Arsenal 4-0 Wigan Athletic: Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus all got on the scoresheet as the Gunners comfortably defeated their League One opponents in the FA Cup.
Arsenal blew away Wigan with a riotous first half (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Getty Images)
Arsenal defeated Wigan to reach the FA Cup fifth round for the first time in six seasons. The Ligue 1 side, who were on the brink of relegation, scored four goals in the first 16 minutes as the Arsenal giants continued their strong form in all four competitions.
The complete mismatch was evident from the start and Arsenal were in a ruthless mood, with Noni Madueke taking a 1-0 lead from Eberechi Eze’s first through ball. After 2-0 minutes, Eze picked up some space and slipped Gabriel Martinelli to the opposite flank, where the Brazilian slotted the ball into the top corner.
Madueke and Bukayo Saka combined well on the right before Jack Hunt added further injury with an own goal, before Gabriel Jesus added by collecting Christian Norgaard’s ball over the non-existent Wigan defence, chipping past Sam Tickle to make it 4-0 in the 27th minute.
Kepa Arrizabalaga had to watch out for a save from Joe Taylor, but by then the game was over. The second half was largely static as Mikel Arteta made changes to keep his squad fresh. Here are the talking points from Emirates Stadium:
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1. Improving Eze’s confidence
If there was a player at Arsenal who needed this kind of game, it was Eze. The playmaker has struggled to fit into Mikel Arteta’s setup in recent months and has found himself sitting on the bench more often. His positional flexibility probably worked against him, but what needs to be addressed is his tendency to drift during hard collisions.
Against a struggling Ligue 1 side, there were no such concerns, and Eze thrived, dropping into space, finding pockets and sending lethal balls in behind Latics’ flat (in the worst sense of the word) back five. Eze’s vision and ease of passing with both feet makes him a joy in non-pressure situations, and he showed that here too.
Eberechi Eze has two assists in 18 minutes (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Getty Images)
2. Saka’s unfamiliar role
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Arteta had to think quickly after Riccardo Calafioli left just before kick-off. The Arsenal manager wanted to experiment with Miles Lewis-Skelly in midfield, but Calafiori’s absence meant the youngster moved back to left-back, an unusual role for Bukayo Saka, who replaced Calafiori in the starting XI.
Madueke took Saka’s usual position on the right wing, with the England star slotted alongside Eze in central midfield in front of Norgaard. It was an interesting prospect and with his rotation and fluidity on the day against a much inferior opponent, Saka seemed to be enjoying it, sometimes dropping deep and sometimes switching with Jesus and running beyond. Packing creators into the midfield against opponents who use low blocks could be a repeat strategy for Arteta.
Bukayo Saka was unusually featured alongside Noni Madueke (Image: James Fearn/Getty Images)
3. Maduke is doing well
It’s clear that Arteta was keen to have a replacement for Saka on the right flank when he signed Madueke from Chelsea for £48.5m in the summer, and he is beginning to find the stability to match his undoubted talent.
His towering header in Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Brentford was unexpected, but his speed and curling finish above the goalkeeper against Wigan was well beyond the winger’s wheelhouse. It took a Premier League goal review panel to award him a goal in last month’s 4-0 win over Leeds, but perhaps the dam has now opened.
Noni Madueke is in great shape (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
4. A glimpse of the future
With the game decided, Arteta rested William Saliba and replaced him at centre-back with 16-year-old Marli Salmon. The young defender also featured in last week’s win over Portsmouth, coming on as a substitute in his third senior appearance for the club.
Salmon also played in the Champions League match against Club Brugge at the beginning of the season, so he is a player to look forward to. “He can play as a centre-back and as a full-back, so I’m very happy for him,” Arteta said in December. Sermon actually didn’t have much work to do, and the game went by without much action in the second half.
5. Quadruple is still on
Mikel Arteta has guided Arsenal through all four competitions (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Arsenal have played in all four competitions and are theoretically in position to win them all. Some, including Andy Dunn, the Mirror’s chief sportswriter, argue that defeat in the FA Cup might not be the worst thing for Arsenal as they seek to win their first Premier League title in 22 years.
But with such depth in the team and a draw like this, there was no realistic chance of the Gunners waving the white flag on Sunday. The Premier League remains the priority. They will face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on March 22nd. They have a perfect record in the Champions League. The FA Cup is probably the fourth priority at the moment. But it’s not a bad place.
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