SM
Real Madrid vs AC Milan: 14 hrs 28 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
WL
FA Cup | Semi-Finals
Apr 12, 2014 at 5.07pm UK
 
AL

1-1

Arsenal win 4-2 on penalties
Gomez (63' pen.)
FT(HT: 0-0)

Preview: Wigan Athletic vs. Arsenal

:Headline: Preview: Wigan Athletic vs. Arsenal: ID:149151: from db_amp
Sports Mole previews Saturday's FA Cup semi-final between holders Wigan Athletic and favourites Arsenal at Wembley.

It is no exaggeration to say that Arsene Wenger's reputation and legacy could hinge on this Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Wigan Athletic at Wembley.

The veteran French manager has supplied the Gunners with plenty of glory down the years, from the double-winning side of 1998 to the 'Invincibles' of 2004, but the longer his current trophy drought goes on for, the more those achievements are cast into shadow.

A defeat on Saturday would condemn Arsenal to a decade without silverware, and with the likes of Wigan, Hull City and Sheffield United joining the Gunners in the last four this season, failure to take advantage as such overwhelming favourites could be the last straw.

No-one does a collapse quite like Arsenal, however, and it wouldn't be out of character for the Gunners to end a miserable spell by seeing their last chance of silverware fade away.

Elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich was expected, but a 6-0 mauling by Chelsea saw them comprehensively dumped out of the title race, while last Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Everton has even seen a top-four finish taken out of their own hands.

From this point, the season could go one of two ways for Arsenal. Failure to win the FA Cup and qualify for the Champions League would make for a disastrous campaign and could be the cue for Wenger's exit, yet if they can end their trophy drought and finish in the top four then it must go down as a good season.

They have by no means had an easy route to the semi-finals, knocking out Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Everton along the way, so Wigan do not represent their toughest challenge in this season's competition.

However, the Gunners do have a number of injury concerns, with Laurent Koscielny, Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere among those definitely sidelined. Mathieu Flamini will also miss the game through suspension, while Serge Gnabry and Kieran Gibbs are both doubts.

The good news for Wenger, however, is that Aaron Ramsey is ready to start, and he is likely to replace Flamini alongside Mikel Arteta in midfield.

Wigan, meanwhile, are looking to complete the most unlikely of back-to-back successes in this competition having won in the Wembley final against all the odds last season.

They beat Manchester City on that occasion and emerged as genuine contenders to become the first team to win the trophy from outside the top flight since 1980 by repeating the feat of toppling City in the quarter-final at the Etihad last month.

That was the third Premier League team in a row to fall at the hands of Wigan in the FA Cup this season, and if they can make it four on Saturday then they will certainly fancy their chances of beating the winners of the other semi-final.

However, their league form has faltered in recent weeks as the Latics have perhaps had one eye on this match. They have won just one of their last five games and were beaten at home by struggling Millwall on Tuesday. Despite that, their playoff position is all but guaranteed now, meaning that they can focus their full attention on cup exploits.

The hero of last year's final Ben Watson will play no part due to injury, while Chris McCann is also out as manager Uwe Rosler is likely to go for a similar 5-4-1 formation to the one that did the job at the Etihad.

Recent form

Wigan: WLDDWL

Arsenal: DWLDDL

Possible starting lineups

Wigan: Al-Habsi; Perch, Boyce, Ramis, Barnett, Beausejour; McManaman, McArthur, McEachran, Gomez; Powell

Arsenal: Fabianski; Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Monreal; Arteta, Ramsey; Rosicky, Cazorla, Podolski; Sanogo

Sports Mole says: 1-2


amp_article__149151 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2014-04-11 09:02:34:
html db last update - 2014-04-11 09:02:34 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .