A place in the FA Cup fifth round is up for grabs at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, with Arsenal welcoming Wigan Athletic for a 4:30pm GMT kick-off in a tie that brings together Premier League title ambition and League One survival anxiety, but with the same knockout stakes for both.
The hosts arrive top of the league and still active on multiple fronts, yet recent results have shown just enough vulnerability to keep complacency off the agenda, while the visitors travel to north London knowing a single well-executed plan—and one defining moment—can turn a “free hit” into a famous afternoon.
The most recent outing in any competition for Arsenal was Thursday’s 1–1 draw away at Brentford, a game that left a familiar feeling: plenty of control for long spells, but not quite enough ruthlessness to turn it into three points. Even so, form over the past couple of weeks has included a statement 3–0 league win over Sunderland on 7 February, highlighted by Viktor Gyökeres’ second-half brace, which underlined the depth of match-winners available even when performances are not perfect. In the cup, the route to this stage was emphatic too, with a 4–1 third-round win at Portsmouth driven by a Gabriel Martinelli hat-trick after an early scare.
Wigan’s latest match brought disappointment rather than momentum, losing 2–1 at home to Reading on 10 February, a result that kept the Latics anchored in the relegation fight and added urgency to their league priorities. The FA Cup has provided a different storyline, though, and the third round delivered a genuine scalp: a 1–0 win away at Championship side Preston North End to earn this trip to the Emirates. That alone is enough to ensure this isn’t treated as a formality—cup upsets rarely need a pattern, just a platform.
Team news is set to be a key part of the narrative. Arsenal’s midfield and attacking options are shaped by confirmed absences and a major question mark: Mikel Merino remains sidelined following foot surgery, Kai Havertz is also out with a muscle issue, and Martin Ødegaard has been managing a knee problem after the Brentford game, with the captain described as “not too bad” but unlikely to feature.
There have also been recent fitness concerns around Jurrien Timber, and William Saliba missed the Brentford match through illness, though that has been framed as short-term. Bukayo Saka has recently been described as fit again following a minor issue, but the wider theme is clear: rotation may be influenced as much by availability and workload as by any desire to tinker.
Wigan’s injury picture is less clearly defined in the public briefings available, but there is at least one notable positive: defender Jason Kerr has recently returned from a long layoff and completed 90 minutes, a timely boost for a side likely to need every ounce of organisation and leadership in a hostile stadium.
Off the pitch, there has also been turbulence, with reporting noting the recent dismissal of manager Ryan Lowe as the club fights to avoid dropping into League Two—context that can either unsettle a squad or galvanise it for a one-off occasion like this.
As for players in form, the headlines naturally lean toward Arsenal’s established difference-makers and the men who have delivered in big moments recently. Gyökeres comes in off that brace against Sunderland, while Martinelli’s Portsmouth hat-trick remains the sharpest cup reminder of how quickly a tie can be flipped once the first goal lands.
For Wigan, Joe Taylor’s output in League One has made him a central threat, and he was also on the scoresheet in the recent league defeat to Reading, offering a clear focal point for any transition-based plan the visitors can execute.
All of it points toward a familiar FA Cup dynamic: one side expected to progress, the other encouraged by the absence of expectation. If Arsenal start fast, press with intent and score early, the task becomes about control and avoiding the kind of game state that invites nerves; if Wigan can keep the first half-hour tight, win second balls and turn set plays into pressure, the afternoon can quickly become uncomfortable for a favourite balancing multiple priorities.
Tim Robinson has been appointed as referee for the tie, and with no replay available at this stage, the margin for error—on selection, on finishing, on discipline—shrinks with every minute it stays level.
