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Arsenal will take on Wigan Athletic for the first time in 12 years and coincidentally, it was an FA Cup clash that last saw them meet.
The Gunners took on The Latics at Wembley back in 2014 as they battled out a semi-final all the way to penalties.
In the end, it was Arsenal who took the spoils that day as a resilient Wigan side finally wilted to Arsene Wenger’s side at the final hurdle.
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Arsenal’s XI that day that was a far cry from what we currently see and in the main, has a number of players who achieved very little in their time at the club.
However, there were some very familiar faces in there as well, including a certain Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal’s starting XI against Wigan in the 2014 FA Cup semi-final
Going back 12 years to look at the Arsenal side is a strange feeling really, especially given the current manager is in there.
Mikel Arteta started and played the entire 120 minutes at Wembley that day.
As for the XI in its entirety, a back five of Lukasz Fabianski, Bacary Sagna, Nacho Monreal, Thomas Vermaelen and Per Mertesacker was the one picked by Wenger.
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In midfield, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain played alongside Arteta in the middle, while Santi Cazorla was given a free role to operate.
The strikers were underwhelming, as Yaya Sanogo led the line for the Gunners, helped by German international Lukas Podolski.
In the actual game, Jordi Gomez’s penalty looked to have won it for the Latics only for Mertesacker to score late in the day and rescue things. Extra-time played out with minimal drama before Fabianski saved penalties from both Jack Collison and Gary Caldwell to help Arsenal through.
Arsenal’s subs as they beat Wigan in the FA Cup semi-final in 2014
If you thought looking at the Arsenal starting XI felt strange, then the bench that day was even stranger.
With just seven subs being allowed in those days, it’s safe to say that the bench wasn’t the strongest it’s ever looked for the Gunners.
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Chuba Akpom and the little known Thomas Eisfeld failed to get on, as did Carl Jenkinson and back-up stopper, Wojciech Szczesny.
From the bench, Wenger called on Kim Kallstrom, Kieran Gibbs and Olivier Giroud.
Hopefully, Arsenal’s squad will look that bit stronger against Wigan this time around and further, the team has less issue seeing them off.
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