fastidium

Well, it wasn’t exactly the best performance and Wigan has not gotten off to a very good relegation-avoiding season, but Arsenal did what they do and got four goals with a clean sheet. Some will say that 4-0 at home against Wigan is expected but I don’t think any outcome is expected anymore in this league. Expectations are meant to be overturned.

The hero of Saturday’s game was, of course, Thomas Vermaelen. I love the fact folks were saying that he was too short to play central defense, yet he’s scoring headers by jumping higher than anyone else on the field.

Eboue took a attacking role in midfield on the right, Fabregas and Song played in the middle, with Eduardo roaming the left. This was a slightly different midfield from last week, with Denilson sitting on the bench. I’ll assume that it had something to do with Adebayor.

You got to feel for Robin van Persie. How many shots on goal did he have? I thought for sure that he would put one away but it wasn’t meant to be. He had a great hit of the ball on a free kick outside the box, and then moments later Eboue playing a ball – somewhat ackwardly placed – that RvP could have tapped in. It seemed like all he needed to do was open his body up and tap it with his favored left foot rather than trying a quick shot with his right.

But, that was all warm up for what was coming. RvP whipped in a great corner in the 25th minute than Vermaelen headed in. He just jumped higher than anyone and changed the direction of the ball. It was a clinical header – no need to force it, just redirect it.

Vermaelen’s second came right after the start of the 2nd half. He started it and ended it. He did the give and go with Eboue and asked for the ball back. Eboue obliged and “Tommy V” (the Verminator) curled it into the top left corner.

Some attribute the third goal to Eduardo, others to Eboue. In the 59th minute, Eduardo volleyed a cross from Clichy but it rebounded off the post. He got his own rebound and shot again. The replay shows that it hit Eboue on the way in and redirected slightly. Either way, by this time in the game, it seemed Wigan were ready to concede and go home.

A fourth goal by Fabregas completed the route.

My feeling after the game was, yeah, ok, we can destroy Wigan at home because they let us play an attacking style. Most of the game happened in their half. Teams who allow us to do this will fall. The fact that we look shaky in defense when a tougher team goes forward is alarming. All another team needs to do is set up shop right between the mids and the defensive line. That’s harder than it sounds, I realize, but teams like United, City, Chelsea, Liverpool, and even Fulham have managed to do it.

I don’t think the problem lies in our defensive line, its the fact that our midfield seems to think of themselves as an attacking unit (at the wrong times), not as an important part of a collective defensive effort. Denilson plays the defensive mid role well, and so does Song and Diaby when they’re asked. I just don’t see the same cohesion as, say, Vieira with Sol Campbell or Lauren or Gilberto Silva or Tony Adams. My hope is that Gallas and Vermaelen stay healthy and they find a way to fill the holes in front of them, i.e., organizing their team mates in midfield and calling for a greater team unity in defense.

Perhaps we’ll see more highlights like these:

In the most interesting fixture on Sunday, I was somewhat happy to see Michael Owen get the game winner against Manchester City. While I don’t enjoy seeing Man United win, City have entered the realm of “anyone but them”. Somehow, the work that Sir Alex Ferguson has done over the years at United deserves some accolades, even though his heavy handed play against Arsenal deserves time in purgatory. Simply buying a team of great players – like City and Chelsea have done – puts you in league with the devil and outside the realm of penance. And, with all the struggles that Owen has gone through, its great to see him get the match winner.

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