Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Wigan: Arteta Punishment Inspires Perfect Response

Four goals in 16 first-half minutes sent Arsenal through to the FA fifth round.

Eberechi Eze (right) was the star of the show in a first-half blitz. | David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Three days on from getting hooked at half time, Eberechi Eze returned to Arsenal’s starting XI to inspire a 4–0 thrashing of Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday afternoon.

All the caveats to this performance should first be addressed; the Latics are currently mired in League One’s relegation zone without a manager. Co-interim head coach Graham Barrow prepared for the trip to the Premier League leaders by admitting that the players are “suffering from confidence levels.” Arsenal’s burst of four goals inside the opening 27 minutes won’t have helped those fragile mentalities.

Nevertheless, you can only beat what’s put in front of you and Eze systematically set about unpicking Wigan by laying on the first two goals of a desperately one-sided affair. Given the uncertain fitness of Martin Ødegaard, Arsenal’s strong-willed No. 10 could be called upon for a flood of fixtures against slightly loftier opponents.

---

One Thing We Can’t Ignore

Eberechi Eze enjoyed himself on Sunday. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

During the first, goalless 45 minutes of Arsenal’s 1–1 draw with Brentford on Thursday night, Eze completed just nine passes, not one of which led to a shot on goal—which he also failed to take. The scheming playmaker recorded as many touches in the opposition box as fouls (one of each).

Ødegaard was promptly ushered off the bench at the interval and, in the words of Arteta, gave the team “another gear.” The Gunners barely broke out of neutral as they rolled down a pitch which seemed to be tilted towards Wigan’s goal on Sunday, yet it must have been encouraging for Arteta to see Eze at the wheel.

The former Crystal Palace star forced the all-important opening goal after just 10 minutes with a wonderful piece of trickery. Skipping around Joe Taylor with a sense of enterprise which he so often lacks against elite opposition, Eze sliced through the visitors with a scalpel of a through ball which was weighted so perfectly Noni Madueke didn’t need to take a touch or break his stride before sweeping Arsenal ahead.

Eze again was on hand to tee up Gabriel Martinelli for the game’s second goal, scuttling between the loose stitching of Wigan’s rearguard to slip his Brazilian teammate into the penalty box.

A slow start to life in north London for the Greenwich boy was put down to the uncertainty of his late transfer switch. It was a new club (in the same city) after half a decade at Crystal Palace. That his first Premier League goal for Arsenal came against the Eagles seemed written in the stars and a hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur in November tipped the hype machine into overdrive.

Eze started Arsenal’s convincing victory over Bayern Munich and laid on the final goal in a 3–1 win. However, that would be the 27-year-old’s last direct goal contribution until his first assist against Wigan on Sunday. That 15-game, 12-and-a-half-hour drought cannot be entirely erased by one win against a side 64 places below Arsenal in the football pyramid. But it doesn’t hurt.

---

Arsenal Player Ratings (4-2-3-1)

Gabriel Jesus got on the scoresheet. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga—7.4: Forced into one very impressive point-blank save in the first half to deny Wigan any whisper of satisfaction.

RB: Ben White—7.1: Not quite on the same wavelength as Madueke, who had far more joy dovetailing with Bukayo Saka down the right.

CB: William Saliba—7.4: Brought off after spending an enjoyable hour skipping around the contest without breaking a sweat.

CB: Cristhian Mosquera—7.2: Bounded around the rain-soaked turf with the enthusiasm of a player duking out his first Champions League final.

LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly—7.0: Robbed of his first ever senior start as a midfielder, Lewis-Skelly still spent plenty of time in the middle of the pitch.

CM: Christian Nørgaard—8.5: The only defensively minded midfielder on the pitch for the Gunners flung himself into tackles while also offering a penetrative source of balls over the top.

CM: Eberechi Eze—8.6: The killjoys will cry that “it’s only Wigan.” After almost three months without a goal or an assist, Eze will be grateful for his good work against any opposition.

AM: Bukayo Saka—7.6: Hurriedly called into a new central role, Saka looked as though he was a natural No. 10.

RW: Noni Madueke—8.5: Rapidly established that he had the beating of Morgan Fox and set about repeatedly proving it throughout an easy cup tie.

ST: Gabriel Jesus—8.0: Took his goal very well yet failed to find many more shooting opportunities as he busied himself by dropping deep.

LW: Gabriel Martinelli—7.9: Like a cat toying with a mouse, Martinelli took his first goal seriously and then became more concerned with embarrassing his battling opponents rather than bolstering his own tally.

SUB: Viktor Gyökeres (46’ for Saka)—6.0: Clanked the base of the post with a fierce shot that was typically off target.

SUB: Marli Salmon (61’ for Saliba)—6.0: Arsenal’s towering 16-year-old carried out what little work he had to do with the maturity of an actual adult.

SUB: Leandro Trossard (61’ for Madueke)—6.6: Charged onto the pitch and immediately started blasting his teammates for one thing or another.

SUB: Martín Zubimendi (79’ for White)—6.8

SUB: Tommy Setford (87’ for Arrizabalaga)—N/A: Within seconds of his introduction, the young goalkeeper proved that he was no charity case, making a superb aerial claim while under intense pressure.

Subs not used: Piero Hincapié, Gabriel Magalhães, Declan Rice.

---

What the Ratings Tell Us

Arsenal are gunning for everything this season. pic.twitter.com/JVI15KVwGy

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) February 15, 2026

• Amid all the changes Arteta made, Christian Nørgaard was perhaps the most grateful and deserving beneficiary. Such is the depth at Arsenal’s disposal, the former Brentford skipper has been left out of several matchday squads which he bravely admitted has been difficult to accept. “I would love to play more minutes,” the Dane reflected earlier this season, “but the minutes that I have had, I have really enjoyed.” There were 90 more to savour on Sunday in a wonderfully measured display.
• Myles Lewis-Skelly’s struggles at fullback persist. The England international has endured a typically difficult second season of senior football and once again looked unconvincing off the ball even up against the modest opposition.
• Declan Rice is a commodity to be spared. Amid the pre-match injury upheaval, Arteta called upon Saka in an almost entirely new central midfield role rather than his first-choice midfielder. With a dizzying sequence of fixtures against opponents of higher calibre than Wigan on the horizon, resting Rice may prove to be the smart decision.

---

The Numbers That Explain Arsenal’s Cup Tie

• Arsenal conceded their first shot (on target or otherwise) of the contest after scoring the game’s opening four goals. Wigan would only get one more effort.
• However, the Gunners unmistakably took their foot off the gas in the second half. After bombarding Wigan’s wonderfully named goalkeeper Sam Tickle with nine shots, and three big chances worth 1.85 xG in the first half, Arsenal’s two shots on target were worth just 0.52 xG after the break.
• Wigan arrived at the Emirates Stadium with a record of three wins from 18 away games this season which didn’t dissuade the 5,000 fans who filled out their allocation. The vocal support may not have been optimistic but supported their team admirably, notably greeting each pass the team made after falling 4–0 down with a spirited “olé!”

Statistic	Arsenal	Wigan
Possession	73%	27%
Expected Goals (xG)	2.37	0.36
Total Shots	17	2
Shots on Target	6	2
Big Chances	4	1
Passing Accuracy	91%	72%
Fouls Committed	9	13
Corners	5	0

---