Arsenal has not taken the field since they defeated Queens Park Rangers on May 4th at Loftus Road. Since then, the league table has altered with Tottenham and Chelsea having won their respective matches, while Blues and Spurs also drew last Wednesday, keeping the Champions League qualification race very tight.
Wanting to keep their streak of consecutive Champions League appearances alive, Arsene Wenger's side will desperately need the full three points on Tuesday night.
After such a long gap in between matches, Arsenal could benefit from it, but it could also work against them. Wigan on the other hand will enter the match fresh off their shocking victory in the FA Cup Final against Manchester City.
Roberto Martinez's men were able to keep City scoreless until a late goal from Ben Watson gave his side their first major trophy. Now, after all the celebrating, Wigan has two remaining fixtures in the EPL to save themselves from relegation.
They currently occupy the 18th spot in the Premier League, which at the moment would see them relegated. Four points separate them from Sunderland who is 17th, but the Latics have a game in hand. Failure to defeat the Gunners would guarantee Wigan relegation, making them the first team to win the world's oldest cup competition and get relegated the same season.
The pressure of avoiding relegation will be in the mind of all the Wigan players, as will the possibility of making history in a negative way. Their victory over Manchester City should give them some added confidence heading into the Emirates where they defeated the Gunners last season with goals from Jordi Gomez and Franco Di Santo.
While the Gunners will have to worry about complacency after such a long lay off, Wenger's men could potentially take advantage of some fatigue the Wigan players may experience after having played on Saturday at Wembley.
Needing a win does not really describe how desperately Arsenal needs the full three points. They not only face the possibility of missing out on a spot in the Champions League for the first time in many years, but they could also see themselves finish below Tottenham for the first time in a very long time.
A victory will put Arsenal back in fourth, with a one point advantage over Tottenham, while they will still trail Chelsea by two, heading into the final match of the campaign.
With the victory being the only result that both managers will be seeking, this should be an entertaining match on both ends.
Arsenal will be without Olivier Giroud who is serving his last match of his three match suspension, which should give Theo Walcott another go in the central role. Walcott's pace could cause serious problems for the Latics back four considering they have not had much time to recover from their FA Cup Final match.
Lukasz Fabianski is still nursing a rib injury which should keep him out of the team, but the main injury concerns are for Wigan. Their long list of absentee's include six first-team starters who are all out with a number of injuries -- Jean Beausejour, Michael Pollitt, Ivan Ramis, Albert Crusat, Maynor Figueroa and Antolin Alcaraz.
Wigan's style of play caused Arsenal some problems in their first meeting at DW Stadium in December, with Arteta's goal from the spot handing the Gunners the full three points. Coming off their historic victory at Wembley, Wigan could either be full of confidence and be a serious threat for Arsenal, or they could show signs of fatigue, something Arsenal should not experience given their amount of time off.
What can the fans expect on Tuesday night? Arsenal should come out full of energy since they have not played a match in over a week. An early goal would really deflate Wigan, but if anything, they will know from their victory at the Emirates last season that anything is possible.
Do you believe Arsenal will be able to grab the full three points, putting them back in fourth place? Or will Wigan's FA Cup victory carry over into Tuesday's match, seeing them claim points at the Emirates?
Prediction
Arsenal 2-0 Wigan
