Arsenal 4-0 Wigan Athletic: First-half blitz sees Arteta’s men advance to fifth round – Soccer News

Arsenal easily reached the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic at the Emirates Stadium, with all their goals coming within the opening 27 minutes.

The Gunners became the first Premier League team to score four goals in the first half hour of an FA Cup tie as they overcame the frustration of seeing full-back Riccardo Calafiori forced off injured in the warm-up.

Eberechi Eze put aside criticism of his performance by assisting the first two goals, teeing up Noni Madueke for a side-footed finish and then cutting out Gabriel Martinelli who picked out the bottom corner from the left side of the area.

There was a huge hint of fortune in Arsenal’s third goal as Bukayo Saka – a late replacement for Calafiori in the line-up – provided a dangerous center which Jack Hunt turned past his own goalkeeper.

And shortly afterwards it was 4-0 when Christian Norgaard slipped Gabriel Jesus behind him, and the Brazilian confidently lifted his finish over Sam Tickle.

Kepa Arrizabalaga made a good save to deny Joe Taylor and keep Arsenal’s clean sheet, before Viktor Gyokeres smashed an effort against the foot of the near post after replacing Saka at half-time.

Eze lashed into the side netting and Martinelli saw a header brilliantly kept out by Tickle as Wigan, who are still looking for a new manager after sacking Ryan Lowe last week, avoided further damage.

4 – Arsenal are the first Premier League team (from 1992-93) to score four goals in the first 30 minutes of an FA Cup match. Domination. pic.twitter.com/EQviDbYZel

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 15, 2026

Data debrief: Martinelli delivers more Cup heroics

Arsenal’s early blitz saw three different players appear on the scoresheet in addition to Hunt’s own goal, with Martinelli striking for the fourth time in this FA Cup campaign.

After helping himself to a hat-trick against Portsmouth in the third round, Martinelli has become the first Arsenal player to score four times in a single edition of the FA Cup since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when they won the competition in 2019/20 – which was also the last time they reached the fifth round.

Martinelli, who scored just one goal in 20 Premier League appearances in 2025/26, has scored 10 goals in 13 appearances in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and Champions League this season.

Arsenal won the expected goals battle (xG) by 2.35 to 0.36, with Wigan conceding four times in the first half of a match for the first time on Opta record (since at least 2013-14).