A first-half blitz saw us defeat Wigan Athletic 4-0 at Emirates Stadium and progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2020.
Noni Madueke got the goalscoring underway before Gabriel Martinelli doubled our lead. A Jack Hunt own goal and a composed finish from Gabriel Jesus made it four before 30 minutes as we cruised into the last 16.
There was also enough to give Marli Salmon a home debut as the 16-year-old came on for William Saliba to help preserve our 22nd clean sheet of 2025/26.
fast start
After Riccardo Calafiori pulled out in the warm-up, Bukayo Saka stepped up into an unfamiliar position in the midfield as we looked to make early inroads.
Bukayo joined Eberechi Eze in middle of the park and he was key to the opening goal on 10 minutes. The midfielder played a superb through ball find the on-running Madueke, who was able to provide a composed finish beyond Sam Tickle in the Wigan net.
Seven minutes later, we had our second, and Eze was at the centre of it once more. An incisive pass from Christian Norgaard found Eze in space, and he was able to slip through Martinelli as the Brazilian slammed home his fourth goal in the competition this season.
Goals galore
The rain was teeming down in N5, as were the goals as we made it 3-0 before 23 minutes. Good play down the left saw Madueke find Saka in space who was able to cross the ball into the path of the unfortunate Jack Hunt who headed it into his own net.
It was almost four immediately after the restart as Martinelli raced through once more. This time, Tickle managed to get to the ball first and smother clear for a corner.
The front line was purring and it was Jesus’ turn to get in on the act before half hour was up. Norgaard was on hand to provide an inch-perfect long ball to pick out the Brazilian, who dinked the ball over the top of the Latics’ goalkeeper.
It was Gabi’s 20th goal or assist against lower league opposition in 20 career appearances as we became the first Premier League side ever to score four goals in the opening 30 minutes of an FA Cup clash.
Despite establishing a healthy lead after 30 minutes, it was the visitors who went closest next. The ball dropped to striker Joe Taylor and, after riding the challenges, was able to get a shot away from close range, only to find Kepa Arrizabalaga alert and up to the task to keep our clean sheet intact.
Having narrowly headed clear to deny Cristhian Mosquera a first goal for the club, Wigan attacker Raphel Rodrigues then went in search of a goal, firing low and hard, but was greeted by Kepa’s gloves.
Second half settles down
We made a switch at half-time and introduced Viktor Gyokeres for Bukayo Saka, and the Swede almost made his mark inside the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Viktor was found in space down the right by Ben White, and despite the angle being against him, he managed to beat the goalkeeper with the aid of a deflection, but not the woodwork, as it bounced to safety.
Eze was looking for a goal of his own and had two efforts. He first fired his free-kick towards goal, which hit Jesus and bounced clear, before dancing into the box and firing another effort into the side netting.
With 30 minutes to play, we brought on Marli Salmon for his home debut, having featured against Club Brugge in the Champions League and Portsmouth in the previous round of the competition.
Martinelli looked to add to his tally late on after being picked out by substitute Martin Zubimendi, but his header was saved well by Tickle on the line. There was just enough time for another home debut as Tommy Setford came on for Kepa Arrizabalaga, claiming a free-kick almost immediately, which was greeted by big cheers from the N5 faithful.
what’s next
Following our FA Cup fourth round tie, we’re on the road to Wolverhampton, taking on Wolves on Wednesday, February 18, at Molineux Stadium. We’re then back in north London, heading to Tottenham on Sunday, February 22 at 4.30pm (UK time).
The draw for the next round of the competition will take place before Macclesfield v Brentford on Monday, February 16.
Read more
When is the FA Cup fifth round draw?
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