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Team News: Arsenal vs Wigan

Tonight is yet another cup final in the chase for third place as we play host to Wigan at the Grove.

Three points tonight would give us an 8 point advantage over 4th place Spurs not to mention giving us the opportunity to make our tally insurmountable for Chelsea should be beat them at the weekend, ultimately giving us one less team to worry about.

However despite the Latic`s lowly league position, the Pie Eaters are playing some good stuff under the watchful eye of the ever likable Roberto Martinez, indeed a well deserved victory over the Champions elect last time out should be enough to make the Gunners sit up and take notice.

We need to take this game seriously, and we need to win.

Let`s see who`s been given the chance to bring home the spoils.

Arsenal:
Chesney
Sagna
Djourou
Vermaelen
Santos
Arteta
Song
Rosicky
Walcott
Benayoun
van Persie

Substitutes:
Fabianski
The Ox
Ramsey
Gervinho
Chamakh
Squillaci
Gibbs

Wigan:
Al Habsi
Alcaraz
Caldwell
Boyce
Figueroa
McCarthy
Moses
Gomez
McArthur
Beausejour
Di Santo

Substitutes:
Pollit
Stam
Watson
Jones
Diame
McManaman
Sammon

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Writer: Rocky7

Date:Monday April 16 2012

Time: 7:36PM

Your Comments

Off to consume copius amount of Guinness and watch the game! Up The Arsenal.

Rocky7

They need to play this game like their life depends on a win.

Armory

Please please please dont ***** up.

Sajit

Lets go Arsenal.

Arseniger

Okay to play Wigan with respect but don't show them much respect. We should impose our game and get a good win.

Naijagunner

I hate games played during the week with the exception of Champions League. Hope some can post updates on this site.

Arseniger

*someone

Arseniger

faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

Sajit

Extra ordinary start for Wigan. 0-2! Well, it's game on and we look shell shocked. It is that too much respect factor playing out in their heads, plus Fergie's mind games perhaps.

Naijagunner

0-2 down.. Brilliant. Mother ******** morons.

Sajit

Ramsey wasn't warmed up enough, it will seem and Theo needs to do more. The keeper will choose tonight to have his "best game", I'll imagine. We need to calm down and believe.

Naijagunner

Is it Djourou not helping out or his mistakes?

Arseniger

GOAL!!! lets go arsenal. We need to equalize before the break

Arseniger

Sagna/Theo not having a good game. Wigan are doing their best to break up our momentum but we need to be even, at the least, by half time. We keep getting caught on counters.

Naijagunner

10 men behind goal. Hitting on the break. We are dropping points. :(

Sajit

I would hvae never believed it if you told me Sagna would be responsible for 2 goals.

Sajit

If that team doe's not come out in second half with totally different attitude then we don't deserve anything from this game. One of my biggest problems with the manager is that he often fails to get the team properly motivated. Tactical preparation is good but sometimes you need to get out there and be prepared to die.

Armory

No reason why we don't beat this Wigan side. I would think it is more of a psychological problem than an attitude one (bar Theo). We have to keep going and throw everything at them. I hope Ramsey is warmed up now.

Naijagunner

Why is Theo so unsure with the ball at his feet?

Naijagunner

I thought Benayoun was doing well, really. Why take him off for gervinho, if you must?

Naijagunner

Can't have two defensive liabilities on the wings.

Naijagunner

We are so *****ed tonight.

Sajit

We are not playing our patient game.

Naijagunner

We need to find a lift from somewhere; the fans maybe. Gervinho guilty of losing possession, vitally so. This isn't looking good tonite.

Naijagunner

Oh well.. So Arsenal of letting Spurs back to 3rd spot.

Sajit

Wigan are one of the teams Id like to see in Premiership. Glad that Arsenal are doing their best to give them 3 points.

Sajit

Braces for the Sp*rs invasion.....

Sajit

FAAAAAAAAAACKING GET THE FAAAACK IN!!!!! OH I LOVE YOU WIGAN!!! THAT WAS JUST WHAT I NEEDED!!!!! SWEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTT!!!!

Henry Baker Brown

Out played and out fought at our own home. Anyone still making fun of the spuds loosing to Norwich? I wonder what the excuse is going to be. Cant be tiredness Wigan also played midweek. If this does not show we are in need of 2 or three world class players then nothing will, we are asking to much of the few top quality players we have. RVP, Sagna, TV and co cant carry the team all year and Walcott was again the invisible man, overrated by a margin IMHO.

Armory

HBB enjoy you lot will bottle it again and again and again we on the other hand have reached the bottom for us the only way is up.

Armory

After the ****e you lads were posting on VMC after your win, I can't resist. Ha Ha Ha. Clowns

rojo2010

Listen to the game We were not at the races today at all. Very disappointed.

hackneyval

This was always going to go to the wire. Take heart in the fact that our 3 fit defenders for the remainder of the season are Gallas, King and Ryan Nelsen. Or as they are more commonly known as...Last Of The Summer Wine

HuddersfieldYiddo

I'm still making fun of spuds losing to Norwich, but not as much as the molestation they took yesterday. We are still in the driver's seat for third and the spuds are headed towards sixth, so I'm not to worried about today's wobble.

elbondo

Here we go again.

Naijagunner

I agree with HY- it's going to the wire. I think we'll take it, but it's not over until it's over, and that's why I don't gloat over at VS like Henry Baking Brownies in my Pants.

elbondo

Oh really, you'll be *****ting yourself now because we have a game in hand and an easier run in. Same old Arsenal bottlers. They shouldn't be playing an Elvis track when the scum come in: It should be "Send in the Clowns". Fcking useless bottler scum

Henry Baker Brown

where was walcott whenever we were hit by counter attacks? staying up front ball watching & waiting for his glorious moment like he always does "because he is a striker". wigan defended very well & yossi should not have came off. it should be walcott because he could never unlock deep defending teams with his one dimensional run. djourou positioning was poor and he made the defense panic. santos has not convinced anyone yet on his defensive abilities. ramsey was his usual lackadaisical style. everytime he got the ball, he would feint a move to the left, then to the right and then fake a forward pass before finally passing sideway to the nearest person. for the rest, at least they fought

Joe_@**

Sorry, what was that Elbellendo? Brooohahahahaha!!

Henry Baker Brown

Wal(unt should not be starting in this team. He is so amazingly bad it's just not funny anymore. And that was quite possibly Bacary's worst ever performance for us, but those days are at least rare. Poor defending for the first goal combined with having Arteta caught out in the middle and unable to chase back from our corner kick. And why does Benayoun get subbed (our best player on the night) while once again the untouchable Wal(unt plays the full 90 after being a waste of space all night?

Will-i-am10

Oh and if I see Ramsey do another fancy flick (when basic passing skill eludes him) I am going to fly over there and flick both of his ears!

Will-i-am10

Once we shot ourselves in the foot twice in the first 10 minutes it was always going to be a very difficult task against a very well organised and spirited Wigan side. Our best chances came in the first half, completely ran out of ideas in the second half. We needed to take a few more shots instead of trying to thread balls through but they really didn't give us much time on the ball. Just need to look forward to the next game against Chelsea and make sure we get 3 points. Koscielny will be back and hopefully Arteta as well. We completely lacked the balance in midfield without Arteta. Sagna had a poor game and Walcott is non-existetnt as he usually is against teams who defend deep. Credit to Wigan and Martinez, they had a game plan and made the most of their opportunities.

bowiecokemirror

well, well, well , same old shat different club , as homer would say " DOH "

ledleygomez

its game on now

123spurs

Lets hope you give the rentboys the stuffing they deserve. Di Matteos luck is surely gonna run out.

HuddersfieldYiddo

I wonder if *****ney still thinks you're going to claim second.

SkyBlueSuedeShoes

Arteta will be out a while, it will seem. Bad ankle sprain. I thought Wigan defended brilliantly, like a well drilled side. Did anyone else notice how they ensured tha Song had little time to give those his balls over the top and even where he managed one, they always had men to head the ball away from danger? I feel Wenger has to pick the games in which Theo starts and these are typically, games where the full backs like to go forward and against sides who won't have 10 men in defense. In fairness, we got caught when Arteta was out and we couldn't have Ramsey on early enough. Like I noted earlier, he looked unprepared for the early appearance. We were not out played, maybe out thought though.

Naijagunner

I see people are still singeling out JD and ramsey for bad performance when infact it was Sagna, Walcott and to some exstent the pole in the goal that let us down. JD did not do much wrong and Ramsay came on after we had conceded the 2 goals, it was the tipical Arsenal performance when the team is not motivated enough to fight and scrap for each other for the full 90 min.

Armory

Prits, I owe you an apology mate. I gave you a bit of a shoeing for your pessimism leading up to last nights game, but fair play, you were right & I was wrong. I really, really didn't see that result coming, but you are still in the box seat, we have QPR at Loftus next & we all know what a different animal they are at home, fecking strong. They have the likes of ex Spurs Zamora & Taarabt who'll want to put one over us plus Hughes doesn't have a great record against us as a manager so he'll be desperate to redress the balance. It'll be very difficult for us to catch you or even hold onto 4th.

Despite what the pundits might think, this is not like our last semi defeat to Pompey where we went on a run to secure 4th in 2010, then we weren't in the same type of slump as now, but then hey, who knows what might happen. I'm not expecting anything, but hoping for everything. I'd rather be in your position with the points on the board rather than ours trying to catch up.

Spuds-U-Like

One of the galling things about last nights result was the fact that Alex Ferguson predicted it. He warned us about the 'wigan wobble' but im not sure we were really listening. Wigan arrived at our gaff last night having beaten all of the top teams and yet I still thought we were unprepared for them and surprised by the level of commitment. I didnt really understand the persistence with Walcott when craft rather than speed was required on the wings. And the removal of Benayoun was, I thought, a mistake. Both Theo and Gervinho seem currently incapable of muscling their way past opponents. The rest of the team tried hard enough but the early goals gave Wigan something to really fight for. a gutting result but the lads need to forget this and focus on the next game.

Wyn Mills

Felt sorry for Rosicky who was all over the pitch putting in 110%. If we hadn't lost Arteta I feel we might have found a way through eventually. Our best chance came and went I think when Santos interrcepted the cross destined for Vermaelen which I'm positive Thomas would have buried.

Wyn Mills

Has anyone else questioned why at 0-0 in the first 10 minutes of the game did we have the whole team up for an offensive corner and left little to no cover at the back to deal with Wigan's counter attack? We played that first 10 mins like it was the last 10 mins of a game we were losing !! My Saturday amateur team doesn't make mistakes like this how can a huge club like Arsenal not know it? Wenger you astound us sometimes.

Will-i-am10

It doesn't feel good to be proven right in this case, SUL. It was always going to be tricky, and one of those games where you have to admit that the other team outplayed us. No shame in that. When we needed an equaliser, al Habsi had nothing to do in the 2nd half. Wigan organised themselves well and we couldn't find a way through. Disappointed, but I hope the lads pull themselves up with a win against Chelsea. 4th place is not done yet, and we need to keep up the focus.

prits

Prits, we need a massive favour from you boys against the Chavs & also hope that Pepperami & Palacios can do over the barcodes for their old club. Not bothered about catching you lot now, just want that 4th spot.

Spuds-U-Like

Please guys play against us as you did against Wigan. We need the three points more than you do.

Gian-Franco/Luca

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Writer: Rocky7

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