What is the best result against Wigan Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup? No-one at Arsenal would ever contemplate throwing an FA Cup tie but, right now, getting beaten by Wigan would not be a complete disaster. Because amongst the ‘crimes’ of those authorities has been the one to have the FA Cup final staged on the penultimate weekend of the domestic season. So, you could then have the ridiculous situation of Mikel Arteta resting the likes of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka for an FA Cup final … because there were more important games ahead. That cannot happen if the FA Cup final is as it should be - the last game of the domestic season.

Source: Daily Mirror February 15, 2026 10:41 UTC