Premier League - Arsenal leave it late

Eurosport - Sat, 24 Nov 17:50:00 2007

Late goals from captain William Gallas and Tomas Rosicky saw Arsenal cement their place at the top of the table with a 2-0 win over Wigan at the Emirates. With rivals Manchester United losing 1-0 at Bolton, Arsene Wenger's side move three points clear at the Premiership summit with a game in hand.

Arsenal left it late. Very late. And once again, it was captain William Gallas who led from the back, breaking the deadlock with a fine header in the 83rd minute.

Making a marauding run from deep, the defender rose to head home Sagna's whipped-in cross at the near post much to the relief of the Arsenal faithful. To Arsene Wenger and his youthful team, it was a goal every bit as important as the Frenchman's dramatic injury time equaliser against Manchester United three weeks ago.

It was a game that Arsenal really should have won at a canter. Coming to the Emirates, manager-less Wigan - who had boss-to-be Steve Bruce watching from the stands - had lost their previous seven games and had failed to pick up a point since mid September.

For their part, Arsenal were on an unbeaten run of 29 games and sat at the top of the table with the best goals-scored ratio in the league.

And yet the home side struggled to turn their exquisite passing and superlative possession into goals, with a resolute Wigan rearguard determined to make a point in north London.

It look the late introduction of Dane Nicklas Bendtner to change the game, the 19-year-old coming off the bench to replace the injured Theo Walcott and playing an instrumental role in both goals.

For the first, Bendtner held the ball up well and found the excellent Sagna overlapping on the right flank.

Two minutes later, Bendtner then demonstrated his dribbling skills and vision, breaking from the halfway line and picking out Rosicky to his right. The Czech midfielder controlled once then fired past Mike Pollett with his right foot to score low off the post.

Elation erupted at the Emirates - together with a huge sigh of relief.

Cheering from the stands were the principal architects behind Arsenal's impressive start to the season: the injured trio of Robin van Persie, Alexander Hleb and Mathieu Flamini, and the suspended Spaniard Cesc Fabregas.

In the absence of his team's backbone, Wenger was forced to hand first Premiership starts of the season to Lassana Diarra and Denilson in the heart of midfield. Walcott also featured up front alongside Emmanuel Adebayor in what was more like a Carling Cup outfit for the north London side.

Not that it seemed to matter. The Gunners' passing was wonderful, their movement compelling; the only problem was a rising level of anxiety that came the longer the ball was kept from hitting the back of the net.

Adebayor could have won an eighth minute penalty when he was obstructed on the edge of the box by Emerson Boyce, but the referee waved on play. Minutes later, the Togolese striker was unlucky not to round off a fluid move involving Emmanuel Eboue and a devilish one-two with Walcott, but Pollett palmed the ball past the post.

Eboue then was guilty of scuffing a shot after yet another penetrating run by Walcott, who, in the second half, was carried from the pitch on a stretcher after a hefty challenge from substitute Emile Heskey with ten minutes left to play.

Heskey, making his first return to the fold since breaking a metatarsal, did little to endear himself to the home crowd, having already picked up a booking for a scuffle with Gallas following Marcus Bent's scything tackle on Denilson.

Despite their superior possession, however, Arsenal were characteristically caught out napping at the back, with Gallas and Kolo Toure combining on two occasions to gift Bent clear chances, once either side of the break.

But Manuel Almunia - decidely shaky in his decisiveness but still keeping wantaway Jens Lehmann out of the side - was never really tested, and Arsenal's knack of scoring late goals saved them yet again.

The team's last goalless stalemate came against Portsmouth on the final day of last season, and their indefatiguable team spirit - brought out by the admittedly fortuitous introduction of Bendtner, and the example of captain fantastic Gallas - saw them home.

With news that United had lost to Bolton - thanks to a goal from former Highbury favourite Nicolas Anelka - Arsenal's late victory was made even sweeter.

Wenger's youth club now top the Premiership by three points - and still have a game in hand.