Arsenal 4 Wigan 0 - What does Madueke form mean for Arteta? How did Eze, Saka perform in the middle?

Arsenal ensured there would be no upset at the Emirates as they cruised to a dominant victory over third-tier Wigan.

As Mikel Arteta’s side chase silverware on four fronts, it is rare they have a matchday without tension but they breezed into the FA Cup fifth round.

Myles Lewis-Skelly was expected to start in midfield, but an injury to Riccardo Calafiori in the warm-up meant Lewis-Skelly returned to left-back and Bukayo Saka came in.

It was the player next to Saka, Eberechi Eze, who played the pass to Noni Madueke to score after 10 minutes.

Eze, who has been looking for form and confidence in recent months, then added a second assist for Gabriel Martinelli to score before an own goal made it 3-0 within 25 minutes. A lovely Gabriel Jesus finish made it four with Arsenal cruising well before half-time.

They are back to the Premier League on Wednesday as they visit Wolves in a rearranged game following their progression to the Carabao Cup final.

James McNicholas gives his views on the game at the Emirates.

What does Madueke form mean for Arteta?

This game saw Saka return to the starting XI — but his deputy at right-wing, Madueke, continued his recent upturn in form.

Having scored in midweek against Brentford with a looping header, 23-year-old Madueke opened the scoring here, racing onto Eze’s through ball to finish calmly beyond Wigan goalkeeper Sam Tickle.

That goal means that since stepping in for Saka at late notice for the Premier League game against Leeds, Madueke has contributed three goals and one assist in his last five appearances. In a season in which Saka has found goal contributions relatively difficult to come by, it’s a strong return.

Madueke also showed some variety in his game. He created a chance for centre-half Cristhian Mosquera after going on the outside and clipping in a cross with his weaker right foot.

England international Madueke formed part of a trio of pacy forwards supporting Jesus. Ostensibly, they were operating behind the Brazilian — but given his natural tendency to drop into midfield, having Madueke, Martinelli and Saka all running in behind gave Arsenal a dynamic, complementary attack.

It leaves Arteta with a decision to make for the Premier League game against Wolves on Wednesday. In theory Saka should be fit to return to the right-wing, but with Madueke in form, perhaps Arteta could find a place for both?

How did Eze and Lewis-Skelly perform?

When the team sheets were published, there was considerable curiosity among the Arsenal fans about a rare chance for academy graduate Lewis-Skelly to play in midfield.

Injuries to Mikel Merino and Kai Havertz created an opening for Lewis-Skelly, who was a midfielder throughout the vast majority of his time in the academy, to fill in alongside Christian Norgaard and Eze.

An injury during the warm-up to Calafiori, however, prompted a reshuffle. In from the bench came Saka, selected as a No 10 behind Jesus. Eze dropped into a deeper midfield role alongside Norgaard, and Lewis-Skelly went back to left-back.

Arsenal did get to see a Hale End player operating through the middle — it just turned out to be Saka rather than Lewis-Skelly.

The tweaked team worked a treat. Saka gave the team another runner up against Wigan’s ill-advised high line, and Eze was able to pick passes from deeper. It was through balls from Eze that created the two opening goals for Madueke and Martinelli.

As for Lewis-Skelly, the game-time at left-back may be useful — depending on the severity of Calafiori’s injury, he may well be needed to support Piero Hincapie in that position.

Saka was substituted at half-time — a sensible move given the tie was won and Arsenal have two Premier League games next week, including a north London derby away against Tottenham.

A show of faith in Salmon at centre-back?

With Arsenal cruising in the second half, Arteta took the opportunity to rest William Saliba, and give some more experience to 16-year-old defender Marli Salmon.

Salmon had already appeared for Arsenal as a substitute in the previous round against Portsmouth, as well as in Champions League win away to Club Brugge.

In both those games, Salmon was introduced at right-back. It was interesting that here Arteta chose to give Salmon some game-time in his primary position as a centre-half.

It’s relatively common for young defenders, regardless of their preference, to make their breakthrough in full-back areas. Depending on the team shape, it can be a less exposing position. To field a 16-year-old as a centre-back, even against League One opposition, was a considerable show of faith.

As it turned out, Salmon’s versatility was required. Ben White went off in the second half, so Norgaard stepped back into centre-half, with Salmon pushed out to right-back.

Arsenal regard Salmon as a future first-team prospect. His exposure this season has given him a taste of senior football. It will be interesting to see how Arsenal manage his development moving forward.

His introduction for Saliba today was confirmation that, in the long-term, Arsenal see him primarily as a centre-back.

What did Arteta say?

After the match, the Arsenal manager said: “Very happy obviously with the result and especially the performance, the way we started the game. You really want to show how much you want it when you play against this kind of opposition in the cup, and we certainly had that attitude.

“And then I was a bit surprised with the level of cohesion and connections very early in the match because when you make that many changes, that can be a part of the game that can be lacking, but certainly it wasn’t, and we scored some very, very good goals, and I’m very pleased with that.”

Asked whether Saka playing more centrally was something Arteta had been looking to try, and whether it worked, he said: “Yeah, that’s something that’s a possibility, and I wanted to try it and we might use it in the future. So we still have so many games, competitions and different scenarios to play in this season, and that’s a possibility that we have.”

On injuries to Calafiori and White, Arteta said: “Him (Calafiori) and Ben are the only doubts. We have to wait and see how things develop in the next 48 hours. Martin (Odegaard), we have to wait and see. He picked up a knock on the action where we conceded the goal (against Brentford) and he wasn’t fit for today.”

Asked if he was worried by injuries, he said: “Yes, and especially because before it was the strikers, then it was the defenders, and now the midfielders. We are still coping but we need players back fit to give us not only numbers, but different options in relation to the opponents that we have. The quicker they are (back) the better.”

What next for Arsenal?

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