Referee John Moss had a very poor game ot the point where he used a sin bin style punishment to calm Franco Di Santo down mid-way through the second half after a string of particularly bad decisions from the overweight official.
Moss later colluded with his linesman to devise a story about imaginary jewellery on the Argentinian international being the reasons for his forced absence.
Added to the persistent whistling for needless Gunners freekicks, a dubious penalty decision in the Latics box, and two blatent declines for handball in the Arsenal box and you start to understand why Martinez gets frustrated.
Moss may as well have worn an Arsenal shirt to avoid any doubt over his bias.
Anyway, here's what Martinez had to say: “We didn’t get the result our performance deserved but that is the only negative feeling to come out of the game, because the display was as good as it gets.
“The penalty decisions were big ones. The referee has given one to Arsenal which is very soft and then you at least want consistency when Kieran Gibbs clearly handballs Jordi Gomez’s shot; his arms are not in a natural position and it is a clear decision.
“We have to accept that we were stopped from getting a positive result, but if we continue performing in the same manner then we’re in for an exciting second-half of the season.
“Remember we were playing an Arsenal side with great quality going forward, as they showed against Reading in their previous match. But from the first minute we were brave, kept the ball well and created the key moment in the game; when Arouna is one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
“The first goal in the game was always going to dictate things and unfortunately we couldn’t get it when the chance came, but overall I was very impressed.
“Our midfield three (James McCarthy, James McArthur and David Jones) were taking on three of the most technically gifted players in Europe and stopped them from playing. We were more notorious in the middle and looked better in possession – you won’t see many teams beat Arsenal in terms of amount of possession or force them to run the clock down in the closing stages to see away our threat, which is a complement to our players.
“The truth is though that the negative feelings lately of injuries and suspensions affected us a little too much and the confidence in the final third suffered slightly.”
In summary there were two moments to epitomised the difference between the two sides. Where Theo Walcott flung himself to the floor as if on the stage in a ballet, Arouna Kone in the same situation continued to battle and stay on his feet.
It is a question of character and dignity which was evidence in bucket loads from the Latics and was very light on the ground from the Gunners selfish spirit.