Our second and final goal of the game was a lovely passage of play and it resulted in another good cross from Vela, first time left foot cross from the left in between goalkeeper and defence and perfectly to the sliding foot of Nicklas Bendtner to bundle

Sickness has taken over my household and prevented me from writing my thoughts on the game, that along with a rather unwatchable stream meant that putting it off for a later date was the best thing to do.

After finding out the result of the semi final draw and then a rewatch of the game via Arsenal TV online, I feel more equipped to have a good old fashioned ramble about the game against Wigan Athletic.

Arsenal will now be favourites to win the trophy, a trophy that has eluded Arsene Wenger so far in his Arsenal career but a two legged tie against Championship Ipswich Town. Without wanting to disrespect our opposition, you would expect Arsenal to get through in two matches if the attitude is correct and in the semi final of any competition you would expect the attitude to be spot on.

On a cold and snowy Tuesday evening Arsene sent out a strong side to face Wigan but it was a team full of rusty talent. As we know footballers rarely produce without games. I expected that we would have too much for Wigan, especially at the Emirates (regardless of our previous form at home) but I was not expecting the fluidity of Aston Villa a few days previous.

Johan Djourou, Laurent Koscielny, Jack Wilshere and perhaps Denilson were the only players who would have gone into that game with the right match sharpness. Seven other players were attempting to dust off the rust before the busy December period.

There were still some good individual performances throughout the side. Robin Van Persie may not have been at his explosive best but even carrying the inevitable rust, he still showed the watching public what we have missed.

His quality deserves that special number 10 shirt that another Dutch striker once wore at Arsenal. the awareness of players around him and his ability to kill a ball played at him almost any height and at any speed makes him head and shoulders the most talented striker at the club.

I found it very interesting to see his position on the night. I expected him to be pushed right at the top end of the pitch, continuing from his great work in that position when fit last season. He was instrumental in our fantastic start to the 2009/2010 season. But with Nicklas Bendtner in the side, Arsene decided to play Van Persie almost in the Bergkamp role, floating around in between the half way line and the center forward position.

With Cesc Fabregas out of action for a few weeks, is Arsene Wenger reshaping his template? Is Wenger altering the side to accommodate Van Persie and Chamakh in central areas?

Without looking at the chalkboard stats, it did seem as if Van Persie did not quite come as deep as Cesc does to pick up the ball but he was certainly deeper than he has been in an Arsenal shirt for some time. Our first chances were due to Van Persie’s quality.

One whipped free kick that Bendtner misjudged with only minutes gone on the clock.

We have already had a taste of Van Persie from dead balls and Marouane Chamakh getting on the end of it against Blackpool at the Emirates when Chamakh rose to head in a deserved goal and I expect plenty from that combination. We waste so many dead balls when Van Persie is not in the starting line up and if we can improve that count then it will be highly beneficial for us when we are struggling to break down teams or kill teams off. That is certainly something I will be keeping my eye on when our two strikers are paired together.

The best chance of the game came when Wilshere played a ball around the corner to Van Persie back to goal, he produced an instant back heal into the path of Vela who had drifted in from the left. The idea was correct, lifting the ball over the advancing keeper but instead of dropping into the empty net, his effort curled wide of the post.

I have read plenty of mixed views of Carlos Vela and he doesn’t appear to be everyone’s favourite cup of tea, I personally think he is a great talent who perhaps is being expected to produce world class performances when he simply has not been able to show his best. The question you have to ask, is what is the most amount of games Carlos Vela has played for Arsenal in a row? Has he played three games back to back? Has he even played two in a row at the top level for our club?

Yet we expect a 21 year old Mexican to come on against top players and change games. Robin Van Persie is top class yet on his few substitute appearances he hasn’t been able to impose himself on the game.

Judge Carlos Vela when he has played 10 games on the trot and has found his rhythm and momentum. Even if Vela was not at his sharpest in front of goal I thought his overall game was very good, especially in a disjointed Arsenal team.

The own goal was largely down to Theo’s delivery, curled in with pace into the right area. It looks like he has been working on his delivery and shooting from set pieces over the summer as he has taken a few this season.

Other stand out performances came from the left foot of Kieran Gibbs, Johan Djourou continues to stand in Arsene’s face and scream pick me with yet another accomplished display.

Eboue, Walcott and Bendtner were all behind their usual standards but like I said earlier in the piece, it is no surprise that none of those players have had regular football in recent weeks.

Our second and final goal of the game was a lovely passage of play and it resulted in another good cross from Vela, first time left foot cross from the left in between goalkeeper and defence and perfectly to the sliding foot of Nicklas Bendtner to bundle in from close range. Vela had already played a few good crosses throughout the game and it is the type of ball you want Theo Walcott to find more often.

The game was over at 2-0 and we really should have gone on to score more but like plenty of our games of late we were profligate in front of goal.

Vela, Walcott on a number of occasions and Nasri all missed chances. Nasri who came on for the last twenty minutes had his third rounding of the goalkeeper on his left side in three domestic games had his shot saved on the line.

Not the most fluent of games but plenty of players got much needed game time, we have a great chance to win the trophy as Manchester United’s weakened squad were crushed by West Ham at Upton Park after making a similar amount of changes to their weekend team as we did which should tell you the amount of quality we have at this club.

Now that November is over and done with, it would be great if this squad now goes from strength to strength, starting at the weekend with Fulham.

Szczesny (7)
Eboue (5.5)
Koscielny (7)
Djourou (7.5)
Gibbs (7.5)
Denilson (6.5)
Wilshere (7)
Van Persie (7.5)
Walcott (6)
Bendtner (6)
Vela (7)

Please note that ratings are only my interpretations of the game and that others will have differing opinions