Early goals do trick for Latics

Here we go again.

Just when we thought this season could not produce any more surprises, Wigan upset the odds once again with their first-ever win at Arsenal to go five points above the relegation zone and give themselves real hope of staying up.

There were barely 200 Wigan fans at the Emirates Stadium, but you could hear them singing long into the north London night, with chants of “We are staying up” and “We shall not be moved”.

And this was no fluke from a side that in the past week and a half have beaten Manchester United and were only denied victory at Chelsea by two awful refereeing blunders.

This time there were no offside goals against Wigan, who were 2-0 up inside eight minutes and defended resolutely to justify Roberto Martinez’s insistence on playing cultured, passing football.

It has been a sensational week for the Latics, and Martinez made the point it was no fluke.

“That was no accident, it has been a long time coming,” said the delighted Wigan manager. “I said all along that good performances would produce results, and we’ve been playing well since February with the rewards.

“The players were magnificent tonight, and I am extremely proud of them.”

The game started predictably enough, with Arsenal pressing for the first goal.

Thomas Vermaelen fizzed a long-range shot just wide and Ali Al-Habsi was at full stretch to tip over a header from Yossi Benayoun, one of the smallest players on the pitch.

But from the resulting corner, Wigan broke like lightning while Arsenal jogged back, leaving themselves outnumbered at the back.

James McCarthy moved the ball forward to Jordi Gomez, who advanced down the left before curling a pass into the path of Franco di Santo. The Argentinian’s heavy first touch gave Wojciech Szczesny half a chance, but the ball flew up for Di Santo to drill it into an unguarded net.

The Emirates was almost silent, with the tiny band of Wigan supporters barely able to believe they had scored.

A minute later they were really having to pinch themselves as they went 2-0 up, Gomez poking the ball past Szczesny from close range as Arsenal’s defence failed to deal with James McArthur’s low shot after Victor Moses had bamboozled Bacary Sagna on the left wing.

Arsenal also had to cope with Mikel Arteta being forced off with what Arsene Wenger later described as a “serious” ankle injury.

That could prove costly for the Gunners as the Arsenal boss also revealed afterwards that “Jack Wilshere will not play again this season, and will not play at the Euros. He is making slow progress. He will not be ready”.

Wigan, however, only grew in confidence.

But Arsenal kept pressing and after Benayoun had another header brilliantly clawed away by Al-Habsi, got one goal back in the 23rd minute when Vermaelen thumped home a header from Tomas Rosicky’s right-wing cross.

Pressing for an equaliser, Robin Van Persie had a 20-yard shot tipped over by Al-Habsi, who was once again showing his formidable shot-stopping ability.

But Wigan continued to have chances, too, with Gomez cutting in and shooting over.

The pattern continued after the break — Arsenal had most of the pressure but Wigan defended defiantly and created chances of their own. Moses was giving the usually unflappable Sagna a torrid time and cut in past the Frenchman before his shot was parried by Szczesny. A quick Wigan throw then caused confusion in the Arsenal defence, a red sea of shirts parting to allow Moses through, but the forward shot too quickly and straight at Szczesny.

It was end to end stuff, and Santos should have scored from Van Persie’s cutback but shot wide from close range.

Arsene Wenger sent on Gervinho in place of Benayoun in order to add width to his attack, while Roberto Martinez replaced Di Santo with Connor Sammon, who was given the job of assisting the outstanding Moses in keeping the ball out of Wigan’s half.

But when Arsenal did get Wigan on the back foot, they found a defiant defence superbly marshalled by Gary Caldwell and Maynor Figueroa, who seemed to grow in stature as the game wore on.

Even when the fourth official indicated five minutes of stoppage time would be played, Wigan did not buckle, and it was the Gunners who seemed to run out of steam.

ARSENAL: Szczesny 6; Sagna 6, Vermaelen 7, Djourou 6 (Oxlade-Chamberlain 74), Santos 6; Rosicky 7, Arteta 5 (Ramsey 9), Song 7; Walcott 5, Van Persie 6, Benayoun 6 (Gervinho 61).

WIGAN: Al-Habsi 8; Boyce 7, Alcaraz 7, Caldwell 8, Figueroa 9, McCarthy 7, McArthur 7, Gomez 8 (Diame 86), Beausejour 6; Moses 8; Di Santo 7 (Sammon 75).

Referee: A Marriner (W Midlands).