MATCH SPY: Rookie Gibbs escapes red card and Gunners go on to rout Wigan

WIGAN ATHLETIC 1-4 ARSENAL SATURDAY 9 APRIL JJB STADIUM PREMIER LEAGUE ATT: 22,954 Arsene Wenger was a relieved man after rookie defender Kieran Gibbs escaped a red card after a shaky opening half for the Gunners at the JJB. Former Tottenham striker Mid

WIGAN ATHLETIC 1-4 ARSENAL

SATURDAY 9 APRIL

JJB STADIUM

PREMIER LEAGUE

ATT: 22,954

Arsene Wenger was a relieved man after rookie defender Kieran Gibbs escaped a red card after a shaky opening half for the Gunners at the JJB.

Former Tottenham striker Mido had given the Latics an early lead before Gibbs hauled down Antonio Valencia as he bore down on goal.

Referee Alan Wiley waved away Wigan protests and produced a yellow card - and the Gunners recovered to score four times in the final half hour to extend their unbeaten domestic run to 23 games.

"I was like everybody else from Arsenal - scared it could be a red card. I hoped it'd be a yellow. At that moment I thought that Mikael Silvestre was behind Gibbs and I hoped it would be a yellow. I still think our goalkeeper would have got the ball - it was not a goal chance, he had pushed the ball too far."

Arsenal recovered after the restart when Theo Walcott levelled on the hour mark before Silvestre sidefooted home to hand Arsenal the lead. Andrei Arshavin and Alex Song added gloss with injury time strikes to give a more emphatic scoreline.

Wenger added: "Wigan had a very strong and especially committed first half where they were well organised.

"(But) I think slowly our technique took over and we looked dangerous every time we had the ball. The fatigue crept in a little bit for Wigan and it became logical for us to come back and make the difference.

"We've shown great character again. This young team has a lot of mental strength. We have shown some qualities that make it very interesting for the future.

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