Moses scored just twice in the following season, but he did manage to find a 70th minute winner against West Brom back on 10th November 2010. Wigan were favourites for the drop but managed to hold their own and ensure survival.
Wigan were once again favourites to head back to the second division of English football, and despite looking like it for much of the season, Roberto Martinez and his boys pulled off a great escape.
Wins against Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United changed their season around, as Martinez once again got his March-madness in tune. Moses scored six goals that season as Wigan remarkably beat the drop; he was one of their stand-out performers towards the end of the ‘Great Escape’.
Last season, Moses finally got his big move after once again being tracked by some of the big boys. Chelsea finally captured their man with a bid in the last week of the window. In fact his first game of the 2012/13 season was for Wigan Athletic against Chelsea.
He scored his first for his new club a few weeks later in a 6-0 thrashing of Wolves. The season also marked Moses’s first appearance in the Champions League; he scored a stoppage time winner against Ukranian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the competition.
It was only under Rafa Benitez that Moses was truly given an opportunity. He was a crucial part of the side that won the Europa League. He scored a goal in each leg of the quarter-finals and semi-finals leading into the final against Benfica. It was his best season in terms of goals, scoring 12 for both club and country.
Despite being born in Nigeria, Moses was eligible to appear for England and took the opportunity, appearing for various youth teams right from the U-16s to the U-21s. The management did see him as a potential member of the senior side, but when Nigeria came calling Moses opted to appear for his country of birth. He was a part of the Nigerian team that won the 2013 African Cup of Nations, scoring two goals against Ethiopia en route to the final.
Style, Strengths and Weaknesses
Moses is a winger, and can play on either side. He is primarily right footed, but is quite comfortable on his left leg as well. His natural tendency is to stay wide, and he was used by Benitez a lot last season to try and stretch teams.
As seen in the past, one very important attribute to succeed in the Premier League is the presence of physical qualities. Moses is tall, strong and very quick. This physical presence is the base on which he builds the rest of his play.
As a winger, his pace is very important, as it means he can take on opposing full backs, and often beat them. The strength (BMI of 23.9) also means that he isn’t bullied off the ball.
Another weapon in Moses’s locker is his excellent dribbling ability. Moses loves to run at players, and his quick changes in direction, coupled with his potent pace make him difficult to deal with. Moses was successful with 38% of his dribbles last season, and that is a fairly good percentage.
As far as passing is concerned, Moses is a bit weak. A lot of his passes are of the shorter variety, they do find their target, but the weight of these passes is often far from ideal. A probable reason for this is that he is mostly in the opposition half, where it is tougher to complete passes. He tends not to make incisive passes there as he sometimes lacks composure, and chooses to stick to his strengths, which is running at defenders.