Wigan Athletic's spell on English football finally broken As it is, they become the first holders of the former trophy to be relegated in the same season. That they were teetering on the brink of ending their top-flight stay with two matches left told the story about just how bad they had been for most of the previous nine months. Never mind "too good to go down," Wigan were too bad to stay up. The same was said last season before seven wins in their final nine fixtures sealed one of the greatest escapes in Premier League history. There were no such gravity-defying feats this term, with last week's calamitous defeat to Swansea leaving them looking doomed. While Saturday gave them renewed hope, the wonder of Wembley finally caught up with them. Fittingly, their 37th and penultimate Premier League outing of 2012-13 was a microcosm of most of the previous 36: dangerous in attack, careless in midfield, and clueless at the back. Unfortunately, they were mostly the latter in the opening 15 minutes at a drenched Emirates Stadium. Having already given Santi Cazorla an open invitation to head Arsenal in front, they contrived to make even more of a hash of the winger's 11th-minute corner, which was allowed to bounce unchallenged in the six-yard box before Lukas Podolski stooped to nod it in. A young Wigan supporter, who had doubtless been rubbing his eyes in joyous disbelief on Saturday, now simply covered them in despair and embarrassment. Martínez, meanwhile, must have been wondering whether it was even worth slapping an alcohol ban on his players in the wake of their Wembley triumph. They certainly looked like they had been up all night as Arsenal swarmed all over them and threatened to seal their fate. But Arsène Wenger's team have been just as infuriating as their opponents this season and that gave Wigan renewed hope. They were also given a helping hand by referee Mike Dean - not exactly Arsenal's favourite referee - who awarded the softest of free-kicks for a Mikel Arteta challenge on Shaun Maloney on the stroke of half-time. And, as he has done all season, Maloney proved that he should not be playing Championship football with a stunning trademark free-kick. It was all there for Wigan after the break, James McCarthy - another sure to find a suitor - putting the ball in from a narrowly offside position. Callum McManaman, who seemed paralysed by his man-of-the-match Cup final performance and England Under-21 call-up, suddenly sprang into life, and Arouna Koné went agonisingly close to a legitimate goal. But McManaman went off injured and the worm turned. Although, for once this season, Wigan did not deserve the carnage that followed. Three goals in eight minutes from Theo Walcott, Podolski and Aaron Ramsey - and that was that. You could almost sense the relief in the households of Messrs Paul Lambert and Paolo Di Canio, whose Aston Villa and Sunderland sides became Arsenal fans for the night. Martínez refused to budge from the edge of his technical area. He could have been pondering Wigan's future but was surely considering his own. Having rejected the advances of much bigger clubs last season, it looks as if the time is right for him to prove whether he really has what it takes at a higher level. For Wigan, the time is right.