Wigan defeated Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates on Monday to add another scalp to their giant-killing list which includes Manchester United and Liverpool in recent weeks.
The Latics scored twice early on through Franco Di Santo and Jordi Gomez and Arsenal couldn’t reel them in. The result is a huge boost for Wigan who have been battling the drop all season, but suddenly find themselves five points above the bottom three.
Wigan boss Roberto Martinez said his side had recently discovered what was needed against the big clubs after prior frailty in such matches.
“I’ve said it before that we’ve always had a mental block against the top sides and we couldn’t be ourselves, but I think we went to Liverpool and got rid of that,” Martinez said.
“Mentally we felt that we could compete against anyone when we were at our best and they became games that were decided in the technical, tactical and physical aspects.
“Against Manchester United and Arsenal I think nobody can argue that we deserved the three points. I know many people will say that it was a bad day for Arsenal as they always do when Wigan Athletic wins a game, but I think we’re starting to get them, and our group of players deserve a lot of credit.”
Wigan had been in the bottom three for most of the 2011-12 season but their recent run of form sees them move into a position which Martinez believes is justified given the football they’ve been playing.
“I always said that at the beginning of February we clicked as a group. We had to cope with real frustration because we were playing really well and couldn’t win games,” he said. “We had a few draws when we should have won, and you can understand that brings a bit of frustration.
“But our fans have been magnificent, they’ve been patient. Our chairman as usual is always patient. From then on, we’ve been able to be stubborn with what we wanted to do. We’ve started to get the results.”