Spaniard believes his underdogs can get the result they need in the capital though.
Wigan Athletic head coach Roberto Martinez is in a confident mood ahead of his club’s must-win Premier League encounter with high-flying Arsenal at the Emirates on Tuesday night, says the Daily Mirror.
The Spaniard guided the Latics to a shock 1-0 win over big-spending Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the biggest upset in the final of the competition for 25 years.
And now Martinez is plotting his club’s next great escape as they travel across London to take on Arsene Wenger’s Uefa Champions League-chasing outfit, with both sides knowing that nothing but a win in north London will do.
However, were the visitors to fail to beat the Gunners, and so be condemned to relegation to the Championship after eight years in the Premier League, then Martinez does not think it would spell the end for the club.
“Winning the FA Cup is one of those moments that changes the history of this football club,” said Martinez. “That’s how important this moment is.
“That win changed the perception of the football club. From now on, we’re not a club with no major trophies. We’re a club with a great story, but with history as well and that changes the DNA of our club.
“You’re talking about a club now that has a very solid base.
“Financially, our chairman, he always had to be there. But now this club is self-sufficient in the way it is run, so you can always cope with what happens from a football point of view.
“You have seen it before that if a club loses their Premier League status, they lose their budget, they lose their players and there are financial cuts.
“All of a sudden, you can see the football club is in danger.
“But that will never happen here – never.
“The foundations are very strong now. The training ground is on the way and, whatever happens, this club is going to get its rewards over the next few years.”
Martinez has been in charge at the DW stadium since arriving from Swansea City in June 2009, during which time the Spaniard has overseen 173 games, winning 51 of those contests and losing on 76 occasions.
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