LATEST UPDATE: FA Cup Semi-Final: Arsenal Vs Wigan 0 - 0 - (Live)
Arsenal faces Wigan in the semi final of FA cup in April 1 at Wemberly Stadium.Arsenal got here by beating Everton 4-1, Wigan beat Mancity 2-1.While Hull city beat Sunderland 3-0 and meet Sheffield United
Match Preview
We’ve come to a match that once looked to mark a culmination of sorts, one more step towards winning a much-desired trophy. However, since winning the quarter-final match to reach this point, so much has changed that it feels more like we stand at the edge of a precipice rather than a pinnacle.
Win, and there’s hope. Lose, and despair comes crashing down. Having flirted so long with the Premier League title, our stuttering form there threatens to sink us to fifth. While that hangs in the balance, the FA Cup semi-final offers a chance to at least look to ending the infamous trophy drought, which now extends to near a decade—when we last won the FA Cup in 2005. Facing the cup-holders, who themselves beat Man City at the Etihad, might seem to offer a respite of sorts. After all, we relegated them. They’re fifth in the Championship. Far better to face them than City, no?
Were it that easy. If anything, Wigan’s win over City serves ample warning, but it’s all well-worth remembering that Championship clubs seeking promotion are likely just as dangerous, if not moreso, than Premier League clubs slouching towards relegation. What’s more, under Uwe Rösler, Wigan have been on a steady if not conspicuous climb from mid-table towards the top. That rise may not be enough to see them earn outright promotion, but they’re certain to see that as a goal, and they’ll relish the chance to play giant-slayer in the FA Cup a second time.
So what to expect? It might be worthwhile to draw lessons from the Everton loss, and not just because we lost to a Martinez-managed side. Rösler has been keen on continuing and building on the structure and style that Martinez instilled in the Latics, and we’ll likely see a set-up designed first to stifle us going forward, with a 5-4-1 formation, but that’s not necessarily the bad news. Wigan seem to enjoy pressing up the pitch and trying to hit teams on counters. With Gibbs and Koscielny likely out, we may have to send out a backline that includes Monreal (who was caught out ruthlessly by Lukaku) and Vermaelen (who was guilty of lackluster positioning last week as well) along with Mertesacker and Sagna. Wigan’s midfield will look to cause havoc through high-energy pressing, and all they need is one goal before dropping back to defend in numbers.
It will therefore be vital that we stay organized and focused on defense. With Flamini serving a suspension, we may see Ramsey return to play alongside Arteta in the defensive midfield. Ahead of him, playing Ox on the right (although hefaces a late fitness test) would some sorely-needed pace and directness to the attack. Wigan may pack five defenders back, but those wide-defenders do get forward; the general lack of pace along that backline would give Ox lots of space to run into. Since beating Everton in the quarterfinal, we’ve struggled to score goals and will have to change that on Saturday if we expect to see a resurrection before the season comes to a close. Getting to the FA Cup final—and winning it, of course—would be a welcome balm to our recent, and longer-term, ills.
LAST 3 MEETINGS
Arsenal 4-1 Wigan (14.05.2013)
Arsenal 1-2 Wigan (16.04.2013)
Wigan 0-4 Arsenal (03.12.2012)
FACTFILE
Arsenal have faced Wigan just twenty times, with a record of 15W, 3L, 2D.
A win would level us with Manchester United for most semifinal wins (18).
Wigan have won nine of their last eleven FA Cup matches.
Arsenal have scored at least twice in our last four FA Cup matches.
INJURIES
Diaby (knee), Walcott (knee), Wilshere (ankle), Miyaichi (hamstring), Özil (hamstring), Koscielny (calf/shin), and Gnabry (knee) are all out, while Rosický (thigh), Fabianski (illness), Oxlade-Chamberlain (groin), and Gibbs (ankle) face late fitness tests.
POSSIBLE STARTING XI
Fabianski; Monreal, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Sagna; Ramsey, Arteta; Podolski, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Giroud.
Despite our recent form, there is enough at stake to suggest that we’ll come out swinging and overwhelm an overmatched Wigan.
GOONERSPHERE'S PREDICTION
Wigan 0-2 Arsenal
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