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GOAL! Portsmouth 1-0 Arsenal ( Bishop 3)<\/p>\n
Noise! Blair does well down the left, picking a clever square-pass to Chaplin with Arsenal<\/a> expecting a cross. Using the direction of the ball, he sweeps a shot goalwards, Kepa parries but can\u2019t get it out of the danger-zone, and Bishop opens his body to punch a finish high into the net! This competition, oh my complete and utter absolute days.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1 min Long ball, knockdown, cross into the box; Pompey look to put Arsenal<\/a> under pressure immediately, and I\u2019d not be surprised if they look to put a big man on Lewis-Skelly to create a back-post mismatch. For now, though, he and Arsenal get the ball away.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1 min Away we go!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n In the WSL, league leaders Man City have won again:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Out come our players; Fratton Park is bouncing.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Leeds have come from behind to win 3-1 at Derby:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n When I think of this kind of thing, I think of the Italy squad which won the 2006 World Cup \u2013 Marcello Lippi to six strikers and each of them contributed something significant \u2013 and Man United in 2012-13, when they won the league not because they were good, they weren\u2019t, but because they had varied attackers able to turn tight games. In all these years of finishing second, Arsenal<\/a> haven\u2019t had that \u2013 until now.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Email! \u201cHaving decent reinforcements is, as you say, pretty crucial for Arsenal<\/a> if they\u2019re to manage campaigns on multiple fronts,\u201d reckons Charles Antaki. \u201cIn fact it would be true even if they just had the Premier League to worry about. But the extra benefit of the recent recruits is what I suppose we must call the vibe factor: Madueke giving immediate and lively evidence that he\u2019s a terrific back-up to Saka, and more especially Eze \u2018coming home\u2019 to a club he seems to have a genuine affection for. The positive sentiments around them will start to evaporate at some point, especially if they don\u2019t play, or play badly when they do get on. But even the fumes will sustain the faith among the faithful for some time yet.\u201d<\/p>\n I agree \u2013 especially in a team which isn\u2019t free-scoring, options are crucial when it comes to settling right matches in what might be a tight title race. Arsenal have needed an alternative to Saka for a few seasons now, and in the absence of a reliable goalscorer, a variety of different profiles able to score might just compensate.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Arteta hopes to get Havertz some minutes and wants his players to be present and in the moment. He knows there\u2019s a long history of cup upsets, so his team need to be switched on.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n So how do Pompey beat them? Well, this isn\u2019t an XI used to playing together, so the cohesion won\u2019t necessarily be there. Pompey need to crowd the midfield and get at Lewis-Skelly down their right \u2013 great talent though he is, he\u2019s not played much lately, struggled in midweek, and isn\u2019t a natural full-back. Otherwise, they\u2019ll want to get Blair in and in behind Norgaard, who\u2019s not a centre-back, and Kepa has a mistake in him if he can be targeted with crosses and shots.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.48 EST<\/p>\n Arsenal, though, are going for all four major trophies \u2013 they meet Chelsea in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final in midweek. It\u2019s a while since they won one, and I\u2019m sure a man as intense as Arteta will have them fired up.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The weather is every bit as minging as you\u2019d want it to be, dingy, and rainy. That won\u2019t do Portsmouth<\/a> any harm, and I daresay they\u2019ll be testing Kepa under some high balls, perhaps with some long shots too.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Mousinho tells TNT that his players have done all the work they need to, he made a few little tweaks after seeing the Arsenal<\/a> teamsheet, and now his players are ready to go. Pompey haven\u2019t played since New Year\u2019s Day and the break has done them good as they were a little thin in terms of numbers.<\/p>\n Otherwise, though, he wants the team to enjoy it and knows the home crowd will get them going as they do every week. He thinks Arsenal are the best team in the world but there\u2019s no pressure on Portsmouth<\/a> and it\u2019s a special occasion, especially as it\u2019s his 150th match in charge.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n At Pride Park, Leeds have come from behind to lead Derby. They\u2019re playing with so much confidence now they\u2019re setting up in a 3-5-2.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.31 EST<\/p>\n Bad news for Liverpool:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n I would, though, like to see Eze off the left, even if to excel in that role, he could use a left-footed left-back with the pace to go on the outside. I\u2019d expect him to take the position in time, but for now he\u2019s having to be patient.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Eze, meanwhile, hasn\u2019t quite got going at Arsenal<\/a>, currently understudying Leandro Trossard. In a sense, his signing was a risk as, at 27, he\u2019s not getting that much better, but when you\u2019re competing for the big pots it\u2019s not just about the best 1-11 but about the ability to rest players whole having serious talent able to affect games from the bench, Even if Eze doesn\u2019t establish himself as a first pick, there\u2019s every chance he earns Arsenal a few points with crucial contributions off the bench.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Areteta has gone hyper-attacking in midfield, with Mikel Merino the single pivot, flanked by Ethan Nwaneri and Eberechi Eze. The former\u2019s career has stalled a little after a thrilling introduction to senior football \u2013 I wonder whether, if further opportunities aren\u2019t forthcoming, he might leave in the summer. But in the meantime, I\u2019m excited to see how he does in a central role, because he\u2019s got a lot of talent.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n I\u2019m a little surprised Victor Gyokeres wasn\u2019t offered the chance to nab a confidence-building goal. Arsenal<\/a> need more from him than they\u2019re getting and, as the pressure increases the closer we get to the end of the season, there won\u2019t be many chances to give him opportunities. But Mikel Arteta goes for Gabriel Jesus up front, whose return might yet be crucial, and Kai Havertz is back on the bench after a long-term injury.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n As for Arsenal<\/a>, Gabriel is the only man who started against Liverpool who starts this afternoon. Otherwise, it\u2019s an entirely new side, with Christian Norgaard pressed into action as an emergency centre-back in the absences of Hincapie and Mosquera.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n John Mousinho makes three changes to his Portsmouth<\/a> side. Despite the 5-0 Bristol City gubbing, the back seven stay the same, with the changes all coming in attack; out go Swift, Bowat and Kirk, all three of whom are on the bench; in come Bishop, Chaplain and Blair, which is not, as it turns out, some kind of time-travelling comedy situation.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Teams!<\/p>\n Portsmouth (4-2-3-1): Bursik; Devlin, Shaughnessy, Poole, Swanson; Dozzell, Le Roux; Segecic, Bishop, Chaplin; Blair. Subs: Killip, Williams, Bowat, Ogilvie, Farrell, Pack, Swift, Umeh, Kirk.<\/p>\n Arsenal (4-3-3): Arrizabalaga; White, Norgaaard, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Merino, Nwaneri, Eze; Madueke, Jesus, Martinelli. Subs: Raya, Saka, Odegaard, Timber, Gyokeres, Havertz, Zubimendi, Rice, Salmon.<\/p>\n Referee: Tony Harrington (Cleveland)<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n In 2008, Portsmouth<\/a> won the FA Cup; in 2010, they were relegated from the Premier League.<\/p>\n These things were connected: European qualification cost the club a load in bonuses, players were sold, and the owner, not necessarily the kind of bloke you\u2019d want owning your football club, ceased funding it, after which followed 15 largely miserable years. Pompey now sit fourth-bottom of the Championship.<\/p>\n I\u2019d be amazed, though, if there\u2019s a single fan not comfortable with these consequences. Of course, they\u2019d like things to be different, but they\u2019ll be reliving about that day at Wembley and the consequent European campaign until the day they die; it\u2019s worth a lot more than a few more top-division, mid-table finishes. Football is about sharing moments and days with people you love, and no competition has been delivering them for longer nor with greater intensity than the FA Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pompey will, though, have to find something major to get a result today. Last time out, they were clattered 5-0 at Bristol City, while Arsenal<\/a>, the country\u2019s top team, can rest every midweek starter and still select an intimidatingly good XI. If they play well today, it won\u2019t be close but, on the other hand, Fratton Park is designed to make that as difficult as possible and, if the home side can start well, you never know.<\/p>\n Kick-off: 2pm GMT<\/p>\n