Carling Cup- Haters still on Simpson’s back despite brace, who was your man of the match?

Arsenal made it into the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup after a 3-0 victory over Wigan at Emirates last night and it showed, once again, just how good some of these young players are.

Jay Simpson got the first two goals. Simpson smashed an effort against the bar early on and then gave the Gunners the lead just before the break after a scintilating through-ball by Wilshere. The second came the other side of the half-time interval and this time it was Vela who turned provider after a quick breakaway from a corner. Two relatively simple goals from Simpson but it proved that he can finish when the service to him is decent, although some people are still on his back (more on that later). Vela’s goal for Arsenal’s third was easily the best of the night. Djourou played the Mexican in and then Carlos produced a sublime chip over the hapless Chris Kirkland- reminiscent of his finish against Sheffield United in the previous round.

In terms of performances, Wilshere was voted man of the match (despite not being old enough to collect the champagne!) and understandably so. He played some neat passes and also showed a physical side to his game which some people had doubted when he first burst on to the scene. Fabianski made an amazing double save late on but his positioning was questionable at times in the first half. Gibbs looked comfortable going forward but got caught out quite a few times at the back although his recovery was decent. Hoyte had a solid game at right-back and in central-midfield Ramsey and Randall didn’t seem too comfortable early on but then appeared to grow into the game as time elapsed. Ramsey was class in the latter stages (in addition to his free-kick in the first-half which would have gone in if it hadn’t been for a superb save from the injury-prone Kirkland) , Randall was slightly less impressive but still worked hard. Fran Merida didn’t influence the game as much as he would have liked but looked very comfortable in possession. Fonte and Bischoff both came on for their debuts late on without really doing much whilst Henri Lansbury also got a run-out but didn’t see a lot of the ball either.

Which leaves Jay Simpson. Two goals in one game is an acheivement no matter the quality of the goals scored. True, they were pretty simple finishes but the art of the striker is about being in the right place at the right time. There was a debate on the radio yesterday with someone arguing that the recently retired Andy Cole (who started his career at Arsenal by the way) wasn’t a good striker because most of his goals came against the so-called lesser sides. But sometimes those goals are just as important. Simpson works hard every game in the Reserves and sometimes it doesn’t pay off and at times his finishing has been atrocious. But put him on the first-team stage and he is so determined to suceed that he is more than likely to deliver. Some people weren’t really impressed with him last night but he needs more games in order to be judged properly. He only started last night because Bendtner was being saved for the Aston Villa game but he deserved this chance and he took it.

So, if you saw the game last night then who do you think was man of the match? Wilshere, Vela, Ramsey, Simpson or somebody else- vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comments section below.