Mikel Arteta will hope the problem just isn’t severe.
Arsenal had been pressured to make a late change to their beginning XI for Sunday’s FA Cup conflict with Wigan Athletic after Riccardo Calafiori was injured within the warm-up, although it didn’t cease them operating riot and taking a 4-0 lead into half-time.
Calafiori was restored to the line-up for the fourth-round tie, having been left on the bench for Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Brentford.
However the Premier League leaders suffered a setback as Calafiori needed to withdraw from the group because of the damage, with Arsenal turning to winger Bukayo Saka to fill the void. Myles Lewis-Skelly, who was initially picked as a part of the midfield three, dropped again to left-back.
But the change in personnel didn’t cease Arsenal from taking management of the tie towards the League One strugglers.
Noni Madueke opened the scoring within the eleventh, slotting confidently into the bottom-left nook after latching onto Eberechi Eze’s excellent throughball.
Gabriel Martinelli doubled the Arsenal lead seven minutes later, racing onto one other well-weighted Eze go and firing throughout Wigan goalkeeper Sam Tickle.
Issues received worse for the Latics when Jack Hunt put by his personal web to make it 3-0, and the sport was was a rout by Gabriel Jesus’ lofted end, Wigan paying the worth for a excessive line because the Brazilian beat the offside entice to latch on to Christian Norgaard’s go.
Martinelli replicates Ian Wright with Arsenal second
Whereas he has scored only one Premier League aim this season, Martinelli has been in wonderful goalscoring kind within the different competitions for Arsenal in 2025-26.
The Brazilian’s aim to place them 2-0 up marked his tenth of the season throughout European and home cup competitions.
By reaching double figures, Martinelli turned the primary Arsenal participant to attain 10 or extra objectives throughout European and home cup competitions since Ian Wright within the 1994-95 marketing campaign.
Six of Martinelli’s objectives have come within the Champions League, together with his strike towards Wigan following a hat-trick within the earlier spherical, which ensured a 4-1 away win at Portsmouth.
Although his newest effort got here in a one-sided contest with lower-league opposition, Martinelli’s goalscoring file exterior of league video games highlights the attacking depth Arsenal have at their disposal.
Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus are forward of him within the pecking order up entrance however, with Kai Havertz as soon as once more set for a spell on the sidelines with a muscle damage, Martinelli might see better alternatives come his approach within the coming weeks.
The provider of Martinelli’s aim additionally made historical past, with Eze having fun with arguably his greatest efficiency of what has been a troublesome 2026 so far.
In supplying assists for every of the opening two objectives, the previous Crystal Palace man turned the primary Arsenal participant to file a number of assists in a house FA Cup match since Hector Bellerin versus Sunderland in January 2016.
Supervisor Mikel Arteta can afford to have supreme confidence within the attacking choices at his disposal as Arsenal proceed to compete on 4 fronts. With a number of large video games, particularly London derbies with Tottenham and Chelsea and the EFL Cup closing with Manchester Metropolis, on the horizon, Arteta will hope the damage to Calafiori doesn’t deplete his choices on the different finish of the pitch for very lengthy.
