Arsenal claimed a comfortable 4-0 victory over Wigan Athletic on Sunday evening that saw them ease their way through to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
A brilliant start from the Gunners saw them in the lead early on as Madueke opened the scoring. Gabriel Martinelli swiftly doubled this lead in what was an electric start from Arsenal.
Things swiftly got worse for the visitors as Jack Hunt put the ball in his own net to put Arsenal three to the good before Gabriel Jesus added a fourth only a few minutes later.
All the damage was done by the interval as Arsenal's superb first-half display ensured they would be in the hat for the fifth round draw.
Story of the match:
Wigan got off to a positive start, looking to spend some time in Arsenal's half of the pitch. This was short-lived, however, as the Gunners soon got on top, passing the ball with all the confidence that a team occupying the top spot of the Premier League should possess.
It did not take long for the home side to take the lead in proceedings. A peach of a pass from Eberechi Eze, split the Wigan defence in two and found the run of Noni Madueke. The Englishman remained composed and calmly placed his effort past Sam Tickle and into the bottom left corner.
Eze was certainly one of the players in the Arsenal squad with a point to prove in this encounter; his assist for the opener was exactly the start he was looking for.
Less than ten minutes after the opening goal, the midfielder was the creator once again, this time slipping Martinelli through on goal. The Brazilian had a tighter angle than Madueke had to contest with, but made no mistake in his finish, doubling Arsenal's advantage just eighteen minutes in.
The Gunners, who have been criticised at times for not taking the handbrake off in attacks, were well and truly going for it.
Two then became three for Arsenal in the 23rd minute. Madueke played Saka in down the right who fizzed a threatening ball across goal. Jack Hunt was caught on his heels, turning it into his own net despite the best efforts of Tickle who did get a glove on it.
Arsenal were running rampant as they soon had their fourth of the evening with less than half an hour on the clock. Christian Nørgaard played Gabriel Jesus through on goal with another pass that completely unlocked the Wigan backline. Jesus took a perfect touch before lifting his effort over Tickle to pile the misery on the visitors.
For the first half hour, Kepa had virtually nothing to do in the Arsenal goal. However, the Spaniard was called into action, making a fine save to deny Joe Taylor from close range, remaining switched on when it mattered.
Wigan's defence did tighten up as the half progressed, putting an end to the Arsenal onslaught that saw four goals in little over sixteen minutes. It would be a tough team talk for interim manager Glenn Whelan at the break, the message likely being to limit the scoreline.
It was the sort of half that Arsenal needed to show that they can be firing on all cylinders when required. The Gunners would be targeting more of the same in the second half.
Mikel Arteta opted to introduce Viktor Gyökeres to play in the second half, the Swede looking to continue his good form in front of goal as of late. He very nearly added to his tally, striking the post from a tight angle with the help of a deflection.
Eze would have been another looking to get his name on the scoresheet and add to his already impressive performance on the night. He came close to doing so on the hour mark with a strong drive into Wigan's box, his effort hitting the wrong side of the net as his pursuit for a goal continued.
Another Arsenal change in Leandro Trossard also caused Wigan some issues. The Belgian's deliveries were calling Sam Tickle into action regularly, the goalkeeper looking to keep the Gunners out in the second half.
The Gunners were not playing with the same intensity that they were in the first half, but who could blame them? The job was more than done by the half-time whistle as Arteta used this advantage to hand youngsters some valuable minutes, including Marli Salmon and goalkeeper Tommy Setford.
Eze was one player who was still in hot pursuit of a goal to top off his performance, but Tickle was determined to remain unbeaten in the second half. An instinctive save from the former England under-21 denied Eze once again.
It ultimately did not have an effect on the bigger picture, as Arsenal ran out dominant winners on the night. Meanwhile, Wigan will have taken some pride from the second-half display in which they looked a lot more assured of themselves defensively.