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Played
December 3, 2011 3:00 PM GMT
The DW Stadium — Wigan
Referee: M. Clattenburg
Attendance: 19280
December 3, 2011 3:00 PM GMT
The DW Stadium — Wigan
Referee: M. Clattenburg
Attendance: 19280
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| Wigan | 6.25 | 51.00 | 6.25 | 56.00 | 6.00 | 40.00 | 6.80 | 6.50 |
| Draw | 4.05 | 9.00 | 4.20 | 21.00 | 4.20 | 12.00 | 4.40 | 4.00 |
| Arsenal | 1.55 | 1.01 | 1.48 | 1.01 | 1.53 | 1.03 | 1.52 | 1.50 |
Top of the Match
Gervinho
Arsenal FC
Arsenal FC
Robin van Persie
Arsenal FC
Arsenal FC
Flop of the Match
Gary Caldwell
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic
Ali Al Habsi
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic
Goal.com Rating 
Fans' Rating Wigan 0-4 Arsenal: Robin van Persie caps impressive victory as Gunners turn on the style to get back to winning ways
Wenger's men extend their unbeaten run in the league to seven with a comfortable victory over the lacklustre Latics, after goals from Vermaelen, Arteta, Gervinho and the Dutchman
By Alex Fisher at the DW Stadium
Getty Images
Arsenal returned to winning ways and extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to seven games as they beat Wigan 4-0 at the DW Stadium on Saturday.
First-half goals from Mikel Arteta and Thomas Vermaelen put the Gunners in control of the game and they never looked like surrendering their lead as Wigan struggled to get back into the encounter.
The Gunners controlled the majority of the match and extended their lead further through Gervinho on the hour mark and Robin Van Persie with 11 minutes remaining to seal all three points.
Franco Di Santo’s late winner against Sunderland was not enough to earn him a place in the starting XI for Wigan as manager Roberto Martinez named an unchanged line-up, as Conor Sammon continued to lead the line for the Latics with Victor Moses and Jordi Gomez tasked with supporting him in attack.
Arsene Wenger made two changes to the side who were held by Fulham last weekend, Laurent Koscielny and Gervinho were recalled in place of Johan Djourou and Andrey Arshavin. Youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s performance against Manchester City in the Carling Cup earned him a place on the subs bench.
Both sides started the game confidently with some neat passing but the first chance of the game fell to the home side in the sixth minute. Sammon controlled a long ball from Steve Gohouri, before the Scot found David Jones on the left and delivered a dangerous cross into the penalty area.
Wojciech Szczesny could only palm the ball into the path of Jordi Gomez, and the Spaniard looked certain to score from 10 yards with an open goal in front of him but his effort deflected off full-back Andre Santos for a corner.
The game had been fairly even for the opening 25 minutes but the deadlock was finally broken as Arteta fired a long range shot past goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi.
Vermaelen broke out of defence before finding the Spaniard inside the Wigan half, with Mohamed Diame failing to close down the midfielder quickly enough as Arteta lashed the ball into the net from 25 yards. Al Habsi will have felt he could’ve done better though as the ball seemed to fly through his hands as he dived to his right.
Minutes later the Gunners delivered another blow to Wigan as they doubled their lead through Vermaelen. The visitors were awarded a corner on the right wing, Van Persie fired the ball in and the Belgian centre-back rose above Gary Caldwell and Sammon to head home at the back post.
Having conceded two goals so quickly, Wigan were shell shocked and Arsenal very nearly extended their lead in the 34th minute through Van Persie. Gervinho set off on a mazy run down the left wing, he then found Van Persie on the edge of the penalty area but the Dutchman’s left-footed shot was saved by Al Habsi diving to his left.
The visitors began the second half as they finished the first, in total control. And five minutes into the second period they should have been awarded a penalty for a pull on Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman combined with Van Persie but appeared to be pulled back by Gohouri but referee Mark Clattenburg turned away the Gunners appeals.
Seconds later Wigan broke on the counter attack through Ronnie Stam, he found Moses, who managed to wriggle free in the area, but his cross was too powerful for Sammon to get on the end of and the chance was gone.
On the hour Arsenal extended their lead through the busy Gervinho. Van Persie broke into the Wigan penalty area on the left hand side, and managed to wriggle free of two defenders but his right-footed effort was well saved by Al Habsi. However the keeper could only palm the ball into the path of Gervinho and he fired the ball into the empty net.
With the game drifting towards its conclusion Arsenal added a fourth goal with 11 minutes remaining through Van Persie. Walcott beat Caldwell to a through ball before rolling the ball back to the Dutchman who made no mistake from 12 yards and sparked the mass exodus of Wigan fans.
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First-half goals from Mikel Arteta and Thomas Vermaelen put the Gunners in control of the game and they never looked like surrendering their lead as Wigan struggled to get back into the encounter.
The Gunners controlled the majority of the match and extended their lead further through Gervinho on the hour mark and Robin Van Persie with 11 minutes remaining to seal all three points.
Franco Di Santo’s late winner against Sunderland was not enough to earn him a place in the starting XI for Wigan as manager Roberto Martinez named an unchanged line-up, as Conor Sammon continued to lead the line for the Latics with Victor Moses and Jordi Gomez tasked with supporting him in attack.
Arsene Wenger made two changes to the side who were held by Fulham last weekend, Laurent Koscielny and Gervinho were recalled in place of Johan Djourou and Andrey Arshavin. Youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s performance against Manchester City in the Carling Cup earned him a place on the subs bench.
Both sides started the game confidently with some neat passing but the first chance of the game fell to the home side in the sixth minute. Sammon controlled a long ball from Steve Gohouri, before the Scot found David Jones on the left and delivered a dangerous cross into the penalty area.
Wojciech Szczesny could only palm the ball into the path of Jordi Gomez, and the Spaniard looked certain to score from 10 yards with an open goal in front of him but his effort deflected off full-back Andre Santos for a corner.
The game had been fairly even for the opening 25 minutes but the deadlock was finally broken as Arteta fired a long range shot past goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi.
Vermaelen broke out of defence before finding the Spaniard inside the Wigan half, with Mohamed Diame failing to close down the midfielder quickly enough as Arteta lashed the ball into the net from 25 yards. Al Habsi will have felt he could’ve done better though as the ball seemed to fly through his hands as he dived to his right.
Minutes later the Gunners delivered another blow to Wigan as they doubled their lead through Vermaelen. The visitors were awarded a corner on the right wing, Van Persie fired the ball in and the Belgian centre-back rose above Gary Caldwell and Sammon to head home at the back post.
Having conceded two goals so quickly, Wigan were shell shocked and Arsenal very nearly extended their lead in the 34th minute through Van Persie. Gervinho set off on a mazy run down the left wing, he then found Van Persie on the edge of the penalty area but the Dutchman’s left-footed shot was saved by Al Habsi diving to his left.
Deadlock broken | Arteta fired Arsenal into a first-half lead
The visitors began the second half as they finished the first, in total control. And five minutes into the second period they should have been awarded a penalty for a pull on Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman combined with Van Persie but appeared to be pulled back by Gohouri but referee Mark Clattenburg turned away the Gunners appeals.
Seconds later Wigan broke on the counter attack through Ronnie Stam, he found Moses, who managed to wriggle free in the area, but his cross was too powerful for Sammon to get on the end of and the chance was gone.
On the hour Arsenal extended their lead through the busy Gervinho. Van Persie broke into the Wigan penalty area on the left hand side, and managed to wriggle free of two defenders but his right-footed effort was well saved by Al Habsi. However the keeper could only palm the ball into the path of Gervinho and he fired the ball into the empty net.
With the game drifting towards its conclusion Arsenal added a fourth goal with 11 minutes remaining through Van Persie. Walcott beat Caldwell to a through ball before rolling the ball back to the Dutchman who made no mistake from 12 yards and sparked the mass exodus of Wigan fans.
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Goal
Own Goal
Penalty
Penalty Missed
Yellow Card
Assist
Penalty Save
Penalty Shootout Goal
Penalty Shootout Miss
Yellow Card / Red Card
Red Card
Substitution IN
Substitution OUT
Injury
Goal.com Rating
Goal.com Man of the Match
Goal.com Flop of the Match
Top & Flop Global Ranking
Fans' Man of the Match
Fans' Flop of the Match
Results
Times In GMT
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Robin van Persie
Striker Arsenal |
30 | 2 |
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Wayne Rooney
Striker Manchester United |
27 | 6 |
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Kun Agüero
Striker Manchester City |
23 | 3 |
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Aiyegbeni Yakubu
Striker Blackburn |
17 | 4 |
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Emmanuel Adebayor
Striker Tottenham |
17 | 3 |
