Abject Arsenal Get What They Deserve at Wigan

Going into yesterday's game at Wigan there was still the slight possibility that Arsenal could get back into the title race as long as we won the game and the other two contenders continued to slip up.

All seemed to be going to plan as, despite not playing particularly well, we found ourselves 2-0 up early in the second half and it looked like we were about to close the gap to Chelsea to three points with three games left. Wigan had very little to offer and all we had to do was keep up the intensity and there would have been more goals there for the taking.

Then things changed and the players decided, like they had away to West Ham earlier in the season, that they didn't have to try any more as it was all too easy.

From there it was obvious what was happening and the bad side of Arsenal came to the fore. To call what happened a capitulation is probably not strong enough as we completely folded in those last 10 minutes.

I can blame individuals for mistakes and lack of effort but ultimately we lost the game because when things started to go wrong there was nobody on the pitch to take control and make sure we didn't go to pieces. The lack of leadership was unbelievable and it only goes to prove what supporters of other clubs say about Arsenal that we are missing something from our team at certain times.

Last season we folded in our semifinals against "Manure" and Chelsea and when the going got tough this season we folded against both of those clubs in the league.

On Wednesday night we didn't play until RVP made an appearance and yesterday we were going through the motions despite holding a 2-0 lead. It was like a training game to some players as they passed the ball when they were in perfect shooting positions or in the case of Diaby after missing a one-on-one with the keeper tried to back heel the rebound through three Wigan players.

It reminded me of the game away to Bolton a few years ago where we lost a 2-0 lead due to the players being totally unprofessional. What happened to us yesterday would not have happened to either Chelsea or "Manure." Both of those teams have lost to teams at the bottom of the table this season but they certainly would not have thrown away a two goal lead like we did.

There is talk that the manager will spend some of our money to bring in what he says the squad need this summer, but I will believe it when I see it. We have an awful lot of similar players who are very pretty on the eye but the players who allowed that to happen yesterday have spoiled all the work that has been put in all season under adversity from the whole squad.

They have to look at themselves in the mirror this morning and decide if they gave it everything they had or not yesterday and virtually all of them will have to answer in the negative. Wigan had scored four goals in ten league matches before that game and they managed three in just over ten minutes.

The big team news before the game was that Almunia had a supposed wrist injury and Fabianski replaced him, but I personally don't believe it and I think the boss was giving Fabianski his chance in the last four matches which can only mean that Almunia's days are numbered if we're lucky.

Denilson didn't make it either and he was replaced by Eastmond, who did a good enough job in the defensive role although virtually every time he tried to venture forward he lost the ball very quickly. RVP was on the bench again, and we all presumed that he would get another 25 or 30 minutes regardless of how the game was going, but that was not to be as I think the boss got complacent with our 2-0 lead as well as the players.

With the score at 2-0 both Eboue and Merida were warming up and they were both brought on even after Wigan had pulled a goal back. It meant that Walcott went off and he was our biggest threat all afternoon in my opinion. He had finally managed to get a goal and this was the time to give him the full 90 minutes and look for more goals.

After a frustrating first half when both Diaby and Walcott passed balls when they were ideally set up to shoot things took a turn for th good four minutes before half time when Bendtner played Walcott in and he finished neatly under the diving keeper.

The second half started with Wigan looking to get forward and Nasri could easily have given away a penalty when he tugged at the arm of a Wigan player, but the referee said no and we broke forward and won a corner.

From that corner Silvestre headed home and it looked like Wigan were dead and buried as they were creating very little. We dropped our tempo after that and as the players strolled Wigan took control without really threatening us too much.

That changed when one of their players was given acres of space on the right of our defence and as he cut the ball back across the box all of our defenders ran towards the goal much as they had when Abidal did something similar for Barcelona a few weeks ago. Watson ran on to the cut back and stroked the ball home past Fabianski who was so far back he was almost in the goal.

I've noticed that a lot with him that he tends to save shots right on the line and it's very curious. I've played as a defender in a number of teams and I considered that amateur defending as the obvious ball in that position is the cutback and one of our players had to have the brains to place himself to cut it out. Then again crediting some of those players with having a brain is probably being too kind to them.

From there we went to pieces and we couldn't string two passes together as Wigan looked for an unlikely equalizer.

Our two substitutions were ineffective and the fans screamed for RVP to come on and add some class to what was fast becoming an inept performance. Wigan pressed, and when a corner came in Fabianski decided to catch it for once, but he only managed to drop it on to Bramble's head and it bounced over the line before it could be cleared.

It was 2-2 with one minute to go and the boss brought on RVP to try to save the win with four minutes of injury time to play. If he wasn't fit enough to come on at 2-0 I would like to know what changed after that, because it was ridiculous to expect something from him in that short time. As it turned out, it was Wigan who scored again when N'Zogbia buried a shot in off the post from 20 yards as our defenders made pathetic attempts to block him.

The reaction on Twitter afterwards was one of absolute shock and disgust with a thoroughly unprofessional performance from Arsenal. There were numerous calls for the manager's head and every Arsenal fan wants our goalkeeping situation sorted out this summer. We cannot expect to win the league with second rate goalkeepers and both of our first two choices are just that and no more.

I don't care how much money it costs and the boss has to realise it himself because it has now gone beyond a joke. I don't want the boss to be sacked or leave but I do want him to sort out the problems that are there for all to see. It past the stage of blaming it on immaturity or anything else.

Yesterday's defeat was down to complacence and in a professional footballer that is unforgivable. I'll leave it there for now but there will be plenty of fall out for the rest of the week as we now must look over our shoulders at the Spuds and Man City instead of chasing for the league title. We have to beat City on Saturday to ensure Champions League football next season, and at the moment that looks like a very tall order. 

Here are the highlights from yesterday's game.

See you tomorrow.