco Di Santo: 6 — Did Ok.

Albert Crusat: 7 — Lively.

James McArthur: 6 — Game was over by the time he came on.