Henry bursts Wigan's bubble

Arsenal defeated Wigan Athletic 3-2 in the early kick-off at The JJB Stadium.

A fine brace from Thierry Henry followed Robin van Persie's fortunate opener for The Gunners, as they ended Wigan's run of six straight Premiership wins.

The Latics, however, proved a worthy match for their illustrious visitors over 90 minutes, with Henri Camara and Jimmy Bullard finding the scoresheet in the first half.

Latics boss Paul Jewell named an unchanged line-up for Saturday's early kick-off in Lancashire.

His Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, replaced Jose Antonio Reyes with Freddie Ljungberg, while Pascal Cygan came in as an emergency left back, with Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy both out injured.

On a bright but cold Saturday, a sold-out JJB Stadium witnessed arguably one of the halves of Premiership football this season.

The home side started brightly, with Lee McCulloch missing two half chances before Henry tested Wigan goalkeeper John Filan with a solid free kick strike.

Despite Wigan's bright start, it was The Gunners that took the lead on 11 minutes and in fortuitous circumstances.

Sol Campbell's simple pass forward to van Persie saw the Dutchman turn fellow compatriot Arjan de Zeeuw with ease in the middle of Wigan's half.

He made a darting run forward before striking goalwards and his shot somehow slipped past the diving Filan to give Arsenal the lead.

The goal changed the mood of the contest and van Persie was unlucky not to double his account after a typical Arsenal passing move saw the youngster pull his close range turn and shot just wide of Filan's goal.

The Gunners kept pressing and more fine passing created a trademark Henry goal to double the visitors' advantage, as Francesc Fabregas's excellent through ball allowed the Frenchman to finish with consummate ease.

The Latics, however, are a side that never know when to give up and after Damien Francis missed the target with a half chance, Wigan pulled a goal back from Leighton Baines's free kick.

The youngster's set-piece found the head of de Zeeuw in the Arsenal box and the Dutchman's knockdown allowed Camara to connect with a close-range diving header for 2-1.

The goal lifted the home crowd's spirits, who witnessed an ensuing melee between both sets of players after Jason Roberts received a yellow card for an innocuous push on Fabregas following the goal.

Wigan then came close to levelling the score after Roberts ran clear with the ball into Arsenal's box, but his weak goalbound shot saw Kolo Toure clear the danger, with Bullard bearing down on goal.

A more settled spell of play then ensued before Henry found the scoresheet again with an excellent free kick strike after Cygan was fouled by Bullard in the Wigan half.

The France international swung a right-footed set-piece over the Wigan wall, off the near post and past a diving Filan to restore Arsenal's two-goal lead.

The North Londoners looked in control once more, but Wigan again reminded them of their fighting spirit by pulling another goal back just before the break.

Bullard latched onto McCulloch's pass on the right before eluding the challenge of Campbell on the edge of Arsenal's box and striking home past Jens Lehmann for a 3-2 scoreline at half time.

The entertaining nature of the contest continued after the break, with both sides showing great endeavour to get forward.

A defensive error from Pascal Chimbonda nearly allowed van Persie a sight at goal, but the Dutchman's goalbound chip flew across the face of Filan's goal.

From van Persie's ensuing corner, Campbell failed to make the most of a close-range header, as the ball flew wide of the near post.

Another loss of possession in Wigan's defensive third allowed Henry to play a cheeky back-heel to Fabregas, but the young Spaniard's shot from the edge of the box flew over the crossbar.

At the other end, both Camara and Roberts tried diligently to unlock the Arsenal backline for a third time, but only to find equal resistance at timely intervals.

Lehmann had to be alert to pluck the ball from the feet of Roberts after the striker had powered his way past Campbell in the visitors' box.

Wigan's best chance to equalise then came in the dying stages, but McCulloch was unable to connect to Roberts's low cross in front of the Arsenal goal.

The home side pressed until the end, but this time it proved in vain, as Arsenal moved right back into the Premiership title picture with the win.

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