THERE is still a kind of footballing mythology that Arsène’s angels fear to enter the foreboding northwest triangle of Premier League mill towns. That his precious youngsters shiver in apprehension at the sheer prospect. After yesterday, any such notions were fully erased in a season in which they have amassed an aggregate of 11 goals in victories at Blackburn, Bolton and now here.

Admittedly, for an hour, Arsène Wenger had fretted on the touchline. He later readily conceded he had been a worried man. Would he succeed in achieving that fine balance of maintaining the league form that should secure a crucial fourth place, while resting key personnel, such as Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor, before Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg with Villarreal?

Four goals in the final half- hour demonstrated that the Arsenal manager had judged it astutely, though with a little help from referee Alan Wiley.Wigan have never defeated any of the Big Four. But for Wiley’s failure to dismiss Arsenal’s young defender Kieran Gibbs just before the interval, that unwanted spell over them may have finally been broken.

Wigan’s manager, Steve Bruce, had warned his men against switching prematurely into holiday mode. Here, in the first half, they appeared anything but demob-happy. Certainly, the row over Amr Zaki’s belated return from international duty had not destabilised matters. The Wigan striker had met Bruce on Friday and apologised to him. Zaki, fined the maximum by the club, was not available yesterday anyway because of injury.

Fortunately, for his next trick, Bruce has another Egyptian up his sleeve, Mido, on loan from Middlesbrough. In the 17th minute Wigan profited when defender Bacary Sagna could only clear Emmerson Boyce’s flick-on to the much-travelled striker. His shot and turn on the volley found its way past Manuel Almunia’s Polish understudy, Lukasz Fabianski.

Despite the lead, Bruce wasn’t happy with certain refereeing decisions. His features soon turned sour after the Arsenal left-back and last defender, Gibbs, had hauled over Antonio Valencia. The guilty party turned to discover he had escaped with only a caution. From the resulting free kick, Ben Watson struck the post.

The Wigan manager said he had been told the explanation for Wiley’s decision not to brandish a red was that “Valencia wasn’t in control of the situation”. Bruce added: “He’s the quickest player on the pitch. He was comfortably going to get there first.” Wenger, almost inevitably, could not concur. “I thought it could be a red or a yellow,” he said. “But I hoped it would be a yellow. I thought Silvestre was behind Gibbs and also our goalkeeper could have had the ball. It was not a goalscoring chance.”

Until then, Arsenal had looked lethargic, impotent. To compound the Gunners’ troubles, defender Johan Djourou was taken off on a stretcher, suffering from a knee injury.

After the interval, the home faithful were even less amused when Gibbs was the man who saved the Gunners when he hoofed clear a ball bouncing towards the line after Mido had beaten Fabianski to it. Mido soon trudged off with a facial injury — and the whole tone of the contest changed.

Wigan failed to deal with an Arsenal raid and Theo Walcott lashed the ball home. Then Wenger brought on Van Persie and Adebayor. Cesc Fabregas, now inspiring all around him, set up Silvestre. In the closing minutes, substitute Jason Koumas’s error gave Andrey Arshavin the invitation for Arsenal’s third. Alexander Song strode virtually unchallenged through the home rearguard for the fourth.

“We’ve gifted it to them after a great hour,” lamented Bruce.“I could say it was schoolboy stuff from us, but that would be disrespectful to schoolboys.”

Star man: Theo Walcott (Arsenal)

Yellow cards: Wigan: Brown, Boyce, Bramble Arsenal: Gibbs, Van Persie, Song

Referee: A Wiley

Attendance: 22,954

WIGAN: Kirkland, Melchiot, Boyce, Bramble, Figueroa, Valencia, Brown (De Ridder 78min), Scharner, Watson (Koumas 85min), Rodallega, Mido (Kapo 58min)

ARSENAL: Fabianski, Sagna, Toure, Djourou (Silvestre 34min), Gibbs, Denilson (Van Persie 63min), Fabregas, Song Billong, Walcott (Adebayor 68min), Arshavin, Bendtner