4 Things We Learned From Arsenal’s 4-1 Win Over Wigan

Arsenal beat Wigan 4-1 on Tuesday night to reclaim fourth spot in the Premier League table. Here, ‘Gunner333’ looks at 4 things we learned from the game.

Arsenal hosted Wigan in a game which was vitally important to both clubs for contrasting reasons. A win for the Gunners would move them above Spurs once again, whilst anything less than 3 points for the recent FA cup winners would mean relegation and an abrupt end to their 8 year stay in the Premier League.

The game started brightly for the Gunners with some great link-up play and some wonderful chances being created. Wenger’s side took advantage of this in the 10th minute when Lukas Podolski punished some poor Wigan defending and headed home a well delivered corner to put the hosts ahead.

There were many positives for the Gunners in the opening stages with Theo Walcott looking very lively and the Arsenal back-line standing strong and dealing with Kone and McManaman’s threats at the other end. Koscielny had the pick of the good defending with his acrobatic clearance denying Kone a clear chance of scoring.

Despite some poor play early on Wigan still seemed like a team with it all to play for and they equalised when a controversial  decision from referee Mike Dean allowed Wigan to take a free-kick in a dangerous area and set-piece master Maloney stepped up to the plate and curled one in the far corner.

Tired Wigan legs began to show in the second half and despite plenty of hard work at the back, the Latics conceded when Arsenal finally pulled ahead once again after Theo Walcott poked in Cazorla’s low cross. Goals continued to fly in for the home team from there on in with Podolski adding another five minutes later with a well-timed chip over the keeper and Aaron Ramsey finishing off the job just minutes later with one of the goals of the game.

Arsenal move up to 4th but commiserations for Wigan as they are relegated to the championship after an impressive eight years in the top flight. I will now review what went well for the Gunners and what needs to be improved.

1. Getting back to our passing best – Arselona!

In recent times we haven’t played the pretty football everyone has come to expect of us. However signs of that old Arsenal were certainly exhibited in this game. At times we passed Wigan to death and created chances through patient yet fast-paced football which allowed us to catch their defence off-guard. The likes of Arteta, Rosicky, Ramsey and most importantly Cazorla are key to this style of play.

2. Fast starts

Within the first 15 minutes of this game we were one up and flying and this has been something we’ve added in recent games. Fast starts have seen us score early goals against the likes of Man Utd, QPR and now Wigan. If we are to beat Newcastle on Sunday and guarantee Champions League football once again then we need to hit the ground running. It is something I’ve spoken of before, but it is very important and something we should be looking to do week-in-week-out.

3. Big Summer ahead

The transfer window is always a nervy time for Arsenal fans, what with star players such as Fabregas, Nasri and Van Persie departing the club in recent years. However there may be a different feeling surrounding the club heading into this year’s window. Of course a lot of unwanted baggage will be shifted but there is the exciting prospect of some very big faces entering the club. However, key to attracting big-name players is being able to offer them Champions League football, so let’s get the job done this weekend and maybe we can enjoy the summer and see some world class players come to the club.

4. Koscielny’s vastly improving

The Frenchman has been a rock at the back this season and him and Mertesacker currently have an unbeaten partnership this season – something which may have been very important to our European aspirations. A contract renewal could be required to keep this key man at the club if any other big guns come sniffing for his services this summer.

Thanks again for reading and feel free to comment below!