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By Tony Attwood
So at 4.30pm tomorrow we are off again, this time at home to Wigan in the FA Cup. And since Wigan are a League One (ie third tier) side, they need a spot of introducing. Here’s their league table position in League One, the third tier of English football.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff City | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 55 | 29 | 26 | 63 |
| 21 | Burton Albion | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 33 | 45 | -12 | 32 |
| 22 | Wigan Athletic | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 31 | 42 | -11 | 31 |
| 23 | Rotherham United | 29 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 31 | 43 | -12 | 31 |
| 24 | Port Vale | 28 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 40 | -18 | 22 |
In simple terms, it means they are looking at the possibility of relegation to League Two, the lowest of the four major divisions in English football. After that it is the Conference.
Now you might be a little surprised to hear, however, that Arsenal have played Wigan 21 times, and this is because between 2005 and 2013 Wigan were indeed in the Premier League. where they stayed for eight seasons.
All told, there have been 21 games between the two clubs, and Arsenal have won 16 of them. Leaving aside the two draws, that gives us three defeats, which were in the League Cup in 2006 (1-0 away) in the Premier League in 2010 (Wigan won 1-0 also away) and finally on 16 April 2012 when Wigan beat Arsenal at Arsenal’s own ground 1-2!
Wigan’s rise through the leagues was one of the most extraordinary series of promotions in the history of English football. In 2003 they won League Division two, and by 2005.6 they were in the Premier League.
In 2005/6 they actually came tenth in the Premier League.
In four of the past games between the two sides Arsenal have scored four goals, but never more than that, and perhaps more than anything, we should recognise that Wigan is a team with one of the most extraordinary histories in the entire history of League football.
But even though we live in times wherein the media will make anything of anything (as with comments such as “Brentford showed Arsenal why they are tactically the hardest away game in Premier League” which I am not sure is quite true), but it gives a good excuse for Arsenal only drawing. However, anything other than a victory against Wigan is going to be a rather unwelcome surprise.
Arsenal are of course unlikely to risk valuable members of the regular first team in this game, for tackling standards in League One are not quite the same as in the Premier League, so it could be a chance for some of the backup players to show what they can offer.
And of course, we are still in the era of Arsenal “fighting on all four fronts” or similar expressions that the media like to use. And just to remind us all, here is the list of achievements: Top of the League, in the League Cup final, Top of the Champions League group stage, and in the fourth round of the FA Cup. It’s funny but I don’t seem to have seen that list of achievements in the current season spelt out very much in the build-up to this match.
But still, let’s have our regular look at the home and away records of the teams. Arsenal are only second best at home in the league on goal difference at the moment, so as a reference point I am including the ManC figures – the difference between the two clubs remarkably is just one goal at home.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 32 | 8 | 24 | 32 |
| 2 | Arsenal home | 13 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 8 | 23 | 32 |
| 19 | Wigan Athletic away | 16 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 30 | -12 | 13 |
Wigan however, have an away record that is somewhat distant from Arsenal’s home scores, with just a couple of away wins this season. But perhaps more to the point has been their form since they beat Barrow at home 4-3 on penalties in the last round of the FA Cup.
Since then they have played 13 games. Three have been draws, two have been victories and the other eight have been defeats. The last victory was away to Preston in the FA Cup. But since then, they have played six League One matches, five of which have been defeats and one a draw. Their goal tally in these last six games has been scored five, while they have conceded 15, although that number is slightly exaggeratedby the fact that in their penultimate game they lost away 6-1 to Peterborough United in League One.
So these are not the best of times for the club, but they will be pleased to be playing at Arsenal’s home ground and thus picking up a good payday. The one thing we really need to be certain of is scoring a few goals and putting the result beyond doubt before giving a group of youngsters a run-out in the second half.
