Arsenal will aim to put their recent league inconsistencies behind them as they host League One side Wigan Athletic on Sunday, with the Gunners keen to avoid an FA Cup upset.
The two sides share FA Cup history. In the 2014 semi-final, Arsenal narrowly defeated Wigan on penalties before going on to beat Hull City and end a ten-year trophy drought under former manager Arsène Wenger. That match remains the last meeting between the two clubs.
Wigan’s Long Slide
Just a year earlier, Arsenal had condemned Wigan to relegation with a 4–1 victory at the Emirates. That brought an end to Wigan’s eight-year stay in the Premier League.
Remarkably, just three days before that defeat in north London, Wigan had lifted the FA Cup with a 1–0 victory over Manchester City at Wembley. They have the dubious honor of being the only side to win the FA Cup and suffer relegation from the Premier League in the same season.
Wigan have failed to recover yet from that season’s relegation. They find themselves in the drop zone of League One, and on a run of four consecutive defeats. That poor form resulted in Ryan Lowe being sacked as Wigan manager last week, following the 6-1 defeat at Peterborough. This means a pair of interim managers, Glenn Whelan and Graham Barrow, will lead out Wigan at the Emirates.
Man with the Plan
The 71 year-old Barrow (pictured right, in blue) is relishing the chance to take on the league leaders and said: “I was a player myself and you go to these places and it gives you that bit extra.
“We beat Arsenal at their place (in 2011/12). I know it’s a mammoth task. I watched Exeter at Manchester City the other week, and sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.
“It’s great how many people we are taking, and it might be a bit of a release for the players. If they don’t enjoy that they shouldn’t be in the game. We can go and give a good account of ourselves. That is the main thing, and then you never know in this game.”
Barrow was part of the backroom staff when Wigan lifted the FA Cup and is hoping to draw on those experiences for this tie, he said: “We were used to the big occasions. This club had four Wembley appearances in 12 months and I was involved in all of them.
“Our manager Roberto Martinez had a plan for the big games. He broke the game down. Can you get past the first 20 minutes? Use the subs well. If you get through the first half you just don’t know. Anything can happen. But you need to have a game plan.”
Gunners Hungry for Silverware
Arsenal, despite a recent blip, remain top of the Premier League and will now turn their attention to the FA Cup. They are the competition’s title record holders, and will look to strengthen that status by securing a 15th FA Cup crown.
The tournament’s most decorated side booked their place in the Fourth Round with a comfortable 4-1 win away at Portsmouth, courtesy of a Gabriel Martinelli hat-trick.
Wigan, on the other hand, were forced to rely on penalties in the first two rounds against non-league Hemel Hempstead Town and League Two strugglers Barrow. However, they set up this fourth-round clash with an impressive 1–0 victory away at Preston North End.
Arsenal were last in action on Thursday and were frustrated by a stubborn Brentford side. They had to settle for a 1-1 draw away in west London, with their lead at the top now standing at four points and Manchester City chasing their tail.
Arsenal have now only won two of their last six games, but they remain in the hunt on all four fronts this season. Manager Mikel Arteta is keen to make amends for recent FA Cup disappointments. The Gunners have failed to progress past the Fourth Round since lifting the trophy six years ago.
He said: “We haven’t been good enough on the day, and when you come to a cup competition you have to be excellent on the day. The rest, the shirt you wear or the badge on it, is irrelevant. We’re going to have to prove that again against Wigan on Sunday.”
The Takeaway
This match also offers Arteta the chance to rotate his squad and give fringe players valuable game time. Arteta added: “We try to make sure everybody is a big part of what we are doing in different competitions, and Sunday will be the same.”
He will need his entire squad firing for the run-in, with Mikel Merino and Kai Havertz carrying fresh injuries. William Saliba, who missed Thursday’s draw through illness, could return.
Wigan are expected to report a fully fit squad as they look to pull off what would be one of the biggest FA Cup upsets in recent years.
