The opening fifteen minutes had been so bright and full of promise but agains the top sides the game can turn on a knife edge.
Jordi Gomez, who has played well in his previous two games, was guilty of switching off as he allowed Thomas Vermaelen forward unmarked. He then slipped the ball aside to Mikael Arteta who did the rest from 20 yards.
It was a big blow for the Latics who never recovered. Shortly after it was Vermaelen himself who added the second and Wigan fans were then left waiting for the game to end.
Gomez never recovered and seemed short of confidence and desire. It quickly spread through the first eleven. The newly adopted system was being compromised by the lack of strength in the centre of the field.
James McCarthy and Momo Diame were being left with too much too do and with two little help from a certain Spaniard and Arsenal started to dominate territory and possession.
Conor Sammon had become isolated and Victor Moses once again drifted out of the game.
For a game that opened so well and promised so much, to lose by four clear goals will be a big disappointment to Roberto Martinez.
Here is the reaction of the two managers.
Roberto Martinez
Arsenal are a good side and we all know that. But the first two goals that we conceded were really soft from our point of view. From then on we couldn't get on the ball and weren't brave enough and we allowed Arsenal too much space on the ball.
We were really excited going into the game and we started well enough but, obviously goals are very important in these sorts of games.
I think we started well in the first ten or fifteen minutes and I felt that we could really make things difficult for Arsenal. From our point of view, we didn't reach our full potential after that spell.
There are certain moments when you need to hold your hands up because today we were nowhere near getting a positive result.
When we conceded the first goal and then the second straight after it really affected us. The corner is a really poor goal for us to give away and it becomes a really tough job for the second half.
You have to give credit to Arsenal and their attacking threat and the way that they move the ball around the pitch.
Arsene Wenger
Wigan started well, creating some dangerous situations and they surprised us a little bit but after that we took control of the game and never lost that control, apart from maybe a bit in the first five minutes of the second half.
But overall we had a good team performance defensively and offensively. The confidence is there and you could feel that in the way we played today, so I can only congratulate the team. They are growing and getting better and better.
The table
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 13 | 38 | +35 | ||||
| 2 | Manchester United | 14 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 13 | 33 | +18 | ||||
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 16 | 31 | +13 | ||||
| 4 | Chelsea | 14 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 31 | 17 | 28 | +14 | ||||
| 5 | Arsenal | 14 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 30 | 23 | 26 | +7 | ||||
| 6 | Newcastle United | 14 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 19 | 15 | 26 | +4 | ||||
| 7 | Liverpool | 13 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 23 | +5 | ||||
| 8 | Everton | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 16 | 16 | -1 | ||||
| 9 | Aston Villa | 14 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 18 | 16 | -2 | ||||
| 10 | Norwich City | 14 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 16 | -6 | ||||
| 11 | Queens Park Rangers | 14 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 25 | 16 | -10 | ||||
| 12 | West Bromwich Albion | 14 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 21 | 15 | -8 | ||||
| 13 | Stoke City | 13 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 23 | 15 | -10 | ||||
| 14 | Swansea City | 14 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 14 | -6 | ||||
| 15 | Fulham | 13 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 16 | 12 | -1 | ||||
| 16 | Sunderland | 13 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 0 | ||||
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 23 | 11 | -10 | ||||
| 18 | Blackburn Rovers | 14 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 21 | 32 | 10 | -11 | ||||
| 19 | Bolton Wanderers | 14 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 19 | 34 | 9 | -15 | ||||
| 20 | Wigan Athletic | 14 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 28 | 9 | -16 | ||||
Next game
Next up for the Latics is the difficult trip to face West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns. The Baggies have been performing to a godo standard this year but with a daunting December now underway, and games against Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool on the immediate menu, the Latics will be hoping to gain at least a point.
