In fact, it has been 15 years since they came away from the north-west London venue victorious – but it has not always been this way.
There have of course been many memorable moments at the National Stadium for the Gunners down the years.
FA Cup winners on ten occasions – seven of which were under the Twin Towers of Wembley – should they go on to lift the trophy this season, they will equal Manchester United's record of 11 triumphs.
Match facts and figures
- Arsenal and Wigan have never met in The FA Cup before.
- Olivier Giroud has scored five goals in his last three FA Cup games.
- Wigan have only ever beaten Arsenal three times in 20 attempts, losing on 15 occasions.
- Arsenal are playing in their 27th FA Cup Semi-Final, equaling Manchester United’s record.
Memories of Alan Sunderland’s last-gasp winner against Manchester United in 1979, Charlie George’s thunderbolt strike flying past Liverpool’s Ray Clemence and Andy Linighan’s winner in the final minute of extra-time against Sheffield Wednesday in 1993 will be fresh in the mind for some of the more long-in-the-tooth fans – while many younger fans will be desperate to taste Wembley success for the first time.
So if Arsene Wenger is to end the trophy drought that now famously spans nearly nine years, he will have to end the winless run Wembley that dates back to 22 September 1999, when goals from Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry and Davor Suker helped his side beat AIK Solna of Sweden 3-1 in the UEFA Champions League group stage while they were using Wembley as their temporary European home.
Charlie George after scoring the winning goal for Arsenal in The FA Cup Final against Liverpool
Arsenal went on to lose on their next four games at Wembley – twice at the old stadium (in the Champions League against Barcelona and then Fiorentina) and on two occasions since it re-opened in 2007.
In 2009, they played at the new Wembley for the first time in an FA Cup Semi-Final against Chelsea – but Florent Malouda’s equaliser and Didier Drogba’s 84th-minute winner cancelled out a Theo Walcott opener to break Arsenal’s hearts and deny them a place in the Final.
The Gunners did, however, get their chance to lift silverware at the new stadium for the first time two years later but fluffed their lines in spectacular fashion as a mix-up allowed underdogs Birmingham City to score in the last minute of the 2011 League Cup Final, a result that left Arsenal fans heartbroken and meant the long wait for silverware went on.
Arsenal's Road to Wembley
- R3: Tottenham Hotspur (H) 2-0
- R4: Coventry City (H) 4-0
- R5: Liverpool (H) 2-1
- R6: Everton (H) 4-1
The game will be the first time Arsenal have played away from the Emirates in this season’s competition – having previously seen off Tottenham Hotspur, Coventry City, Liverpool and Everton – all in the comfort of their own home.
This is in stark comparison to the 1971 and 1972 campaigns – when the Gunners reached consecutive Semi-Finals without having been drawn at home in any previous round. They went on to lift the trophy in 1971, but fell to an Allan Clarke goal for Leeds United a year later.
Arsene Wenger will likely consider Saturday’s game as a welcome distraction. His side are currently in the midst of a poor run of domestic form – having picked up just five points from a possible 21 – and face a serious battle for fourth spot after going down 3-0 to in-form Everton.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Wenger said of the game ahead: “To play in a different competition will help us to find confidence back and focus on our next game.
Alan Sunderland wheels away in celebration after scoring his iconic winning goal in 1979
"Once you are in the Semi-Final you want to go through to the Final. We have to acknowledge that we must go back to basics and come in much stronger in the challenges, much stronger in the way we win the ball back, before we start winning games."
The Gunners boss will not be taking The Cup holders lightly, either.
Despite being strong favourites to go on and lift The Cup this season, Wenger will be all too aware of the potential banana skin he faces in Wigan, who have already beaten Premier League opposition in the form of Crystal Palace, Cardiff City and Manchester City en route to Wembley. They are also on a run of fine form themselves, having lost just once in their past 13 games.
"We have been giving easy goals away. For a long period of the season, we were strong defensively and what we did [at Everton] defensively was poor," he added.
"At the moment I feel it is important to focus on the quality of our game before we dream of where we finish [in the league]. We have to come back to much better quality than we produced at Everton."
So as Wenger prepares his side for Wembley knowing he could be 180 minutes away from lifting the burden of the trophyless run – he will know he can take nothing for granted as he leads his side out under the Arch of the new Wembley shortly after 5pm on Saturday.
