Life at Wigan is sweet for James

Sports writer

Sunday 14 October 2012

Managers tend to show their faith in James McArthur.

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Richard Wilson

If much of his work takes place in the busy confines of central midfield, where the hustling and the scurrying can pass without notice, he is seldom under-appreciated. Roberto Martinez continued to select McArthur even while the midfielder was managing a debilitating back spasm, while Craig Levein mentioned the Wigan player alongside Darren Fletcher and Scott Brown as one of his key figures for the vital role of providing strength and substance to the core of the side.

McArthur tends to be a reassuring figure. The work-rate and determination are seldom subdued, regardless of the stature of the players he is competing with. Martinez has built a team that values possession and composed passing – the aesthetic ideals of the modern game – but was unwilling to relinquish the athleticism and grittiness of McArthur. The former Hamilton player had to receive injections on his injured knee last season, then a back spasm disrupted his pre-season and left him seeking an unusual form of therapy."I got sugar injections," McArthur said. "That strengthens up the ligament and tendons in the back. It was a course of three injections. It started to settle down, then it was much better through the international break. If I'd gone with Scotland [for the World Cup qualifying matches last month] I'd probably still be struggling with it."I didn't get a great pre-season, but the physio worked me really hard. Fitness-wise, I found myself struggling in games; I felt tired and I was making some bad decisions. Now I'm getting stronger and it's given me a good platform to perform now. [Martinez] has shown great faith in me. He threw me in for the first game which was a shock, but definitely reassuring."McArthur has established himself as a Premier League midfielder, and his contribution to Wigan's survival was recognised with a contract extension last May that keeps the 25-year-old at the club until 2016. It was always his friend, James McCarthy, who was lauded at Hamilton, and he was the first to move to England. They are now team-mates again at the DW Stadium, and for all the flair and ingenuity of McCarthy, both players are considered vital to the team's fortunes.It is a testament to McArthur's perseverance, since he was not immediately involved in the first-team after leaving Hamilton two years ago. He was, then, the most resilient and rugged of the Hamilton midfielders – and captain at the tender age of 23 – but the Premier League demanded that he develop as a player, that new standards of physical and technical accomplishment were reached."When I first went down to Wigan, I needed to become a better player all-round," he said. "You need to be fitter, sharper, and your awareness on and off the ball must improve. It took a bit of time to adapt, but now I'm enjoying playing every week. My game has improved 10-fold from when I was at Hamilton. Any job would suit me on the park and I would love to play [for Scotland against Belgium on Tuesday]."McArthur is not daunted by a Belgian side considered one of the most talented in Europe. There is every chance he will be involved in Brussels, since it is doubtful that Darren Fletcher and Scott Brown will be able to play twice in four days, although both will be adamant that their bodies can withstand the strains of two fixtures following Friday night's defeat to Wales.McArthur has already faced the best of the Belgian players, having featured against Chelsea and Everton for Wigan this season. Although Marouane Fellaini and Romelu Lukaku will miss Tuesday night's game, Eden Hazard and Kevin Mirallas will play in a team that is considered the favourite to finish on top of Group A. For Scotland, though, there might be a sense of freedom in playing a fixture which generates few expectations."We played against Everton's Belgians last week, and Mirallas was a handful," McArthur said. "Hazard is a top player, very good. If you man-marked him and he still had a good game, what do you say then? Belgium have so many top players that you could man-mark their whole team. We need to concentrate on how we're going to influence the match. Hopefully I can play my part. I know we've got strong midfielders, but I'm here to make it hard for the manager to leave me out."McArthur is a player ready to make his mark on another level of the game. Managers value his contribution.

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Life at Wigan is sweet for James

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