Key events
80 min Elsewhere, Mansfield of League One lead 3-1 at Sheffield United of the Championship.
78 min “I think Gazza’s peak was the first couple of years at Lazio,” returns Niall Mullen.” “I never saw an English player with that level of skill and ability to dominate a game in the toughest league there maybe ever was. He burned brightly but briefly obviously.”
I dunno, Gazza only played 43 times for Lazio, in three years. I don’t think I can award best-ever status for so small a body of work.
76 min Another change for Arsenal, the 16-year-old Marli Salmon becoming the youngest player to represent arsenal in the FA Cup. What a feeling that must be for him and his family.
74 min Arsenal’s set-piece prowess is surely a self-fulfilling prophesy. Opponents know there’s something coming, the players have got good at taking their time to up the anticipation, and when the execution is good, it’s pretty difficult to do much about it.
GOAL! Portsmouth 1-4 Arsenal (Martinelli 72)
Another vicious corner from Madueke, Martinelli leaping at the near post to flick in his hat-trick goal – it’s the first of his career – and though Bursic might’ve saved it, he could only help it into the net.
71 min Havertz is back into it right away, sending Madueke away, and he slows Poole down, speeds up to work a shooting lane then, from a tight angle, shoots low and hard, Bursic’s save earning Arsenal another corner.
69 min A triple change for Arsenal, Timber, Odegaard and Havertz replacing White, Nwaneri and Jesus. Decent options to have in reserve.
68 min Again, Segecic wriggles away from a challenge then cuts across White, who fouls him and is booked.
66 min Eze looks to feed a ball through the centre for Jesus, but Poole does well to intercede. Meantime Mark Dawson emails thusly: “Everyone loves Gazza, but he’s not even the best midfielder to play for Spurs (in my 54 years watching). Hoddle stands supreme. I’d also rate Le Tiss over Gazza. But probably still Robbo over all.”
Le Tiss was brilliant, I agree, but I’ve never seen the combination of power, touch and imagination that Gazza brought to things. He’d be as brilliant today, whereas I think Hoddle – and Le Tiss – would have to adjust to the physicality.
65 min Segecic megs White out on the left, so White shoves him over by way of punishment for his effrontery; Segecic then curls in a decent free-kick, headed away well by Merino.
63 min Zachary Roth adds Christian Norgaard to the list of religious names; similarly, Eberechi means “God’s mercy” in Igbo.
62 min Changes for Portsmouth, Le Roux and Shaughnessy going off with Pack and Ogilvie coming on.
61 min Now Portsmouth move forward down the right, White opting to take no chances with a searching cross, helping it behind; the resultant corner comes to nothing.
60 min Arsenal win another corner, this time down the right, Madueke with it, and Portsmouth clear at the near post.
59 min And for balance:
58 min “Captain Marvel was exceptional,” reckons Niall Mullen, “but at his peak I’d say Gazza was the best English midfielder (and player) in my 43 years of watching football.”
Gazza was special and unique, but when was that peak? Was Spurs’ 1991 FA Cup run enough? Incidentally, Gazza rates Robson as the best player he encountered.
57 min Nice from Arsenal, White into Madueke who, inside the box, plays a little ball to Nwaneri, follows the flicked return … and is crowded out.
56 min Nwaneri, who’s been quiet so far, veers through midfield, Le Roux moves in for the kill, fouls him, and is booked.
55 min Portsmouth are still going after this and, though you feat for them as gaps appear, they may as well lose by a couple more trying to get back into the match.
54 min ”Are these the most religious team selections ever?” wonders Anthony Findlay. “We have a Chaplin, Bishop, Kirk, Jesus and a lot of Gabriels.”
GOAL! Portsmouth 1-3 Arsenal (Martinelli 52)
That might be that. After a foul on Martinelli, Lewis-Skelly takes a quick free-kick, switching to Jesus, whose low cross is perfect, whipped through the corridor, and Martinelli slots home at the far post.
50 min And the corner picks out Segecic on the far side of the box, the ball drops, he sets himself to shoot, makes decent connection with his laces … but the time all that took allows White to block with his body. That’s excellent defending.
49 min Nice from Segecic, who darts in behind White, meets the pass that plays him in with a flick, and wins the corner when his attempted cross is blocked.
46 min Pompey started the first half really well, but can they find a way of getting at Arsenal again?
46 min We go again…
Our players are back with us…
Today is Bryan Robson’s birthday so, given he was the first captain to lift the FA Cup three times, let’s enjoy this reminder of just how good he was. I’ve not seen a better midfielder in my 43 years watching English football.
HALF-TIME: Portsmouth 1-2 Arsenal
A typically entertaining first half and, after Martinelli’s missed chance and Madueke’s missed penalty, Portsmouth remain in the game.
45+3 min I doubt Mousinho is too disheartened to be trailing at half-time. He’ll be vexed his team conceded twice from corners, but in general play they’ve competed well and a second goal doesn’t necessarily look beyond them.
45+1 min We’ll have three additional minutes; the free-kick comes to nowt.
45 min I daresay the Arsenal players will be hearing some words at half-time: with those two chances for Martinelli and Madueke, the game should be over, and now Segecic is preparing to stick a free-kick into the box, Lewis-Skelly having been booked for fouling Umeh.
MADUEKE MISSES THE PENALTY!
He stutters, pauses, waits for the keeper to move, then strokes an expert’s finish, dead calm and composed, oh isn’t this so easy for him, what a natural, past the right-hand post.
PENALTY TO ARSENAL!
Madueke isolates Swanson, grooves around him on the outside, and it’s so obvious what’s coming next: a clumsy, lazy, impatient fall into him, giving the ref no choice but to point to the spot.
41 min Arsenal move it nicely, eventually finding White down the right, his low cross through the corridor and to the back post is a goodun, Martinelli is there … and somehow, he studs a finish into the turf which hits the post!
40 min Yup, Umeh replaces Blair and is immediately into the action, scrapping for possession.
39 min Bad news fro Pompey: Blair, their most threatening attacker so far, is down. I don’t think he’ll be able to continue.
37 min In the meantime, though they win a free-kick on halfway and send the big men forward – they’re having a proper go at this – but the delivery is poor. So Arsenal counter, Madueke coming in on his left foot and annihilating a low shot, bravely blocked at source by Poole.
35 min Arsenal haven’t yet found a way of controlling the game – they need Zubimendi for that really – but my guess is it gets easier as Portsmouth tire and press less.
33 min Arsenal now have 16 goals from set-piece this season, remarkable work from the players and dedicated coach, Nicolas Jover. I do think – and this isn’t an Arsenal-related point, especially – refs need to police contact in the box better, and force teams to take their corners and free-kicks quicker, but it’s about time these aspects of the game were taken seriously again.
31 min But just like that it’s almost 3-1, Eze knocking back to Norgaard, whose first-time pass, through the middle, is superb, setting Martinelli away. Losing balance, he opens his body, looking to curl low from the edge, but doesn’t get quite enough draw and the shot zips just wide.
29 min After almost half-an-hour of purposeful football, it’s now a bit scrappy. I don’t imagine Portsmouth will mind that too much, and they still look confident in possession, moving it about and trying to work angles.
27 min This has been an exceptionally entertaining half, but do Portsmouth have another goal in them? Or, more pertinently, can they avoid conceding another?
GOAL! Portsmouth 1-2 Arsenal (Martinelli 26)
They cannot. Madueke swings in a brute, Martinelli, attacking the front post, leaps, and uses the pace of the ball to not past Bursic. Pompey have done really well so far, but they trail thanks to Arsenal’s old set-piece trick.
24 min Eze’s smart pass ushers Madueke into the box, down its left-hand side, and Swanson does really well to nick the ball behind. Can Pompey defend this second corner properly?
23 min Shaughnessy flings himself into another juddering challenge, setting Pompey away, but seeking a shooting lane, Segesic is quickly blocked off, then Arsenal counter, Jesus’ heavy touch allowing Bursic to claim at his feet.
21 min Excellent work from Shaughnessy, who intercepts a pass seeking Madueke, then thunders into a challenge. I really like the way Pompey are going about this, even if it has me wondering how they can be 21st in the Champo. If they displayed this level of intensity and acumen in every game, especially away from home, I’m sure they’d be doing better.
19 min Pompey look really well prepared for this match and they’re pressing Arsenal high; I don’t think they rate Kepa’s ability to play out, and they’re forcing him to play long, then looking to win possession and go from there.
16 min My net drops out then returns in time for me to see Devlin skirting around the outside of Lewis-Skelly – they need to keep targeting him – but the cut-back is behind everyone. No matter: Blair, who looks extremely useful and was previously at Liverpool, moves in off the left, curving low towards the far bottom corner … and Kepa dives to tip away. This is a decent contest and is I’m, duty-bound to report A Proper, Honest, Good, Old-Fashioned FA Cup TieTM.
