Adebayor gets his just reward.
I came into into the match at the 39th min. Commentators didn’t seem too impressed with either team’s performance up to then. Baptista started on top with Adebayor. Finally. Made one great pass to spring Walcott who started for Hleb. Walcott’s square ball for Adebayor was cut out by the defense. Baptista looks like he is trying to find his game. He’ll need more starts.
Arsenal won this game because Wigan were lacking in finishing. Heskey especially should have scored on 61 min as Camara played him in alone. He scuffed his shot after ghosting past Toure. This would be the last serious threat from Wigan. Highlight replays showed two other excellent Wigan chances in the first 10 min. Other lesser clubs have scored these chances this season and we know that scenario all to well. Toure partnered with Djourou in central defense and for the most part this was a solid pairing. Clichy had some excellent crosses into the box but no one to attack the ball. Eboue was clearly on a leash with Walcott relied on to attack from the RW. Walcott will definitely need to bulk somewhat because he gets pushed off the ball too easily. He will also need to learn how to beat 3 defenders 
Fabregas and RVP came on for Walcott and Baptista in the 74th min. Fabregas’ introduction was crucial and he supplied the moment of brilliance that Arsenal needed to reward their second half pressure. He cleanly tackled the ball away from Camara in our half and then made the killer pass for Adebayor to run onto and slot cooly between Kirkland’s legs. Adebayor’s poor first touch ruined an earlier chance on 86 min from Fabregas that had put the striker through alone on goal. Morale of this story is Adebayor does better with balls he can run onto and he doesn’t have to control 
Memo to Wenger: Flamini is not in the same country as Fabregas let alone zip code. His attempts to release Adebayor were always just lacking. It’s OK though, we still appreciate the effort. We’re up to third with a well rested Portsmouth to come. We will have to play much better to beat them. Our quality won us this game in the end but only just barely.
MOTM: Fabregas in just under 16 min of work.
27 Responses to “Wigan 0 - 1 Arsenal”
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December 13th, 2006 at 8:14 pm
Hmm, it would be nice to get a report from someone who watched more than 51 minutes of the match, but you’re fairly accurate - although Baptista did not start up top with Adebayor, it was a 5-man midfield.
First half was drivel by the way, so you didn’t miss anything. Still, it was a decent result considering Gallas, Rosicky, Lauren, Hleb, Fabregas, Van Persie, Diaby, Lauren, and Henry did not start the match. That’s practically an entire team missing, which shows we do have great strength in depth.
You have to credit Adebayor too, his head never drops - with his attitude and work ethic he’s becoming a firm favourite with the fans.
December 13th, 2006 at 8:49 pm
relieved to see us win and secure three points
but a lot of the same old pit-falls…shite in front of goal (though a lil more trigger happy today) and prone to poor defensive organization and individual lapses in defence (clichy and tourre even!)
good to see a lil more width and penetration (mainly in second half via walcott and clichy…who also has excellent pace) though. well atleast a draw and a win on the road…something to build on
December 13th, 2006 at 10:22 pm
well did anyone notice the fact that ade takes a lot of shots or alf chances
before he scores and thats what worries me,and i still dont understand why baptista is so bad with his passing also he is not quick or alert enough to play in the arsenal set up,5\10.
walcott was invisibe in the first half,but had a decent second half.6\10
well for me the MOTM was kolo toure <9\10>,followed by silva <7.5\10> and then fabregas<8\10>.
ade wasted a lot of chances so inspite of a really good game i would like too give him only 7\10.
December 13th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
I was getting tires and alignment, so I was unavoidably late for the start. but your points are well taken. Wenger did his usual 4-5-1 against Wigan. I guess with that list of missing players, he felt he had to protect his back 4.
December 13th, 2006 at 11:33 pm
Hey, here’s a thought…
Instead of the negative comments, YOU could have posted a summary of the match?? wow… Brilliant!
Thank you cpta…
December 14th, 2006 at 12:25 am
Our long-held Game-in-Hand is now gone. Traded in for 3 points. Important result.
December 14th, 2006 at 1:21 am
I just can’t help giving the 19-year-old cameo the MOTM title.
He just made the difference after he’s coming off for Flamini.
But one thing to be concerned,
Is there any replacement for our brilliant Fabregas ??
Flamini is certainly not in the same world as Cesc.
December 14th, 2006 at 2:43 am
I think that as time progresses we will see these fininshing problems work themselves out. As a former player, it is obvious that Wenger is more concerned with the team cohesiveness then finishing at this point (meaning more midfield work, and less concentration on finishing). Still, the debacle with CSKA Moskva at the Grove looms in the background.
As the games gain importance it's key to realize that our chances must be taken. Especially with the Champions League games ahead - I see this as a potential problem, because the chances will lessen as teams become more defensive minded in the elimination round. I think that the players are looking to make one pass too many, understanding the old theory “you have to shoot in order to score” we need to take more shots! And when we do get a quality chance, we need to take advantage.
That said, a win is a win. And it doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile, three points is three points. Its just a little disheartening that we couldn't put two or three in against Wigan, they are not in top form at the moment. However, Adebayor has proved to be a capable replacement for Henry in the mean time, and hopefully we can continue to keep track of Chelski and ManURE. I would like to see Rosicky used in more games, I think he is the key to our problems regarding attacking midfield play, and he hasn't been used all that much so far.
Conclusion: 3pts is key, let's continue the form for Saturday's match against Portsmyouth, ITS NOT OVER YET! I think ManURE is bound to fall off (They haven't had any problems so far) and Chelski has a rougher road coming up…The Gunners can gain some ground in the next few weeks!
December 14th, 2006 at 3:31 am
Okay so I couldn’t really find a better place to post this, so sorry for the misplacement, but I cannot figure out how start my own topic so bear with me…
UEFA Released its coefficients for the possible matchups yesterday so here goes:
Lets just look at it from a prospective of Arsenal…
Here are the seeding based on the point coefficient (based on previous and current European success)…
1 Barcelona (ESP) 127.0pts
2 Real Madrid (ESP) 120.0
3 Inter Milan (ITA) 112.0+
4 Liverpool (ENG) 105.9*
5 Arsenal (ENG) 101.9*
6 Man Utd (ENG) 100.9
7 Valencia (ESP) 95.0*
8 Lyon (FRA) 89.7
Second seeds:
9 Porto (POR) 87.5
10 PSV Eindhoven (NED) 81.6
11 Bayern Munich (GER) 80.9
12 Chelsea (ENG) 79.9
13 Roma (ITA) 76.0+
14 Ajax (NED) 60.6*
15 Celtic (SCO) 60.0
16 Lille (FRA) 54.7
Arsenal could potentially play:
Inter Milan
Barcelona
PSV Eindhoven
AS Roma
Real Madrid
Celtic
Lille
Seeing that Barcelona are the highest seeded team to finish in second place, they will likely play the lowest seeded team to finish in first place. Since Chelsea are eliminated from the possibility, as well as Valencia, it seems that Barcelona will play Manchester United based on the numbers.
This Eliminates Barcelona from the list.
Liverpool has the highest coeficient of the teams to win its group, and if you go by the numbers they will likely play Lille, the lowest possible team.
This Eliminates Lille from the list.
If we look over Arsenal we realize that they are the second highest seeded team (regarding the coeficient) to win its group, meaning that they should be rewarded with the second lowest seed to finish second. This would leave the Gunners with Celtic.
Based on these numbers I believe the matchups to be:
Arsenal v. Celtic
Lyon v. Porto
Liverpool v. Lille
Chelsea v. Inter Milan
Bayern v. Real Madrid
AC Milan v. PSV Eindhoven
Valencia v. Roma
Manchester United v. Barcelona
At the same time, Arsenal could face any one of these opponents, but if UEFA did indeed reward teams mathematically, then these would likely be the matchups.
Good luck to all, and hopefully we draw a team like Celtic or Lille…
December 14th, 2006 at 3:48 am
A win is a win, however it may come. Maybe it was the proverbial don’t play well but win scenario. Maybe it was AW’s plan to hold on for 0-0 and bring on late substitutes to change the game. I don’t care. But we do need to learn from every game and improve.
I’ll start with Flamini. Excellent squad players. Gives his all. But where do you play him? He can’t replace Cesc and he can’t replace Gilberto. So we have to play 5 midfielders to accomodate him? Can we afford it?
About Ade, yet again, he worked tirelessly. But anyone who thinks his first touch is good should see this game. He missed atleast 4 chances before finally scoring. On the goal scored, I think he was very lucky to have little or no contact on the first touch, otherwise he may not have scored.
About Baptista, it’s difficult when you are thrust into a game where Gilberto, Flamini, Ljunberg and Walcott are expected to create the oppurtunities. But those questioning his fitness levels may have a strong point. He did show glimpses of his talent - the free kick, the pass to Walcott and the thunderous shot blocked by Kirkland.
About Ljunberg, it is apparent that the mind is still very sharp. You can see what he is trying to do and it is always very intelligent. Having said that, the legs can no longer perform the job the mind wants to. Seeing Ljunberg shaking his head in supposed disbelief everytime someone out-runs or out-muscles him is becoming an all too familiar sight.
About the defence, it wasn’t a great display. Lehmann is continuing his patchy form. Toure looks suspiciously tired (for one who missed the Chelsea game). Everyone was guilty of giving the ball away and trying to pass their way out of trouble. It gets very irritating when that happens in injury time.
To summarise, the 3 points were great. But we have to move on. AW has to be prudent while making team changes. He cannot destroy the balance of a team which is yet to strike a proper balance.
December 14th, 2006 at 4:55 am
I though Eboue had a bad game in this respect, he kept farting around on the ball. Clichy was better but also made some bad mistakes - against a better team we would have been punished. Gilberto kept giving it away too, he seems to do it every other match - maybe it’s tiredness, he plays every game.
As I have said before, this is a season of experimentation. Wenger knows he needs to be more flexible with his tactics - so it’s a case of finding out when and where to play 4-5-1, which personnel are up to the job, and those players feeling comfortable when they have to play it. His preferred system is 4-4-2, but the team does not have the strength or balance to play it in every match.
Fabregas is getting there though, give him a few years and he’ll be a tiger in the middle of the park. What he did yesterday was pure Vieira.
December 14th, 2006 at 10:16 am
Was that our ‘direct’ team playing last night? Diaby and Lauren in for Flamini and Eboue and I think that’s our team to mix it a bit.
December 14th, 2006 at 10:19 am
jeez, when will you give ade a break?!
he scored the damn winning goal. just like he did against manure and everton in the carling. also opened the scoring against spurs.
yet all you can do is talk shite about his first touch and how he was lucky to score.
get off your ‘i don’t rate ade’ soapbox and give him some effin credit.
we won the fookin game because of him.
sigh……
December 14th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
I think Wenger would love to use Rosicky more, but he’s been injured.
December 14th, 2006 at 1:07 pm
But therein lies the problem. Hiw workrate and attitude at this point cannot be questioned. He works his ass off going up and down the pitch. But his finishing is a definite problem. He squanders far too many opportunities.
December 14th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
Adebayor looks older than his years, he’s only 21 - plenty of time to develop.
He’s score 9 goals in about 30 games, not too bad considering he’s having to play in the worst Arsenal side Wenger has put out in 10 years. He also plays alone up front, not easy, what do you want, hatricks? He’s missed a lot of chances too, but guess what? He gets in the box, he’s in there - who else is? No-one. At least he’ll give himself the chance to improve.
December 14th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
Thursday at six o’clock EST they will be announcing the matchups.
December 14th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
Valencia vs. Roma can’t be drawn, because they were in the same group. So, your calculations are wrong.
December 14th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
Very unfair to say Adebayor’s goal is lucky.
Like Wenger said “you need to work hard for the luck”. Like DannyT pointed out - if anything, Adebayor never let his head dropped. He kept on TRYING, therefore he fully deserved his reward.
Personally, I don’t think Adebyaor has a poor first touch. Bare in mind, the man running around all the time. He’s not just standing there up front and waiting for a pass. His running naturally would drain away his energy, and when he did get the ball, it’s a bit more difficult for him to control it than say, someone just standing around waiting for a pass.
Anyway, despite the fact he hasn’t scored much, Adebayor seems have making a habbit of scoring CRUCIAL goals. The last minute winner yesterday, the goal Vs Man U, the goal Vs Liverpool, and a winning goal in the Carling Cup.
And btw, it appears Henry’s absence hasn’t affected as much as people thought. If i’m not wrong, we are still unbeaten since his injury.
And also guys please give Flamini a break. He’s not Fabregas, and I don’t think he ever pretend to be. He’s not Vieira, and I don’t think he ever pretended to be neither. He’s a midfield workhorse, the water-carrier, whatever u like to call him, he gave his all to do the DIRTY WORK.
True, sometime we may not have noticed his existence at all in a game. That’s because he’s not a goal scorer who scores lot of goals, or he’s a midfield playmaker who dishes out defence-spliting pass. The things he done on the pitch, it’s very easy to take it for grant.
The same things happened to Gilberto in his early career. He did all the hard work, Titi, Pires, Bergkamp the likes grabbed all the headline. Why did people call him the “invisible wall” at the first place? ‘Cos he’s a “wall” there in front of our back 4 nobody saw it WHEN HE’S THERE. Only after he got injuried last season, all a sudden we realized how important he was.
Flamini may not be as tall a wall as Gilberto, he did the same thing. Same as Parlour at the past. Nobody gave those guys any credit. Yet those guys often are the most committed players on the pitch.
December 14th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
Did I just say Thursday, sorry I really meant to say Friday.
December 14th, 2006 at 7:47 pm
The fact that Flamini and Gilberto are the same type of player just magnifies the midfield problem when Fabregas is not in there. Without him there are two defensive minded midfielders, neither of whom is going to split hte defense with pinpoint passing very often. I like having a certain number of his type of player in the squad - I think every team needs people to do the dirty work, but he doesn’t really run the attack like Fabregas (to be fair, not many do) and that is a definite issue when he is not on the field.
December 14th, 2006 at 7:55 pm
One would think that these matches would be easy games and that the team would find the real challenge in playing the upper table teams of the EPL. Sadly, they’ve shown up for the big games but have gotten bogged down with these lower table shite teams like Wigan. Some of the draws/losses have been, well a lack lustre performance.
I agree and do take pleasure in the ugly win and for the Gunners to win in the 89th minute against Wigan is what I consider an ugly win.
Now with the fixtures that we have coming up against mostly mid and lower table teams I hope our beloved club shows a little more zeal to win those games, even if our current record may show stats that say otherwise. I’m not talking about possession where Arsenal own the stats but about scoring.
Happy for the win but concerned about the clubs post-November(November jinx) form.
December 15th, 2006 at 6:01 am
I am not putting down Ade or Flamini or any other player in the side. It’s just a question of figuring out players’ deficiencies and trying to make up for it in the team.
I like Ade, I really do. I have liked him from the start. But his shooting ability and poor first touch are there for everyone to see (atleast me). But his tireless work rate and movement off the ball is amazing. For me, he works best with another striker. He can do all the dirty work and score some crucial goals, while the other strikers can hopefully put away more chances. Isn’t that why he linked up so well with Henry last season?
As for Flamini, I am not a huge fan, but as many have pointed out, he is more like a water-carrier. Problem is that he can’t replace Gilberto. So he has to be playing alongside both with Cesc and Gilberto, which worked well against Liverpool and Chelsea. If we are looking at 4-4-2 in the long term - which I think we should, atleast against “smaller” teams - where will he play?
December 15th, 2006 at 6:26 am
Man get Lille while Liverpool play Barca.
Full Draw
Porto v Chelsea
Celtic v AC Milan
PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal
Lille v Manchester United
Roma v Lyon
Barcelona v Liverpool
Real Madrid v Bayern Munich
Inter Milan v Valencia
December 15th, 2006 at 6:46 am
I know nipuna, it’s PSV..
I’m having mixed feelings about this, it’s a really strong side, but who knows?, maybe by then things will look much better at our camp.
December 15th, 2006 at 7:12 am
I wouldn’t be confident of facing PSV if the game was next week, but in 3 months time with (hopefully) Henry, Rosicky, Gallas, Lauren and Diaby back, and another 3 months of games for the likes of Walcott, Baptista, Clichy etc. I think we’ll be a much much stronger team.
December 16th, 2006 at 12:45 am
I have to point out the value of the tireless hard workers. It's true Ade has had some misses that seemed much easier to finish, and its also true that Flamini has been invisible for large parts of games. But no o?ne questions their committment, and as Andez pointed out the goals they have scored this season have been absolutely critical. Flamini has o?nly scored two goals, but o?ne cracked open the vaunted Chelsea defense and the other was the first goal against Liverpool; until his goal, the Liverpool game was tight and could have gone either way. What I love about Ade is that he scores in the last five minutes. We rarely scored in the last five with Arsenal MkII, we looked like chickens with our heads cut off. Finally, Gilberto has also stepped up with goals when needed and least expected. It has been said that we are too reliant o?n Thierry Henry, and that he is our talisman (every time I read that I cringe). As fabulous as he is, why wouldn't we rely o?n him? But this season, important goals have come from all around. We've even scored headers from corners! I'm not saying our attack has been as potent as it could be, it's been excrutiating at times. I'm not saying our more obvious scoring talent (TH, RvP, TR, etc.) haven't pulled their weight; they've set up those worker goals. But o?n days where sexy wasn't available or wasn't enough, grunting has been a productive alternative. Was your adolescence as optomistic?