Match Report: Arsenal 4-1 Wigan Athletic

The same line up was chosen by Roberto Martinez has he hoped to keep the momentum going for Latics. Yet right from the off the Gunners were the stronger side. The wet slippery football pitch was suiting their fast pacey game of football, it was like slicing a piece of meat for Arsenal. Their knife was pretty sharp.

Inside ten minutes Latics were 1-0 down. Luckas Podolski heading home after a chipped in corner from Mikel Arteta. Paul Scharner and Joel Robles getting caught under the ball. That left the Germany forward to head in from close range and kill of the Wigan players with what little energy they had.

Did Latics have enough to muster a win now? Could they get themselves level?

Thankfully for us Arsenal had a dip in their eagerness to get forward quickly. Happy to get their noses in front early they were more happy to knock the ball about and probe around the Latics defence. Yet when Latics won teh ball we couldn't manage to make that pass which could create a chance.

Callum McManaman and Arouna Kone were very isolated up front and neither of them could work any space as the Arsenal defence doubled up on the pair when they got on the ball. It was Shaun Maloney though who would get into the space and look the more threatening.

Shown as he found a good yard or two and managed to chip a lovely ball over the Arsenal defence. It found Arouna Kone who was about to head home, before Laurent Koscielny acrobatically cleared the ball away.

Maloney continued to get on the ball and it would be Shaun who would get us back level. The midfielder trying to work some space was brought down by Arteta with only a few minutes of the half left to play. The free-kick was taken by Shaun and despatched into the goal, dipping and curving away from Wojciech Szczęsny.

1-1 could we do it in the second half?

We started quickly, Arouna Kone should have scored inside the first two minutes. The striker laying the ball off to Callum McManaman who burst into the box before laying it back to Kone. The Ivorian hitting the ball only for it to hit the top of the Arsenal keepers arm. The Wigan faithful lifted the noise level we could do this.

Then the ball was in the net James McCarthy getting it in, only for the midfielder to be ruled offside. A shot from a Wigan player was blocked and spun to McCarthy, the Ireland international midfielder was only a fraction offside. Had that gone it, then maybe we could have done it.

So with that Arsenal then ran us ragged Theo Walcott getting the first of the next three. The ball coming in wide from Santi Cazorla, Walcott with the easiest of tap ins.

Then was Podolski's second goal. A free kick by the Arsenal goalkeeper saw the ball cleared by Antoilin Alcaraz only for it to be headed back in and Scharner to be out of position. Through on goal went Lukas and so the ball was chipped over Joel into the goal. 3-1 that was it.

The Wigan heads dropped and all belief left us.

So it was no surprise when the fourth goal went in it killed us off completlyt. Aaron Ramsey's charging run down the left hand-side left everyone for dead for the midfielder blasted the ball past Joel in the Wigan goal.

That was it. Wigan down and out, the players for the most part looked distraught. There will be no coming back for Wigan Athletic this time.