Two late goals from William Gallas and Tomas Rosicky gave the Gunners a victory made more valuable by the fact that Manchester United lost 1-0 at Bolton.
The Gunners have now pulled three points clear of United and continue to have a game in hand, but they left it late to make the most of their rival's slip-up.
With Steve Bruce now eventually at the helm, the Wigan players, keen to impress their new boss, were perhaps relieved to see so many first-choice Arsenal players sidelined.
With play-maker Cesc Fabregas suspended and his partner in midfield, Mathieu Flamini injured, it gave an opportunity for Gunners boss Arsene Wenger to try out the combination of Lassana Diarra and Denilson in the middle.
With Alex Hleb, also injured while on international duty, Theo Walcott was called up to partner Emmanuel Adebayor in attack.
The first real chance of the game came on nine minutes when a delightful throughball down the left flank saw Walcott beat the offside trap and race clear of his marker, but his cross into the box was intercepted before it found a red shirt.
Wigan had a good chance themselves three minutes later after Manuel Almunia conceded a corner.Jason Koumas delivered a ball on to the head of Paul Scharner, but the man who scored on his debut for Wigan against the club he supported as a child, directed the ball high and wide.
The home side should have taken the lead on 22 minutes but were foiled by a superb save from Mike Pollitt.
Adebayor began and finished a fine move that enabled the Togo man to fire a shot from inside the area that looked like a goal from the second it came off the striker's boot.
Wigan's 25-year-old keeper dived quickly to his left to parry the well-hit shot for a corner. Titus Bramble was the saviour three minutes later when he cut out a measured low cross from the right from Kolo Toure, denying the waiting Walcott.Emmanuel Eboue should have opened the scoring for the Gunners on the half-hour but somehow failed to make contact with a Walcott cross from the right.
Only the slightest of touches was required to divert the ball into the net, but in the end it just fizzed across the Wigan goal-line.
The physical presence of Marcus Bent was causing the Gunners some problems and his header on 33 minutes was only just over Almunia's bar.
That got Wenger out of his seat, clearly anxious at his side's apparent inability to put the shackles on Bent and failure to turn possession into goals.
Another such opportunity went begging on 35 minutes, when the Gunners made one too many passes inside the Wigan area.
Adebayor had the ball at his feet on the right side of the area, but instead of shooting he tried to tee up Walcott, but that gave the Wigan defence time to block the 19-year-old's shot and the chance was gone.Andreas Granqvist was a relieved man on 42 minutes after Denilson's 25-yard shot from the left struck him on the head and looped up over Pollitt but, fortunately for the Swedish centre-back, the ball ended up on the roof of the net rather than inside it.
Arsenal came out first after the interval and looked determined to convert their dominance into goals. However, despite all their energy and the frenetic pace they were trying to play the game at, the home side kept running into dead ends.
The creativity of Hleb and Fabregas was clearly missing which for some time has masked the lack of a cutting edge in Arsenal's attack since the absence of Robin Van Persie.
Adebayor should have scored or at least pulled the ball back for the waiting Walcott on 68 minutes. He did neither and his shot from an acute angle rolled across goal and away to safety.
Wenger was forced into action and brought on Eduardo for Eboue in an effort to make his side more clinical in the final third.
Bruce threw on Emile Heskey, to ensure the ball could be held up in the Arsenal half to offer some respite for his defence and as an aerial threat on the left side of the pitch as the ball was invariably hoofed in his direction by his colleagues.
Heskey's first involvement was to get booked for pushing William Gallas, who was also booked.
His next was a challenge on Walcott that escaped a booking but ensured the youngster had to be stretchered off.
Gallas, however, was more positive. He was Arsenal's goal hero again on 83 minutes when he stole in front of his markers to meet a perfect cross from Bacary Sagna at the near post and glance the ball into the net.
The Gunners were 2-0 up three minutes later when Tomas Rosicky was fed by substitute Nicklas Bendtner, who also had a role in the first goal.
Rosicky accelerated into the right side of the area before dispatching a shot that beat Pollitt and bounced into the Wigan net off the inside of the left upright.
The Gunners then camped in the Wigan half playing keep-ball to secure all the points and reaffirm their position at the top of the table.