I will leave you with Ed Aarons’ match report – which is, as you’d expect, a must-read. Thanks for your company, see you soon!
David Luiz: “It’s important to do the job we are doing, every single day since the manager came in we are improving a lot but we have to be humble and then understand we are not there yet. Tonight I was so pleased with the young boys, they have a great mentality and understand what is the high level – you have to bounce back every single week.”
Nketiah: “We knew it was going to be a tough game, the first goal settled things a bit. It was nice to get the 2-0, in the second half we played a lot quicker and that’s when the gaps appeared.”
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Arsenal have suggested that Torreira wasn’t too badly hurt, by the way, so let’s see how that looks when the dust settles.
Arsenal are now one win from Wembley and two wins from, errrm, Wembley. They can start to smell success in a competition that has lit up their otherwise barren last decade and a half ...
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Full-time – Portsmouth 0-2 Arsenal
We had our regulation bit of excitement from the underdogs for half an hour, but in the end that was a straightforward win by an Arsenal side that had an extra gear or two. Goals from Sokratis and Nketiah won it; Arsenal reach the last eight!
90+2 min: Three minutes added on and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who I don’t think will last under Arteta, will get the final two of them in Nelson’s place. To be fair to the Pompey fans, they are still singing. They have a Wembley date with Salford ahead in the Football League Trophy so they are well entitled to be bellowing out “Que sera ...”.
90 min: And Bill Hargreaves thinks Arteta can be The One –
“As an Arsenal fan I’ve been envious for some time of those clubs who seem to inspire and bring on the capabilities of their talent – those coached by Pocettino, Guardiola, Klopp, etc. I think that, for the medium- or long-term, you have to be able to do this. I feel that Arteta can genuinely do this, though, and over the next season or two will climb the table and compete. A longer-term appointment, I feel.”
89 min: Ceballos has a shot blocked by Burgess, and then this email from Jim Dunker lands in my inbox –
“Not getting carried away, I do believe there is a rebuild coming and some of the current crop will not make Arteta’s cut in the summer, but all remains to be proven from now until the end of the season. Pragmatism should lead the line ...”
87 min: Xhaka replaces Willock, who has looked OK but isn’t quite a consistent enough performer at this point.
85 min: Bass holds another effort from Nelson, who has been the best player on the pitch and will hopefully take big confidence from this. Then Cannon has a glimmer of a chance to give us our grandstand finish after a poor defensive header, but controls and lashes wide from 16 yards.
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84 min: Portsmouth are having a little bit of a go, by the way, without really looking like making these final few minutes interesting. But football’s a strange game!
82 min: Richard Woods, a Bristol Rovers fan, has woken up in China (intentionally I think) and asked which League One team I support. It’s a team that both Pompey and Bristol Rovers have already beaten this season, that’s as far as I’m going. Trying to enjoy myself tonight!
81 min: Some Arsenal food for thought from Ric Arthur –
“I wanted to take up your point about the massive rebuild you think Arsenal need. Is it so massive? They have Tierney coming back soon, Chambers had a very impressive start to the season before his unlucky injury, Holding looked the part before his long-term injury, and Mari and the other new recruit are only just getting started. Then further forwards there’s Joe Willock, Reiss Nelson, Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah, all of them still very young. Compare with Chelsea and Spurs: they have some young players coming through, but not as many. I would pick Arsenal to finish above Spurs, even if they have left it too late for a Champions League spot.”
The youngsters are very good and I’d imagine at least three of those guys make it for the long term. Not sure Arteta fancies Holding while we’ll just have to see how and when Tierney and Chambers come back. Lots of words to be written on this really but I can’t be convinced that at this point the quality and balance are good enough.
77 min: The commentary team has been fairly excited about how good Pompey were/how bad Arsenal were in that first half but I have to say it’s ultimately been pretty “lower-league team meets top-flight team” by numbers for me. Saka almost makes it three but Bass tips his whipped effort over.
Hopefully Cannon can provide some firepower for Pompey...
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) March 2, 2020
A quip here from Ed.
74 min: The sub Curtis does have a go from range after cutting in, but can’t really trouble Martinez. Pompey’s third change sees Evans, the captain, go off and Andy Cannon come on.
71 min: A now-very-rare Pompey sortie sees Seddon overlap and then overhit his cross.
70 min: Nelson goes on another searing run, this time centrally, and Bolton deflects his shot just wide. He takes one corner, which is just about scrambled behind by the home defence, and then sees Martinelli flick the second high and wide.
67 min: Jackett does indeed opt to give his two best players a cameo in this probably-dead glamour cup tie, Marquis and Curtis replacing Harrison and Harness.
66 min: There isn’t much happening. I’d tell you if there was.
64 min: “With Arsenal probably through now and City still in the cup, we could have a scenario where (Gabriel) Jesus, (Pablo) Marí and Joseph (Willock) will all play in the final at Wembley?” ponders Justin Kavanagh.
62 min: Martinelli is back on. He’s dropped off a bit since that brilliant goal at Chelsea, and previous purple patch, so it’d help him to get on target here. But he is very young and will have ups and downs.
61 min: Martinelli takes a painful tumble but if anything he seemed to barge McCrorie when going for a high ball. He has treatment while Arteta, ever-demanding, has some words with Ceballos.
58 min: Yes, Arsenal are totally in control now and it remains to be seen whether Portsmouth have a second wind in them. Pass, pass, pass, pass around the back, under little pressure.
56 min: Arsenal look in the mood to score more now. They are stretching Pompey, whose goose is probably cooked. Not sure how much Jackett will mind.
54 min: Nelson is such a talent. Arteta agrees. I enjoyed meeting him for this interview last month and, now that he is back and firing, it could be worth another read:
Goal! Portsmouth 0-2 Arsenal (Nketiah 51)
That’s probably that. The excellent Nelson is the architect again, absolutely skinning Seddon and crossing to the near post, where Nketiah gets a slightly lucky ricochet and is able to jab in from a yard.
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51 min: Mari is having a good debut for Arsenal, so far.
49 min: Then Williams tricks in from the right but his shot can’t match the approach work, giving Martinez an easy save.
48 min: Now a Pompey corner and the second half has started agreeably. Can they find that big chance? Not this time, as Nelson defends well on the far side of the area.
47 min: They seek to do the former as Martinelli wins a corner within 10 seconds. Nelson to take again, this time from the left ... and they’ll have another. Take two is fairly dangerous but cleared by Harrison, before Guendouzi clears up a Harness break.
Peeeep! We are back underway!
Will Arsenal push on, or be pegged back?
Ok, we’re a few minutes away from the second half, so settle down at the back ...
Obviously, for those coming late, the black mark for Arsenal is a bad-looking injury to Torreira.
A question now: will League One side Portsmouth bring on their two best forwards to try and rescue this FA Cup fifth round tie against Arsenal?
“Portsmouth’s nickname is the name of a Roman general?” queries Peter Oh, and I don’t know about you but I sense a gag coming. “Well, not only do Arsenal have a cannon on their badge, they also boast a player who shares a surname with a famous 19th-century English admiral. Has Reiss ‘Horatio’ Nelson fired any broadsides at the Pompey rearguard?”
Well, funny you should ask ...
Half-time: Portsmouth 0-1 Arsenal
That’ll do for now. Portsmouth have been the livelier, without really fashioning a huge chance, and Arsenal fairly flat. But Arteta’s men pulled out a big moment when it mattered, and now the third-tier side have it all to do.
Goal! Portsmouth 0-1 Arsenal (Sokratis 45+4)
Very nicely done! Nelson’s right-sided flag kick is headed away but the ball is played back out to him. His second delivery is really, really good and finished clinically by Sokratis, whose clipped volley into the corner is hardly what you’d expect from a fairly artisanal defender. There’s that bit of quality!
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45+4 min: An Arsenal corner after a typical driving run from Willock. This is “a good time to score”. And as it happens ...
45+2 min: And in the second of them Arsenal have a chance to do something as Close cynically trips Ceballos just outside the left corner of the box. Nelson and David Luiz are both eying it ... and the former’s harmless effort comes off the wall.
45+1 min: We are in five added minutes, due to that serious-looking injury to Torreira.
45 min: All a bit slow from Arsenal at the moment, which I don’t think Arteta is appreciating very much. Whatever happens here tonight, he has such a rebuild on his hands.
43 min: Oh, Guendouzi’s booking earlier was for, errr, showily placing the ball down. Not quite sure that merits a card ...
41 min: Not at this particular point. David Luiz appears on the edge of the Pompey box and plays a sublime no-look ball through to Nketiah, who drives very, very wide when he should probably do better.
40 min: Portsmouth have been brisk and dangerous but that final bit of quality has lacked. The same goes for Arsenal, where the latter is concerned, but you’d just about back them to pull something out at some point.
38 min: Now Pompey win a dangerous-looking free-kick on the right, but it’s headed out and then Evans slashes far off target.
35 min: Guendouzi is booked for a spot of what seemed to be sarcastic applause after Arsenal win a free-kick in the centre circle. His manager might not like that much either.
34 min: Poor from Martinelli, who lets the ball run out of play when it’s slid down towards him in space. Arsenal just look a bit raw here, which is understandable to an extent.
32 min: At the other end, Evans’s shot is blocked by Sokratis with Martinez already diving. End to end stuff!
31 min: Almost cursed Pompey there! Nelson skitters to the right byline brilliantly but Martinelli, right in front of the posts, can only bullet his flashing delivery over. I think Nelson overhit it; Martinelli couldn’t really adjust himself to make the finish.
30 min: Arsenal just look that little bit shy of cutting edge so far. Harness thrives on the left again but overhits his cross, and Pompey will believe they have a real chance here judging by proceedings up to now.
28 min: Chance for Pompey! The impressive Seddon has space to deliver and does so perfectly for the onrushing Evans, who nods well wide when unattended 12 yards out.
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25 min: Arsenal had been getting on top since the injury but here’s a Pompey corner ... which Martinez handles well this time. No really clear chances here yet.
23 min: Saka goes on a driving run, as he does so well, but his low shot is grabbed onto by the goalkeeper Bass.
22 min: It *was* Sokratis. My sincere apologies. Genuinely one of the passes of the season, that.
20 min: Martinelli gets to the line after a quite delicious raking ball by ... errr, didn’t see who, surely not Sokratis? Maybe Ceballos ... but a defender manages to stop Nketiah converting at the near post. The corner is cleverly worked low to Saka but he completely fluffs his effort.
19 min: I wonder, too, if that stoppage might dull the rattling pace Pompey had set out at. Arsenal are popping the ball about at the moment – something the new man, Ceballos, is especially good for.
17 min: Torreira will be replaced by Dani Ceballos. He’s carried away on the stretcher, to applause, and it’s really the last thing Arteta needed. We hope it’s not as bad as it looked. That was a four-minute delay, by my watch.
15 min: Looks like Torreira is going to leave us on a stretcher. The physios are holding his ankle, keeping it stable. Doesn’t look like a good one, this.
13 min: Torreira is down and thudding hands on turf after an uncompromising tackle by Bolton. The ball was won fairly; do we think the home player used excessive force though? We won’t be able to ask VAR because there isn’t any tonight.
10 min: Mari does brilliantly to beat Harrison to a Harness cross after the winger does well on the left. It all came about after Guendouzi, not Arteta’s favourite boy in recent weeks, gave the ball away cheaply in midfield.
9 min: Harrison, all on his own, drives towards the Arsenal defence and shoots speculatively. It’s deflected for a corner; the busy striker did well. David Luiz nuts it clear, but isn’t as convincing when the second ball is played in and Evans totally miscues his attempt at a spectacular angled volley.
8 min: “Mari playing – good – if he makes an ambitious pass we shall hail him. End of punning contribution,” contributes Charles Antaki.
6 min: Now Nelson puts across a much better delivery from open play after good work from Willock, fizzing one dangerously across goal but with no attacker ready to pounce.
5 min: Arsenal win a corner and Nelson outswings it from the right, but Harrison nods it clear at the near post.
3 min: A deep, deep cross from from the left-back Seddon is headed back across the box by Harrison and missed by Martinez, with David Luiz having to somewhat unwittingly head it away.
2 min: Bit of a hectic start, the ball in the air a lot, but Pompey’s tempo is good and the debutant Mari has to block a shot from range by Evans.
Peeeep! Off we go!
Arteta rubs his hands. Pompey get us started, shooting right to left. Arsenal are in yellow shirts and navy shorts today.
The teams are out on the pitch at Fratton Park! There’s chanting, singing, the obligatory bell, everything! A few minutes til we start ...
“Tell an American, what or why the “Pompey” in reference to Portsmouth?” writes Sam.
Doesn’t matter who plays though – Pompey haven’t lost here in the league this season!
A bit of admin while we’re here: the tie has to be settled tonight, there’ll be no replay. Can’t give the cup yet more time when we’ve already run it across glamorous weeknight slots!
Worth noting that Portsmouth’s top scorers, the aforeinterviewed Curtis and John Marquis, are both on the bench tonight. They have a good squad for their level but ... hmmmmm.
Arsenal definitely need some sort of a bone to throw wavering stars – who could include Aubameyang and Saka – this summer. An FA Cup triumph could be something although Champions League football is really what they need. I went to see Arteta on Saturday and asked him how important it is in persuading people to stay; his answer will SHOCK you:
Warm your ears and your heart, before we get going, with today’s Football Weekly:
David Luiz is Arsenal’s skipper tonight. Portsmouth will fancy a nibble at Sokratis assuming he starts, as he has a couple of times, as right-back. I guess there’s the ghost of a chance Nelson and Saka could be wing-backs either side of a back three but it’s unlikely.
Team news
Portsmouth: Bass; McCrorie, Bolton, Burgess, Seddon; Close, McGeehan; Williams, Evans, Harness; Harrison. Subs: MacGillivray, Raggett, Whatmough, Naylor, Cannon, Marquis, Curtis.
Arsenal: Martinez, Sokratis, Mari, David Luiz, Saka; Guendouzi, Torreira; Nelson, Willock, Martinelli; Nketiah. Subs: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Holding, Xhaka, Ceballos, Pepe, Lacazette.
A debut in defence for Pablo Mari, there, and a strong if much-altered Arsenal team – with Aubameyang and Ozil getting the night off.
Pompey’s manager, if you did not know already, is Kenny Jackett.
Good evening
Welcome to the FA Cup, a competition that continues to be degraded by a thousand cuts and whose fifth-round fixtures this year will naturally be spread among four days in midweek. Be honest, on at least two of those days you don’t really want to be watching football, there’s enough going on. But we are where we are and – looking on the bright side! – it gives me great pleasure to present you one of the ties of the round tonight.
It should be a cracker, in fairness. Pompey are (as far as I can remember, because I support a League One team that is screwing its season up so much I literally can’t bring myself to survey the table) third in the third tier and flying – looking a good bet to go up and have a shot at recreating the glory years of a decade or more back, minus ‘Arry and a shedload of international recruits with fascinating back stories. They even won this thing in 2008! Fratton Park under the lights can generate a really special, old fashioned atmosphere and Kenny Jackett will fancy his players’ chances of giving this a real go tonight.
So will Mikel Arteta, because Arsenal have to really. They’re out of the Europa League and, while things seem to be perking up a little on the Premier League front, they have a *lot* of work to do before they can look forward to European football of any kind this season. Winning the FA Cup would at least get them into the Europa League. And it would give a wretched campaign a flash of glory that never looked likely, while maybe offering the impressive Arteta a springboard from which to really push them on.
Expect a full-throttle, hammer-and-tongs affair! Team news to come; get your emails and tweets in too. And while you’re waiting, get your teeth into this from Ben Fisher …
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