PL: Wigan Athletic vs Arsenal | 13/12/06

[patrick42uk]

lol, cesc's impact is being way overrated. i didnt think he did anything special. even the pass wasnt that great, more down to poor defending by wigan, just like the ball from gilberto to ade.

 

[sparky44]

One thing Ade is brilliant at and doesnt get enough credit for is watching the line and timing his runs almost perfectly, when you have a striker with this ability you need people such as Cesc, Rosicky and Cesc who can release him at the right time. Today was a great example of that. Three times Ade was through (Gilberto's release, Cesc first through ball and the goal).

Thats a great point actually. I had never thought about that. Maybe that explains adebayor's schizophrenic performance tonight. He needs a feeder to play with him, he really isn't the type of player that can just turn up in the box ala ian wright. You have got to appreciate his intelligence and will to play football to play in a exciting way - even though it can be annoying watching it sometimes.

Piss poor first half performance, better second, bottom line is we got the three points against a physical (albeit poor) prem team.

Give wigan more credit than that. They showed us up a few times last season, they aren't a joke team you know.

 

[bazza_afc]

Eboue needs a kick up his arse. Someone should tell him never ever take playing for Arsenal granted.

 

[>YounGunner<]

Eboue seems to be transforming into Timothy Atoubo.

 

[qs]

lol, cesc's impact is being way overrated. i didnt think he did anything special. even the pass wasnt that great, more down to poor defending by wigan, just like the ball from gilberto to ade.

get out of here will ya. it was perfect.

 

[qs]

Eboue seems to be transforming into Timothy Atoubo.

He's knackered. I cant wait for lauren to come back though.

 

[Gurgen]

It was a good pass but to suggest that Cesc solved our problems in the 15 minutes he was on the pitch is ridiculous. We were creating chances before he came on, simply because we were winning the ball earlier.

 

[KingReyes]

lol, cesc's impact is being way overrated. i didnt think he did anything special. even the pass wasnt that great, more down to poor defending by wigan, just like the ball from gilberto to ade.

I know, why is there such a wankfest over Cesc? I was more impressed with the tackle than the pass itself. We can be thankful that the Wigan defense opened up at the same time.

As a side note, glad to see the beast up his game in the second half. Still work to do but that can only come with games, Clichy is an example of that. Gael has looked much better recently, fingers crossed it will continue.

 

[IBL]

Eboue seems to be transforming into Timothy Atoubo.

He's knackered. I cant wait for lauren to come back though.

Could have ployed Hoyte, he looks capable enough at RB

 

[Gurgen]

For all the flak Baptista has been getting, I think he has been the only free role midfielder this season who has been able to give that 4-5-1 a bit of flair. He was moving very well at times and actually made it look like a half decent formation.

 

[qs]

It was a good pass but to suggest that Cesc solved our problems in the 15 minutes he was on the pitch is ridiculous. We were creating chances before he came on, simply because we were winning the ball earlier.

When he came on he did alright, got stuck in but didnt grab a hold of the game. However cescs a bit like Thierry in that at any moment he can come up ith a match winnign move and thats what he did.

Tackle, pass - game over.

 

[celestis]

Eboue gets through so much in a game , not surprised he looks flat , after that epic match. Look at Chelsea tonight only beat a severely underdone Newcastle 1-0.

 

[Rohit]

The one thing i like about Baptista is the weight he puts behind his passes although his passes had no accuracy today.His passes have the pace that our general passing has lacked throughout the season.He has great body strength,he just needs to learn how to use his body well.I think he can be a big player for us.

 

[Lukazan]

FFS. Just wrote a lengthy post and then I was told no post mode was selected!?

Well screw you Kermit, I'm not writing all that out again.

I'll just re-write what I said about Walcott. He impressed me tonight, and isn't like most English players. He's got incredible technique, and is a very clever player, a good football-brain. Still makes the wrong decisions at times, but at his age, with his experience and the pressure placed on him, that is to be expected. He definitely should have gone for goal himself when he went clean through from Baptista.. but unfortunately I think he's trying a little too hard right now not to upset anyone. Decisions like that will improve the more he plays though, of course, and he'll gain that bit of greed I feel he is missing right now.

 

[qs]

FFS. Just wrote a lengthy post and then I was told no post mode was selected!?

That happened me too

I'll just re-write what I said about Walcott. He impressed me tonight, and isn't like most English players. He's got incredible technique, and is a very clever player, a good football-brain. Still makes the wrong decisions at times, but at his age, with his experience and the pressure placed on him, that is to be expected. He definitely should have gone for goal himself when he went clean through from Baptista.. but unfortunately I think he's trying a little too hard right now not to upset anyone. Decisions like that will improve the more he plays though, of course, and he'll gain that bit of greed I feel he is missing right now.

You're right, he has a great footballing brain. people think he's all pace but he has alot more.

I still think he made the right decision with the pass. Whether his pass was weighted properly or whether it was Ades faults debatable but the pass completely too Kirkland out of the equation.

 

[awooga83]

The result was far more imporatnt then the performance today which is good as the performance wasn't great. We rode our luck at times but we got a crucial win and it came late on which is a good characteristic to show we didn't just give up.

I do agree that Walcott was good the only thing that frustrates me is he is often reluctant to go for goal himself maybe because he isn't totally confident yet and feels he should pass it. But otherwise very impressed.

Eboue on the other hand looks burnt out and is indanger of reverting to the player we saw before the African Nations. Too many times he takes chances in front of his own goal and has lost the ball and sooner rather then later that will cost us he needs just to get rid of it when he is in tight situations at the back.

Fair play to Ade after missing the earlier chance he didn't let it bother him.

Overall we seem to have got a run together and just need to keep it going.

 

[sparky44]

One thing Ade is brilliant at and doesnt get enough credit for is watching the line and timing his runs almost perfectly, when you have a striker with this ability you need people such as Cesc, Rosicky and Cesc who can release him at the right time. Today was a great example of that. Three times Ade was through (Gilberto's release, Cesc first through ball and the goal).

Thats a great point actually. I had never thought about that. Maybe that explains adebayor's schizophrenic performance tonight. He needs a feeder to play with him, he really isn't the type of player that can just turn up in the box ala ian wright. You have got to appreciate his intelligence and will to play football to play in a exciting way - even though it can be annoying watching it sometimes.

Piss poor first half performance, better second, bottom line is we got the three points against a physical (albeit poor) prem team.

Give wigan more credit than that. They showed us up a few times last season, they aren't a joke team you know.

 

[IBL]

Piss poor first half performance, better second, bottom line is we got the three points against a physical (albeit poor) prem team.

Give wigan more credit than that. They showed us up a few times last season, they aren't a joke team you know.

Ok, they're not poor, but they are below average - a team likely to finish in the bottom half, a team that even our second string should be beating without too much of a problem.

 

[gunnertilldeath]

Ade to the rescue again. just when i started feeling a little silly about my vehement defence of the lanky wonder in the face of heavy criticism on this forum, he turns up again with another massively impressive goal. didnt see the match but soccernet has sung his praises today. i almost flung my mouse at the wall when i saw that van persie was on the bench but Ade got the job done today. i'm so happy for him and hope he continues to improve as a player. as i have always pointed out, he is a young player with time to grow. for all the doubters, once again, give the boy a chance. he could well become a good squad player for us.

 

[Mostarac]

Eboue on the other hand looks burnt out and is indanger of reverting to the player we saw before the African Nations. Too many times he takes chances in front of his own goal and has lost the ball and sooner rather then later that will cost us he needs just to get rid of it when he is in tight situations at the back.

Agree, and I have also mentioned that a couple of times before. Right now the way he plays, Eboue is more of an liability for us than a resource on the pitch. I think Wenger should rest him when Lauren comes back. Anyway, was not the most exciting of matches I have seen tonight, but at this part of the season, the results count the most. I am satisfied with the fact that our players did not give up tonight and worked until we got our goal, that sort of ability is always great to have in a team. Good to see that Adebayor gets the goals even though he does not impress(the match against Tottenham is of course the exception) too much during an entire match, his recent goals have given us 6 points recently, and that is not bad at all. Its importnant that we are getting points again after losing those 2 straight matches, the 7 points we have got during the last 3 matches will be good for us in the league ahead.