[Player Ratings] Arsenal 4-1 Wigan: Cazorla & Walcott Inspire Gunners to Vital Win

Arsenal reclaimed fourth spot with a vital 4-1 win over FA Cup winners Wigan Atheltic on Tuesday night. Lukas Podolski helped himself to a brace, Theo Walcott scored his 14th of the season while Aaron Ramsey opened his account with a late fourth. Shaun Maloney made it a nervous half-time after levelling the score at 1-1 with a stunning free-kick but Gooners were rightly aggrieved at the awarding of the free-kick – one of several questionable decisions by referee Mike Dean – but three second half goals secured a 4-1 win. Here are my ratings:

Arsenal ratings:

Szczesny 8/10

Could perhaps have better with the Maloney free-kick but produced a stunning vital save just after the break to deny Kone a goal that would have made it 2-1.

Sagna 6.5/10

Solid enough at the back and got forward to support the attacks – particularly in the first half – but once again his crossing was poor. Strong in the air.

Mertesacker 7/10

Another decent display by the big German. Played a key role in the opener as he made himself a nuisance at the front post which allowed the ball to find its way to Podolski who made no mistake.

Koscielny 7.5/10

Superb intervention denied Kone a certain goal in the first half. Also showed a willingness to get forward and bring the ball out of defence. Missed a sitter to make it 2-0 before Wigan equalised though. On another day it could have proved costly.

Gibbs 6.5/10

Was bombing forward in the first half and almost got himself on the scoresheet. Kept the threat of Callum McManaman relatively quiet before he went off.

Rosicky 6.5/10

Not his most influential display but still played some neat interchanges with Cazorla and Arteta. Gave away some silly free-kicks but always worked hard to close down, especially in the opening half.

Arteta 6.5/10

Did his best to contain a lively Wigan midfield until they ran our of steam in the final 30 minutes. Gave away too many needless free-kicks and although he was unlucky with the one that lead to their goal, he still didn’t need to give Maloney the opportunity to go down. Worryingly forced off late on and headed straight down the tunnel with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Hopefully it’s not serious.

Ramsey 7/10

Cool finish and I’m pleased he opened his account for the season. His long-range shooting is embarrassing at times but his energy is key to our midfield play now.

Cazorla 9/10

Superb. Completely ran the game. Grabbed all four assists and the ball for Walcott’s goal in particular was exquisite.

Walcott 8.5/10

Excellent display from Theo capped off with the important second that settled any nerves that the visitors might cause an upset. His pace was causing all sorts of problems and he put in some dangerous crosses as well. Great stuff and lets hope he’s reserved some energy for Newcastle!

Podolski 7.5/10

Was on hand to head home the opener and made it 3-1 with a cool finish, but general play was still relatively poor. Have a feeling we’ll see Olivier Giroud recalled for Newcastle, despite his brace.

Subs

Chamberlain – Lively cameo from the Oxe.

Wilshere – Brought on for the last 15 minutes and kept things ticking over.

Vermaelen – On for last couple of minutes. Perhaps being given a chance to say goodbye to the home fans? Lets hope not, he’s still a useful player to have.

Mike Dean – Special mention for the referee. Mike Dean really is a detestable little man who once again showed his hatred for Arsenal. Before the game we’d only won 7% of our last 28 league games when he’s been in charge, and he did his best to see that record continue in this game. So many little decisions went against us. The FA really need to have a look at his record when officiating AFC games. It’s no coincidence.

If you haven’t seen the game or want to relive the action you can watch all the goals here

So the win means if we beat Newcastle we guarantee a top-four finish but the +3 to the goal difference means if Chelsea fail to beat Everton we have a chance of sneaking third. COYG!

What were your ratings from the game? Get involved in the comments section below.