Wigan Athletic vs. Arsenal: 5 Things Each Team Learned in the Gunners' 4-0 Win

Wigan Athletic's mini-revival came to a crashing end at home to Arsenal as the Gunners waltzed to a convincing 4-0 win at the DW Stadium in the Premier League.

While the home side came into the game on the back of four points from their previous two games, Arsenal had drawn and lost in the previous week, against Fulham and Manchester City respectively.

Early on it was the Latics who went closest through Jordi Gomez, but it was a rare effort on goal from Wigan who, once they went behind, never looked like getting themselves back into the game.

Mikel Arteta's long-range effort should have been dealt better with by Ali Al-Habsi to gift Arsenal the lead, before Thomas Vermaelen's header doubled the away side's advantage two minutes later.

In the second half Arsenal took complete control and wrapped up the scoring with goals from Gervinho and Robin van Persie, while the closest Wigan went to a consolation was Mo Diame's effort from outside the box which flew wide.

Here are five things each team learned from the thumping away victory at the DW Stadium.

Wigan Athletic: Ali Al-Habsi's Poor Recent Form Contributing to Conceded Goals

One of the stand-out performers of last season for the Latics while on loan from Bolton Wanderers, Ali Al-Habsi is in a bit of a wretched moment of form and his bad luck and judgement is impairing Wigan Athletic in a big way.

Al-Habsi is a top-notch shot-stopper, at his best with reactionary saves and with his imposing stature making it difficult for players to beat him from close range, Al-Habsi was something of a coup for Wigan in the summer when they signed him permanently.

In recent games though, his shot-stopping has been well below-par, even before the Arsenal match.

Against Sunderland he arguably should have done much better with the initial shot before Seb Larsson hammered home the opening goal, while against Blackburn Rovers he will feel he might have stopped at least one of the first two goals going in.

Arsenal, however, threw up a whole new series of mistakes from the Omani international.

Two goals inside two first-half minutes were both largely down to Al-Habsi, with Mikel Arteta's goal in particular one which he would normally be expected to save with his eyes closed.

Thomas Vermaelen's second, while well-planted inside the near post, could still have been handled better by Al-Habsi, or indeed a defender had one been on the post.

Wigan's defence is not exactly sound at the best of times; things are 10 times worse when their first choice goalkeeper is apparently suffering a huge confidence crisis.

Arsenal: Robin Van Persie Continues Excellent Goal Scoring Form

Robin van Persie put in an exemplary performance for Arsenal against Wigan Athletic; defending from the front, creating opportunities for team-mates and, as has become almost routine, finding the back of the net.

A whole article could be devoted to van Persie's off the ball movement, his link-up play and the trouble he causes defenders in various ways—but today we'll stick with that most impressive of all, his goal scoring ability.

With 14 of Arsenal's 30 Premier League goals this season van Persie is simply unstoppable at the present time, topping the goalscoring charts for this season and having cruised past the 30-goal mark for the calender year with a month to spare.

A terrific haul of 11 goals in his last seven Premier League outings have blown away most of Arsenal's opponents and the Dutchman shows no signs of slowing down yet—or, more importantly to the Gunners, succumbing to injury as he did so often in seasons past.

Wenger's policy of not selecting van Persie whenever possible, such as the League Cup fixture last week or more than likely in the Champions League fixture to come next week, since the Gunners are already through, is paying dividends with van Persie getting an extended run in the first 11 in key league matches.

Wigan: Missing Key Personnel from Last Season Proving Costly

Having already touched on the surprisingly lacklustre form of goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi, it is only right that other areas of the Wigan side are looked at as reasons why they have dropped alarmingly to the foot of the table.

Last season they alternated as a side between a fluid, spectacular footballing outfit to one of ridiculous defensive frailty and giving away cheap goals.

This time around, they are merely the latter side.

What else is missing from last season's dogged, determined defiance of the drop?

Well, several key personnel for starters.

Hugo Rodallega for one; last season the Colombian forward netted nine Premier League goals alternating between playing centre forward and wide of a front three; this term he has yet to even score one goal as we near the half-way stage of the campaign.

Shorn of confidence and out of the starting lineup, the forward once rated as a £12 million target for the likes of Spurs and Liverpool looks like he would be lucky to get a loan move to Everton at this point.

Wigan badly need him to find his shooting boots and confident outlook if they are to move up the table.

Aside from him, Charles N'Zogbia was sold on in the summer and no replacement was really brought in, instead Roberto Martinez chose to put his faith in previous bit-part player Victor Moses.

While Moses has been one of Wigan's stand-out players, he cannot do it all himself and those around him have been sadly lacking.

Arsenal: Vital and Rare Clean Sheet Away from the Emirates Will Boost Confidence

The return of Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal's starting 11 on a regular basis cannot be underestimated.

Against Wigan, the Gunners clocked up just their second clean sheet away from the Emirates of the league season, and their first since the opening day—where Vermaelen also played.

His partnership with Per Mertesacker at the back will obviously take time to develop but it was important for Arsenal to stop conceding goals on their travels; 18 conceded in just six matches prior to the Wigan game was far too many, even taking into account the eight put past them in a single game against Manchester United.

A more settled back four of Laurent Koscielny-Per Mertesacker-Thomas Vermaelen-Andre Santos is starting to look like it could be a decent foundation for the Gunners, while the likes of Bacary Sagna are still to return from injury.

Wigan: Taking Chances so Important

Jordi Gomez was king for Wigan two weeks in a row after goals against Blackburn Rovers and, last week from the penalty spot, Sunderland helped the Latics on their way to a precious four points in two games.

This time around against Arsenal, however, he was not so clinical as he missed a golden opportunity to put the home side ahead less than 10 minutes into the match when Wigan were well on top.

His scuffed effort from close range was deflected wide though and Wigan did not create another decent chance for the remainder of the game.

For the teams around the bottom just as much as those at the top of the league, taking chances when they come along is all-important, and had Gomez done better with his today the game just might have taken another path.

Arsenal: Do They Have Enough Strength in Depth in Attack?

Gervinho, Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott.

Arsenal's preferred front three, and by some distance.

All three got in on the act against Wigan either by scoring or assisting, and again proved their worth to the team with hard-working displays as much as talented, technique-based ones.

But what about when they can't play?

The former and latter of the trio were withdrawn with 10 minutes to go, to be replaced by Andrei Arshavin and Yossi Benayoun.

While both undoubtedly talented on their day, neither have exactly set the Emirates alight this season.

Benayoun has been hugely under-used by Wenger since arriving on loan on deadline day during the transfer window, while Andrei Arshavin started the season in the first team but has been shunted out to the subs bench for the vast majority of the campaign since September.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain surely has a big future but is not yet ready to start regularly in the Premier League, while Marouane Chamakh surely must be counting down the days until he can pack his bags and leave in the January window.

Korean forward Park Chu-Young has a good reputation but is yet to deliver in the Premiership, while boss Arsene Wenger has already stated it is unlikely that he will bring in another forward in the January window.

With Nicolas Anelka available from rivals Chelsea, might Le Prof be tempted to go back on his word and bring Le Sulk back the club where he made his name, even on a half-season loan deal?

Wigan: Roberto Martinez Needs To Spend To Stay Up

You have to wonder if Roberto Martinez might not have let his mind stray to what he could have been achieving now if he had taken the Aston Villa job in the summer when he had the chance.

He turned it down, of course, and now his team sit bottom of the Premier League table, with the worst goal difference in the league, with the least amount of goals scored and having played a game more than all three teams sitting just above the drop zone who Wigan have to catch up with over the next five months to avoid being relegated.

There is much work to be done on the pitch for Wigan, but one thing is for sure: they need to spend in January if they are to have any hope of staying up.

Jordi Gomez, Mo Diame and James McCarthy are a fairly talented trio on the ball in midfield but there is no doubt they lack a bit of bite and defensive nous; up front relying on Conor Sammon and Franco di Santo to net enough goals between them to keep your team up seems pretty desperate too.

Hugo Rodallega's disappearing act is a huge letdown, but Martinez needs to address this by bringing in at least two decent attacking players and a strong, defensive-minded midfielder.

Nobody is suggesting that he should abandon his philosophy of passing the ball and moving players constantly around the pitch to create openings, but it needs to be done with more solidity to prevent such easy goals being given away.

Oh, and buy a defender to replace Steve Gouhouri.

That guy makes Titus Bramble look like Nemanja Vidic.

Arsenal: Long Rest Between Games for Key Players Will Benefit Gunners

With a Champions League clash against Olympiacos just a few days away Arsenal might have been glad that the challenge posed by Wigan Athletic turned out to be so straight forward that they could effectively walk their way through the final hour of the match—but in fact, Arsene Wenger will have the luxury of replacing most of his team if he wishes.

While the Greek side will be hoping he does indeed do that, Wenger will be pleased to give several of his star players a rest in the hope that they are much fresher for next week's league fixture against Everton.

With Arsenal already guaranteed top spot in their group in Europe, fringe players should instead get the chance to play with the likes of Robin van Persie, Thomas Vermaelen and Mikel Arteta, all who have struggled with injuries in recent seasons, getting a well-timed rest ahead of the busy Christmas schedule.

In addition, the extra game time for some of the regular substitutes will also do them good for when they are needed in the forthcoming league matches.

Wigan: Away to West Brom Next Week Is a Must-Win Game for the Latics

14 games into the Premier League season, Wigan Athletic have amassed just nine points and sit bottom of the Premier League table.

Should they fail to win against West Bromwich Albion next weekend, then there is a high probability that Wigan will be in exactly the same situation as we reach the half-way stage of the season.

Following the visit to the Hawthorns, Wigan face a hugely difficult Christmas fixture list as they play at home to Chelsea and Liverpool before visiting Manchester United on Boxing Day.

It would really be no surprise to see the Latics take no points at all from those three fixtures, making their next game against West Brom an absolutely massive one to try and take maximum points from to get themselves back in amongst the teams just out of the relegation zone.

Should they fail, it is entirely conceivable that they may go into their final day of the year clash with Stoke City up to six points adrift of safety.

Arsenal: Key Clash Looming with Manchester City

Following their midweek non-event against Olympiacos, Arsenal face Everton at the Emirates in the Premier League.

After that match the Gunners will enjoy an eight-day rest before one of the biggest games of their season—the trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City.

Obviously City will still have a points advantage over Arsenal by that point and be top of the table, but should Arsenal beat Everton next week they will go into the City match having won eight of the previous nine Premier League matches—mean form for any side, at any stage of the season.

The added spice of playing old boys Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri will be an added incentive to go there and get a result, especially trying to become the first domestic side to beat City this season, and if they pull it off then Arsenal will not just be aiming for a top four spot this season—they will be seen as genuine challengers for the title once more.

One other thing; who else thinks that sign in the picture originally said "Clichy + Nasri Judos", and they added in the little tail on the "a" afterwards?!

Me too!!