After earning a valuable draw against Villarreal on Tuesday evening, the Gunners are back on their travels on Saturday when they face Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium. This season Arsenal.com will be identifying the key battles for the game. We will bring you all the statistics and information a fan could need so swot up now and come Sunday you will be impressing anyone who will listen with your new-found knowledge.
Michael Brown v Cesc Fabregas
Michael Brown has muscled himself into a starting place at the heart of Wigan’s midfield after struggling for form thanks to a series of injuries earlier in the campaign. However, there can’t be many Premier League clashes more daunting for a central midfielder than facing a fit and firing Cesc Fabregas. The 21-year-old captain has put almost four months of injury troubles behind him with two stellar performances – including three assists.
| Michael Brown | Cesc Fabregas | |
| Appearances | 19 | 16 |
| Minutes played | 1016 | 1385 |
| Assists | 1 | 6 |
| Bookings | 6 | 5 |
| Clearances | 8 | 9 |
| Unsuccessful dribbles | 8 | 4 |
| Successful dribbles | 5 | 11 |
| Goals scores | 0 | 1 |
| Complete passes | 64 | 87 |
| Incomplete passes | 39 | 66 |
| Shots off target | 6 | 11 |
| Shots on target | 1 | 23 |
| Tackles lost | 3 | 5 |
| Tackles won | 11 | 10 |
Mario Melchiot v Samir Nasri
After 90 solid minutes against Villarreal in midweek, Samir Nasri might get the nod on the left of midfield against Wigan. His opponent would almost certainly be Latics captain Mario Melchiot. The evergreen Dutchman has turned in some typically accomplished displays this season racking up an 84 per cent tackling success rate and 87.5 shooting accuracy. Samir’s shooting accuracy is slightly inferior but he trumps his opponent in the pass-completion stakes.
| Mario Melchiot | Samir Nasri | |
| Appearances | 28 | 25 |
| Minutes played | 2427 | 2066 |
| Assists | 1 | 2 |
| Unsuccessful crosses | 22 | 30 |
| Successful crosses | 2 | 3 |
| Unsuccessful dribbles | 6 | 7 |
| Successful dribbles | 2 | 23 |
| Goals scored | 0 | 6 |
| Complete passes | 136 | 112 |
| Incomplete passes | 89 | 60 |
| Shots off target | 1 | 7 |
| Shots on target | 7 | 25 |
| Tackles lost | 3 | 17 |
| Tackles won | 16 | 8 |
Mido v Johan Djourou
In the continued, and rather baffling absence of Amr Zaki, on-loan Egyptian Mido is Wigan’s only recognised senior striker. Unfortunately, his only goal during the spell came on his debut on January 28. He could face Johan Djourou on Saturday, who looks set to fill in for the injured William Gallas. The 22-year-old has racked up a superb 92 per cent tackling success rate in his 12 appearances this season but is yet to try his luck at the other end.
| Mido | Johan Djourou | |
| Appearances | 7 | 12 |
| Minutes played | 558 | 1034 |
| Unsuccessful dribbles | 0 | 3 |
| Successful dribbles | 3 | 4 |
| Goals scored | 1 | 0 |
| Offsides | 9 | 1 |
| Own goals | 0 | 1 |
| Complete passes | 23 | 49 |
| Incomplete passes | 20 | 13 |
| Shots off target | 7 | 0 |
| Shots on target | 5 | 0 |
| Woodwork struck | 1 | 0 |
| Tackles lost | 4 | 1 |
| Tackles won | 4 | 11 |
