Arsenal are through to the 4th round of the FA Cup after dispatching a spirited Portsmouth side on the South Coast on Sunday afternoon.
Portsmouth made a fast start and took the lead through Colby Bishop, who followed up a poor parry from Kepa to fire in the opener. After what happened to Crystal Palace, you can’t help but let your mind wander to dark places when you make such a bad start, but Arsenal didn’t panic and were soon level.
With their first corner of the game, Christian Norgaard made his presence felt at the back post which ultimately led to Andre Dozzell forcing the ball over his own line, after Gabriel Martinelli had flicked on Eberechi Eze’s corner at the near post.
Portsmouth huffed and puffed and did their fans proud with their display however, after equalising, I did feel that we were relatively comfortable and stood up to the physical nature of the occasion well. I’ve had the displeasure to see several Arsenal sides crumble under these sorts of conditions so I must say what a privilege it is to see players like Norgaard and Gabriel relishing those duels and physical battles all game and when you have that sort of solid base, the rest of the game seems so much less stressful.
Arsenal soon had their second and this one also came from a corner, with set pieces an apparent weakness in this Portsmouth side, this really did play beautifully into Arsenal’s hands. Gabriel Martinelli’s aerial prowess often goes unnoticed yet it was on full display today as he met Noni Madueke’s near post corner perfectly to divert the ball inside the near post.
We should have extended our lead further before the break as Noni Madueke won, what I thought was a generous looking penalty after going down under pressure from ex-Arsenal youth player Zak Swanson. On second viewing, it was probably just about a penalty, but I still think it was a little harsh given the game state and occasion, so I think generally speaking justice was probably done when Madueke dragged an ugly looking penalty wide of the right hand post, to leave the score at 2-1 going into the break.
Arsenal didn’t have to wait long to extend their lead after the break, with the third goal coming after 51 minutes. Myles Lewis-Skelly took a quick free kick to Gabriel Jesus who curled a peach of a ball across the Portsmouth area for Martinelli to stab home at the back post.
Arsenal wrapped the game up on 72 minutes with yet another goal from a corner. The delivery from Madueke was superb again and was met brilliantly by Martinelli at the near post and although the goalkeeper got a big chunk of the Brazilian’s effort, it wasn’t enough to deny the flying winger his first ever professional hattrick. It was a special moment for the player, who put the controversy of his actions in the Liverpool game behind him to let his football do the talking and also send a timely message to Mikel Arteta with a strong all round showing, accompanying his goals.
There was further good news for Arsenal on a really positive afternoon as Kai Havertz played 21 minutes in his return from injury, in a massive boost to this Arsenal squad with Marli Salmon also coming on to make history and become Arsenal’s youngest ever player in the FA Cup.
So Arsenal march into the 4th round after a morale boosting win in which we made 10 changes and now attention can turn to the League Cup Semi-Final against Chelsea on Wednesday, with Arsenal’s passage safely secured. Here’s how I rated the players:
Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6
I think he should do a lot better with the first goal, I really do. Kepa has to parry that effort to safety, rather than pushing the ball back into such a dangerous area. That aside, I thought he put in a solid shift. Very calm and confident with the ball, always favouring the short passes to central defenders, which played a key role in Arsenal beating the Portsmouth press. A couple of decent saves, but nothing to write home about.
Ben White – 8
Seemed to relish the physical nature of the game, this was a really strong performance from White. A lot of the Portsmouth play came down his side and the tricky Terry Devlin was probably Portsmouth’s most dangerous player during the game and tested White on occasion. However, White definitely came out on top in this one. Some really good runs forward as well, leading to a really dangerous cross that should have led to a goal. One vital block at the back post as well from a Portsmouth, which typified his combative performance.
Christian Norgaard – 7
He looks got at centre back doesn’t he? Another assured performance from the Dane, as he won a huge number of duels kicking and heading anything coming close to our box. Also really calm and efficient with the ball as our playing out from the back was actually pretty good today. I suppose it helps having a midfielder back there from a passing perspective. I forget how much of a threat from set pieces he is as well, which he duly reminded me by forcing in what looked to be his first goal for Arsenal, only for the FA meanies to give it as an own goal. I’ll say it again, this guy needs to play more.
Gabriel – 7
Another who relished the physical battle that the Championship side brought to the table – unsurprisingly!! Utterly dominant all game. Such a breath of fresh air to go to these difficult away grounds and have someone like him at the back who seems so comfortable with the aerial bombardment which will inevitably rain down upon us. Dominant.
Myles Lewis-Skelly – 6
Better, but still doesn’t look totally comfortable defending in 1v1 situations. Picked up a booking after hauling down a Portsmouth attacker who he let get goal side of him. Not massively involved going forward, but he made some decent runs on the overlap.
Mikel Merino – 7
One of his best performances in midfield for a while. Was so calm in possession and got us out of the high press well by taking the ball under pressure and playing some lovely first time passes. Competed well in the midfield and got through a lot of work in the engine room. Also linked well with Eze and Nwaneri in what was a very technical midfield. I’m not a massive fan of him playing in the box to box role, as he struggles to provide the same energy that Rice does, so I for one wouldn’t mind seeing him at the base of midfield going forward. His skill set seems to fit that position quite well.
Ethan Nwaneri – 7
I thought he was lively throughout and kept the ball under pressure on numerous occasions to help bring us forward. Always positive and I was slightly surprised that it was Nwaneri who made way for the introduction of Martin Odegaard, as I felt he offered more threat than Eze on the day.
Eberechi Eze – 6
Some nice touches here and there but didn’t see a massive amount of the ball. Retained possession well whenever he had it and did play some nice passes when the ball did find him. Moved to the left after the introduction of Martin Zubimendi, which seemed to spark him to life, leading to some wonderful intricate interplay with Odegaard.
Noni Madueke – 6
A real mixed bag from Madueke. I thought he was a bit wasteful at times, although that is the nature of his high risk game, so not a massive surprise. Lost possession in the build up to the Portsmouth goal, won and then promptly missed a penalty, but also assisted two goals with excellent corners. I think he was also fouled for the free kick that led to Martinelli’s second goal. Performance wise it was probably a 6, but you can’t argue with end product like that, so he deserves to be bumped up to a 7.
Gabriel Jesus – 7
Worked hard up front, without fully imposing himself on the game. The ball didn’t stick as often as I’d like and he was guilty of overplaying at times. Gets an extra bump on his rating for a sumptuous ball to the back post which left Martinelli with the simple task of tapping the ball home. The difference between what the Brazilian offers in comparison to recent Viktor Gyokeres was clear from the first minute however, I think the same can be said about Jesus when Kai Havertz came on.
Gabriel Martinelli – 9 – PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Silenced any lingering criticism from the incident at the end of the Liverpool match with his first professional hattrick in a lively outing, full of running and direct play whenever he was in possession. Showed a real strikers instinct with all three of his goals, which does raise the question as to why he has played so little up front in recent times, especially when we’ve been short on options in attack. Could have had more goals but curled wide after a fantastic first touch to bring a powerful ball from Merino under control and also hit the post.
Subs:
Kai Havertz – 7 – Brilliant to see him back out on the pitch. How we’ve missed the big German. Was surprisingly sharp during his first run out, with some lovely touches to bring others into play. It’s hard to draw too many conclusions based on such a small sample size, but he just seemed to slot into that position perfectly. Made good runs, probably could have had a goal. Excellent cameo.
Jurrien Timber – 6 – Came on for White at right back before moving in the centre after Salmon’s introduction. Typical no fuss performance and played some nice forward passes.
Martin Odegaard – 7 – Wasn’t able to create a goal during his brief time on the pitch, but he always looked dangerous and some of the one twos with Eze were absolutely brilliant. Hope to see more of that!
Martin Zubimendi – 6 – Kept things ticking over for the final 15 minutes or so.
Marli Salmon – 6 – Fantastic night for the young man, to become Arsenal’s youngest ever FA Cup player. The game was over before he entered the fray, but he was tidy enough in possession.
Final note – credit to both sets of fans today. Obviously to the Arsenal faithful who made themselves heard over the impressive noise of the Portsmouth home crowd, but also to the Pompey fans who were making all of that noise. I think you’ll have to go a long away to fine another set of supports who make that much noise when their team is 4-1 down. Credit to them.