Arsenal 2 – 0 Wigan: Gallas proves his mettle
Add comment November 26th, 2007
When William Gallas was made captain of Arsenal Football Club, I was as surprised and disappointed as anyone. However, several months into his reign as skipper, opinions are being forcibly reversed. After his critical equaliser against Manchester United, yesterday he stormed up the field to head home an equally crucial late goal to break the hearts of Wigan Athletic and open up a three point lead over the champions.
In a game in which we had missed the creative talents of Aleksandr Hleb and Cesc Fabregas, we struggled to find the back of the net. Emmanuel Adebayor had a side-footed effort palmed away in the first half, but aside from that clear-cut opportunities were in short supply.
And yet we always looked like winning it. Our propensity for scoring late goals and the continued intensity of pressure we applied to the Wigan goal gave our triumph a cruel inevitability. The plucky underdog of Wigan was eventually steam-rollered, and if you’ve ever seen a dog fight a steam-roller, you’ll understand the nature of such a conflict.
It was the introduction of Nicklas Bendtner that helped the turn the game. With 83 minutes gone, the in-form Dane spread the ball into the overlapping Bacary Sagna, whose inch-perfect cross was powered into the back of the net by the marauding Gallas.
Two minutes later the game was safe; Bendtner this time sliding in Tomas Rosicky to burst in on goal and net his fourth of the season.
With old-boy Nicolas Anelka doing us an unlikely favour in helping Bolton beat Manchester United, we’re now three points clear at the top with a game in hand. Considering we don’t play in the league at home until 16th December, we may well need the breathing space.
Tomorrow night we face Sevilla, and after having already qualified from the group, Arsene has left Gallas, Gael Clichy, and Adebayor at home. Cesc Fabregas, however, is available again and could be involved from the bench.
It should be fascinating to see how the likes of Bendtner, Walcott, and Denilson manage against a top class Sevilla side.
