FA Cup winners Wigan were relegated from the Barclays Premier League as Arsenal moved up into the top four with an emphatic 4-1 win at the Emirates Stadium.
It was always going to be a big ask for the Latics to lift themselves for such a huge game just 72 hours after their glorious Wembley victory over Manchester City.
Lukas Podolski nodded the Gunners in front on 11 minutes, but Scotland inter-national Shaun Maloney gave the visitors hope when he crashed home a free-kick on the stroke of half-time.
However, three goals in the space of eight minutes just after the hour from Theo Walcott, Podolski and Aaron Ramsey meant there was to be no fairytale ending for Roberto Martinez’s men, despite another brave crack at the Great Escape.
Martinez blamed inconsistency from his injury-ravaged defence for the relegationand illustrated Wigan’s main failing this season the 71 goals they have now conceded.
Martinez said: “We have conceded far too many goals. Going forward we have been magnificent, I think it’s been our best season in terms of performances, but the injuries in the back line are something I have never seen before.
“To have four, five, even six players missing in the back line and our keeper affected with injury our captain Antolin Alcaraz, Ivan Ramis out for the season, Ben Watson with a broken leg, (Jean) Beausejour, (Maynor) Figueroa…
“We have to have so many different partnerships and keep changing, and that caused us problems.”