EPL Week 16: Arsenal Hold Off Wigan 1-0, Manchester United Grab Last Minute Win Against Sunderland
December 9th 2008 20:22
Sorry for the delay folks. I'm currently in my finals week, so it's not easy to find some writing time.
Arsenal – Wigan: 1-0
After Arsenal's impressive win against Chelsea, the question was would they put on the same performance against Wigan, a decidedly weaker opponent. The answer is an uneasy 'yes.' The Gunners grabbed the lead early in the game as Adebayor scored at the 15th minute, and held on from that point on. They came close to adding to their lead several times in the game but goalkeeper Chris Kirkland and his two best friends (the posts) kept Wigan in the game. At the other end, the visitors' lack of scoring chances were caused by the abundance of heavy passes from the midfielders that never reached the strikers. They tried to quell Arsenal's dominance at the beginning of the second half by putting sustained pressure in the midfield with two, sometimes three, players surrounding the Gunner's ball-carrier. It worked to a certain extent, but their desperate hunt for a goal often left them vulnerable to a counterattack. Unfortunately, the Gunners seem to have developed the nasty habit of breaking down in the final fifteen minutes of a game. Mistimed clearances, bad passes, and a whole lot of hesitation almost led to their own downfall as they were doing quite a nice job of helping Wigan come close to an equalizer. Eboue was the most noticeable shaky Arsenal player on the field as two of his passes were straight to an opposing player. As the boos rained down on him, he was quickly taken off the pitch and replaced by Mikael Silvestre who didn't fare any better. In the end, Wigan's lack of offensive punch prevented them from getting a late equalizer, and Arsenal are back in the top four just two points shy of Manchester United.
Arsenal – Wigan: 1-0
After Arsenal's impressive win against Chelsea, the question was would they put on the same performance against Wigan, a decidedly weaker opponent. The answer is an uneasy 'yes.' The Gunners grabbed the lead early in the game as Adebayor scored at the 15th minute, and held on from that point on. They came close to adding to their lead several times in the game but goalkeeper Chris Kirkland and his two best friends (the posts) kept Wigan in the game. At the other end, the visitors' lack of scoring chances were caused by the abundance of heavy passes from the midfielders that never reached the strikers. They tried to quell Arsenal's dominance at the beginning of the second half by putting sustained pressure in the midfield with two, sometimes three, players surrounding the Gunner's ball-carrier. It worked to a certain extent, but their desperate hunt for a goal often left them vulnerable to a counterattack. Unfortunately, the Gunners seem to have developed the nasty habit of breaking down in the final fifteen minutes of a game. Mistimed clearances, bad passes, and a whole lot of hesitation almost led to their own downfall as they were doing quite a nice job of helping Wigan come close to an equalizer. Eboue was the most noticeable shaky Arsenal player on the field as two of his passes were straight to an opposing player. As the boos rained down on him, he was quickly taken off the pitch and replaced by Mikael Silvestre who didn't fare any better. In the end, Wigan's lack of offensive punch prevented them from getting a late equalizer, and Arsenal are back in the top four just two points shy of Manchester United.
arsewig
Arsenal's line-up: Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna, Kolo Toure, Johan Djourou, Gael Clichy; Denilson, Cesc Fabregas, Alexandre Song, Samir Nasri (Emmanuel Eboue, 32nd (Mikael Silvestre, 89th); Robin Van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor.
Manchester United – Sunderland: 1-0
It took 90 minutes for the Red Devils to finally find the back of the net in a game they outrageously dominated from start to finish. Even then, the lone goal was a stroke of luck as Michael Carrick's shot hit the post, came back into play, and was shot into the net by defender Vidic who had turned into a striker for the final minutes of the game. But as United fans will tell you, this was a win in the true Red Devils fashion – never give up, never surrender. There isn't much of analysis to be made of this game because it was entirely one-way traffic with United trying to get past Sunderland's defensive block. As the match went on, United got more and more possession time, going as far as having a ridiculous 85%-15% advantage in the final minutes.
Arsenal's line-up: Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna, Kolo Toure, Johan Djourou, Gael Clichy; Denilson, Cesc Fabregas, Alexandre Song, Samir Nasri (Emmanuel Eboue, 32nd (Mikael Silvestre, 89th); Robin Van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor.
Manchester United – Sunderland: 1-0
It took 90 minutes for the Red Devils to finally find the back of the net in a game they outrageously dominated from start to finish. Even then, the lone goal was a stroke of luck as Michael Carrick's shot hit the post, came back into play, and was shot into the net by defender Vidic who had turned into a striker for the final minutes of the game. But as United fans will tell you, this was a win in the true Red Devils fashion – never give up, never surrender. There isn't much of analysis to be made of this game because it was entirely one-way traffic with United trying to get past Sunderland's defensive block. As the match went on, United got more and more possession time, going as far as having a ridiculous 85%-15% advantage in the final minutes.
man1
Manchester United's line-up: Edwin Van der Sar; Rafael, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Cristiano Ronaldo (Ryan Giggs, 67th), Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher (Anderson, 67th), Park Ji-Sung (Carlos Tevez, 57th); Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov.
Manchester United's line-up: Edwin Van der Sar; Rafael, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Cristiano Ronaldo (Ryan Giggs, 67th), Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher (Anderson, 67th), Park Ji-Sung (Carlos Tevez, 57th); Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov.
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