AAP Soccer

No-surprise Sunday as Arsenal lead big guns to Cup wins

By AAP Newswire

Feb 16, 2026

Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli slots home their second goal in the win over Wigan in the FA Cup. -AP

Arsenal have served up a first-half blitz to cruise through to the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since they won it in 2020 with an emphatic 4-0 drubbing of third-tier Wigan.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Goals from Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus plus an own goal from Jack Hunt inside 17 first-half minutes put a one-sided game to bed at the Emirates Stadium and kept alive the Gunners' chances of completing an unprecedented quadruple.

Arsenal's late-evening romp ensured that all five Premier League sides in action on Sunday avoided upsets to reach the last-16 of the sport's oldest Cup competition.

League One strugglers Wigan were overwhelmed in front of a 60,000 crowd at Emirates Stadium, with all the goals coming in the first half.

Big-money summer signing Eberechi Eze was exceptional, setting up two goals for Arsenal, who won the last of their record 14 FA Cups in 2020.

Premier League teams Fulham, Leeds, Sunderland and Wolverhampton joined the Gunners' march.

Fulham rallied to win 2-1 at Championship side Stoke, with Harrison Reed slotting in a late winner after intercepting the home goalkeeper Tommy Simkin's misjudged pass.

Brazilian winger Kevin equalised for Fulham early in the second half after South Korean midfielder Bae Jun-ho's early goal for Stoke.

Midfielder Habib Diarra's penalty earned Sunderland a 1-0 win at second-tier strugglers Oxford, while midfielder Santiago Bueno's goal gave Wolves a 1-0 victory at fourth-division Grimsby at a soggy and rain-soaked Blundell Park.

Leeds needed penalty kicks to win at Championship side Birmingham after a 1-1 draw following extra time.

German forward Lukas Nmecha put Leeds ahead early in the second half after being set up by Noah Okafor, but Patrick Roberts equalised in the 89th minute with a powerful shot.

In the shootout, Leeds goalkeeper Lucas Perri denied Tommy Doyle before Roberts blazed over, leaving Sean Longstaff to score and send Daniel Farke's side through 4-2.

The lack of surprises followed a big shock on Saturday when League One side Mansfield pulled off an upset by knocking out Premier League Burnley to heap more pressure on coach Scott Parker.

Non-league Macclesfield, who play Brentford on Monday, had caused one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history when they knocked out holders Crystal Palace in the third round last month.