A confidence boosting victory at the Madejski Stadium on Monday night not only lifted the spirits of the Arsenal players, but it also helped give Arsene Wenger some belief. I say belief because of the struggles his team has faced, but I am not confident that Le Prof ever thought his job was in any doubt. For him to actually be sacked, I think it would take Arsenal getting relegated to be honest.
Five goals against Reading will have the Arsenal fans expecting another solid match at the DW Stadium against a Wigan side who is struggling. The Latics have only four victories all season and are sitting in the 18th spot of the Premier League standings.
What is difficult to understand is how Roberto Martinez somehow manages to keep his job every season, considering the struggles Wigan has every season. Yes, they manage to stay in the Premier League, but since Martinez has been with Wigan, his winning percent is 27%. (40-40-67)
Taking a look at all of Wigan's victories this campaign in the EPL, all four have been against teams that Arsenal also defeated. (Southampton, Tottenham, Reading & West Ham) Without a win since Nov 24th when they defeated Reading at home 3-2, Wigan will be desperate for the three points, but after Monday's match, they may have caught the Gunners at the wrong time.
Barring any injuries in training, Arsene Wenger may opt to name the same starting XI that featured against Reading. The team looked lively and full of energy going forward. With the contract extension of five English players, Theo Walcott may also be looking to put in another solid performance in an attempt to prove to the Arsenal board that he deserves the contract he has been requesting.
Previous Matches
04-16-12 Arsenal 1-2 Wigan
12-03-11 Wigan 0-4 Arsenal
01-22-11 Arsenal 3-0 Wigan
12-29-10 Wigan 2-2 Arsenal
11-30-10 Arsenal 2-0 Wigan
04-18-10 Wigan 3-2 Arsenal
Prediction
From their previous six meetings, Arsenal clearly has the slight edge having won three, while losing two and drawing one. Despite that edge, Arsenal outscored the Latics 14 to 7 in all six matches, leading me to believe that the match on Saturday will be a high scoring affair.
Arsenal just thumped Reading and they will be up against another bottom of the table team. Wigan has been poor this season and if Arsene Wenger's men want to really make their way up the league standings, they will need to win games of this sort.
Wigan will play tight at the back and they will need to make sure they fill the midfield if they want to stop Arsenal. If anything, Roberto Martinez should have watched Arsenal's match on Monday and at least realized that what Reading did was essentially suicide. They tried to play with two central midfielders against the Gunners five at times when Ox and Podolski would pinch in. Bad idea!
Expect Arsenal to come out guns blazin considering the scoring performance they had against Reading, and, they actually had a significant amount of shots on goal on Monday as well.
Wigan 1-4 Arsenal
