Premier League: Arsenal 1 Wigan 2

Two early goals were enough to give Wigan a shock 2-1 win over Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Monday.

Franco Di Santo and Jordi Gomez scored within seconds of each other to put Wigan 2-0 up after only eight minutes, before Thomas Vermaelen’s header pulled one back for the hosts 13 minutes later.

Despite immense pressure from the home side, Wigan held on for the win, meaning Roberto Martinez’s side have now won four of their last five Premier League games and sit five points clear of the relegation zone.

Arsenal started brightly, moving the ball around confidently and Vermaelen struck a low driven effort from distance which flew just wide of Ali Al-Habsi’s left-hand post in the early going.

But it was the visitors who took the lead when they made a sweeping counter attack and Di Santo was played through for a one-on-one with Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who he lifted the ball over before tapping into an empty net.

Arsenal were left completely stunned when Wigan doubled their lead seconds later. Victor Moses produced some superb skill to drive in a low cross from the left and the ball broke to Gomez, who stabbed home from close range at the second time of asking after Szczesny spilled his initial attempt.

Amid the chaos, the Gunners lost midfielder Mikel Arteta to injury, forcing an early change as Aaron Ramsey came on to replace the stricken Spaniard.

After Al-Habsi produced a stunning save to tip over a Yossi Benayoun header, Wenger’s side found themselves back in the game on 21 minutes. Tomas Rosicky provided an inch-perfect cross for Vermaelen to power in a low header and reduce the deficit to one.

Arsenal were dominating possession, with much of their play going through Rosicky. The Czech international produced a sparkling run into the Wigan box but his chipped cross floated over the crossbar.

A Robin van Persie free-kick and a Gomez strike at the other end both missed the target shortly before half-time as Wigan maintained their lead at the break.

Arsenal nearly restored parity immediately after the restart. Andre Santos struck a low drive and Al-Habsi’s parry just escaped an oncoming van Persie.

Moses then produced another fine piece of skill, flying past Bacary Sagna on the left and hammering a low shot which Szczesny did well to parry.

The end-to-end nature of the game was relentless. Van Persie pulled back to Santos who should have done better as he poked the ball wide of goal. Then Moses broke free after a long throw caused a defensive mix-up, but he shot early and the ball rolled comfortably into Szczesny’s arms.

Gervinho replaced Benayoun on the hour for Arsenal, then shortly after another Wigan break saw a Gomez volley blasted over.

Wenger reacted by bringing on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Johan Djourou, much to the delight of the increasingly restless home fans.

Van Persie produced a dangerous corner from the left which sparked a scramble in the Wigan six-yard box, but they eventually managed to clear.

Walcott then made a darting run forward and fell under a strong Maynor Figueroa challenge, but referee Andre Mariner saw no foul play in the defender’s tackle and allowed play to continue.

Al-Habsi picked up a yellow card for time wasting in stoppage time as Wigan were trying everything they could to hold out for the victory.

Substitute Mohamed Diame almost made it 3-1 as he drove a low shot towards Szczesny’s near post, but the Pole was equal to it.

Arsenal could not find the all-important equaliser and Wigan held on for a superb victory.