Charles N’Zogbia is a ballsy winger who does one thing.
And CNZ waited till the 92nd minute to do it.
Arsenal’s feeble and disorganised defenders let him get the ball on his left foot and come inside and smash a shot in off the post to win the game 3-2.
Arsenal players don’t communicate. Communication is a big part of football. They don’t shout, they don’t talk, wave or gesticulate. Wenger’s creche culture doesn’t allow shouting or overt expression of emotion, especially anger. About six years ago, when Thierry Henry was in his pomp, Alex Fynn said something to me that has stuck in my mind ever since. He said, “There are a lot of precious people at Arsenal.”
Wigan are hopeless, a team of big muscle men who, as Paul Merson said, try to play but can’t.
But Wigan scored three goals in ten minutes to grab their first-ever Premier League victory over Arsenal and make the visitors look like chumps.
The game was dead at 2-0 and 70 minutes. Why not liven it up by bringing Robin van Persie on to score the third goal?
Wigan started the game and it was 16th against third and they were totally lacking in confidence in everything. With the ball they were poor. But at least they chased and scuffled and closed Arsenal down.
At 0-0 it was dull as ditchwater, so hard to get involved that I said, “The best thing about this game will be half-time, when I don’t have to watch Diaby.”
When Wigan suddenly stopped closing Arsenal down, Walcott got in and didn’t shoot and then Bendtner played him into the box in 40 and Walcott netted past the advancing Kirkland for 1-0 at half-time. A nice run, a tasty finish, a very good goal.Walcott then fired a decent shot just past the far post.
Second half, Arsenal played patchy, flaccid, powderpuff creche football and then in 48 the unmarked Silvestre headed in a Nasri corner. Wigan had nobody defending the post to block that header. Immediately, N’Zogbia got in but telegraphed his shot and Fabianski grabbed the shot.
At 2-0 the “match” became such a bore that I got the TV remote and switched to BBCR5L to find out if not seeing the “match” would make it more vivid and exciting. After a while the radio said Wigan had scored, so I switched back to Sky Sports 1 and saw the replay. Diaby gave the ball away and Wigan made four passes and left winger Victor Moses hit a low cross that was slotted in from near the penalty spot by Ben Watson for 1-2. Fabianski’s positioning and reaction were suspect. He has rarely looked like a goalkeeper.
Wenger then brought on the two subs he was planning to bring in when he was winning 2-0.
His team had been rocked by the goal and needed to steady down but he rocked them again by taking two players off and putting on Eboue and Merida. So disruptive. So counter-productive. Merida? Why?
The writing was on the wall when Watson’s header from a corner was stopped on the line by Nasri and sure enough N’Zogbia’s next corner was dropped by Fabianski and Bramble nodded it over the line.
So sixteenth was drawing 2-2 with third.
After the equaliser, Wenger brought on Robin van Persie. Far too late, 20 minutes too late ! His substitutions are always reactive, not proactive.
In stoppage time, the tenacious N’Zogbia scooted beyond a back four in comical disarray, and fired the winner.
That win will keep them up. Clichy, Silvestre and Campbell did not communicate.
Wigan Athletic 3 Colney Creche 2
Wenger has always been clueless with substitutions. He has no feel for a game. He can’t think on his feet. Too scientific, too doctrinaire, not intuitive. He threw away the Liverpool FA Cup final with subs that wrecked the balance of his team and allowed Michael Owen to score two goals.
Bonkers.