Published: 16 April, 2012
by TOM FOOT
Premier League
Arsenal 1, Wigan Athletic 2

JACK Wilshere will not play for England in this summer's European Championships, Arsene Wenger revealed tonight.

The Arsenal manager said: "Jack Wilshere will not play this season or go to the Euros. His progress is not good enough. The Olympics would be the worst for him. He is devastated. The FA know."

Arsenal could have done with the midfielder as they went down to a 2-1 defeat at home to Wigan.

Sir Alex Ferguson said they were in a false position after Manchester United's defeat last week and now the Gunners know why.

Third-placed Arsenal have now lost an incredible 10 matches out of 34 games in the league – eight years after going unbeaten in "Invincibles" season.

It was a sobering start for the home support as 17^th-placed Wigan took a two-goal lead inside eight minutes. Tottenham and Aston Villa had done the same but there was no fight left in the self-styled "comeback kings".

"We did not have enough petrol left in the tank," said Wenger after the match.

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez had Wenger's number right from the off and such was the away side's defensive control that keeper Al Habsi didn't make a single save in the second half. Arsenal were simply beaten by a better, more confident side.

The opening two goals proved telling and Johan Djourou – in for the suspended Laurent Koscielny – was again to blame for the second as Jordi Gomez bundled in. In the turmoil following Di Santo's opener a minute before, Mikel Arteta had hobbled off with an ankle injury and the team had not settled.

Wenger said: "We defended horrendously on first and second goal. For the second, we had 10 men on the pitch. We were penalised. That was unbelievable."

Arteta was later seen hobbling around on crutches and Wenger said "it looks a serious one". But that is the least of Arsenal's worries.

The home side – outraged at the sheer impudence of their opponents – came roaring back but the waves of attack simply lapped against the Wigan pier.

Thomas Vermaelen's powerful header on 21 minutes reduced the deficit. But Martinez's side always looked a serious threat on the break. And Martinez praised his side's "arrogance" after the match.

The game was played as if in a perpetual 90th minute with fans roaring at Al Habsi for time-wasting. The referee, Andre Marriner, played his part in stoking an unhappy atmosphere.

This was a pulsating game with errors glaring and tempers flaring.

At 2-1, Robin van Persie and Rosicky exchanged a one-two when the captain should have shot and left-back Andre Santos was at times the Gunners' biggest attacking threat.

Bacary Sagna and Theo Walcott were by their standards terrible on the right side, failing to track back and mis-timing a series of passes.

Rosicky ran his heart out all match. The crowd roared for Oxlade Chamberlain but got Gervinho. He injected pace if not art into the attack.

With the play drifting to stalemate, Chamberlain was substituted on to a hero's reception but had no real impact on the game.

Wigan whisked the ball across the face of goal on 60 minutes and Moses blew a one-on-one – the best chance of the match – pea-rolling his shot down the mouth of the goal.

Martinez added: "No one can argue we deserved the three points. I don't think we won the game because of time-wasting, do you?"

It was a frustrating night and suddenly that Champions League spot – let alone the guaranteed one – doesn't look so assured for Arsenal after all.