Wigan Athletic took a big stride away from the relegation zone, by beating Arsenal 2-1 in a Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium on Monday.
The win lifted http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roberto-c31294 Martinez’s side to the 16th spot in the league table, and they are now 5 points clear of the relegation zone.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thomas-Vermaelen-c35002 scored one for the Gunners in the 21st minute, but the Latics held on to their
one goal advantage in the second half, to claim maximum points from the game.
"We got a well-deserved and well-worked two-goal lead, but to hang on for 80 minutes against Arsenal was completely different," http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Martinez-c24468 said in the post match conference.
"The second half is as good as we've played this season. We had to defend because Arsenal threw everything at us but I felt we deserved a clean sheet in the second half and that's very satisfying.”
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 looked the better of the two teams in the opening minutes of the game. Vermaelen aimed to test Ali Al-Habsi from a long-range effort, but failed to find the target.
However, a packed Emirates Stadium was left stunned in the 7th minute, as Wigan grabbed the opening goal.
The Latics made a quick counter attack from an Arsenal corner, as Gomez sent Di Santo one-on-one with a wonderful through ball. The Argentine skilfully played the ball over an advancing http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wojciech-Szczesny-c36998, and slotted the ball home with an empty goal at his
disposal.
Arsenal, who had hardly recovered from the shock of the first goal, were smacked again only ninety seconds later, after Gomez doubled the visitors lead on the night.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Bacary-Sagna-c7148 on the left flank and delivered a cross inside the box. The Gunners goalie failed to keep hold of the ball and provided a simple opportunity for Gomez, who dispatched the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal,
from close range.
The goal followed an injury problem for Arsene Wenger, as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mikel-Arteta-c25715 limped off the field after suffering an ankle injury, to leave his side in disarray.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Yossi-Benayoun-c37520 came close for Arsenal with a powerful header towards the top corner of the goal, but the ball was tipped away to safety by the Wigan shot stopper.
However, the Gunners halved the visitors’ lead in the 21st minute through Vermaelen. The Belgian footballer unleashed a strong header from a Tomas Rosicky cross, which was too much for Al-Habsi to keep out.
Arsenal almost grabbed the equalizer, just after the halftime break, when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Santos-c32532 fired a low shot at the goal. The Wigan keeper deflected the effort away to safety, with Van Persie ready to pounce on the rebound, but the ball failed to fall in the striker’s
path.
The home side continued to press forward in search for the equalizer, but a stout Wigan defence kept them at bay to see out a crucial 2-1 win, which kept their chances of a Premier League stay in the next season, alive.
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