Arsenal fell behind within the first three minutes against Portsmouth, but quickly equalized and Gabriel Martinelli scored three of the four goals to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Gabriel Martinelli scores a hat-trick at Fratton Park (Image: )
It was only three days ago that Gabriel Martinelli was cast as the biggest villain. But this time Martinelli was Arsenal’s FA Cup hero, scoring a sensational hat-trick to ensure Mikel Arteta’s side a comfortable place in the fourth round.
Incredibly, Arsenal have been eliminated at the first hurdle in each of the past two seasons, but despite Arteta making 10 changes to his starting XI, there were no failures at Fratton Park.
And Martinelli, who came under fire for pushing injured Liverpool defender Conor Bradley off the pitch on Thursday night, has truly seized the chance to write his own script.
Let me tell you, the 3,000 traveling Arsenal fans were quick to chant what they thought of Gary Neville after Sky’s pundits were particularly brutal about Martinelli’s actions against Liverpool. Martinelli is a speedy Brazilian winger, but even he is suffering from Arsenal’s set-piece bug, as both of his goals were near-post headers from Noni Madueke’s corners.
Incredibly, Arsenal have now scored 17 set-piece goals this season, setting a new record when teenager Mari Salmon came on in the second half to replace Gabriel, the only survivor from the starting XI against Liverpool.
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At 16 years and 135 days old, Gunners academy star Salmon became the youngest player to represent Arsenal in the FA Cup, surpassing Gedion Zelalem’s 16 years and 363 years in January 2024. Additionally, the return of Kai Havertz, who has regained his form after coming on as a substitute in the second half, has also been welcomed back, making his arrival at exactly the right time for Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Gunners manager Arteta still has four trophies in his sights – they also reached the Carabao Cup semi-finals at Chelsea on Tuesday, and are in the title race and Champions League – but the FA Cup is the only trophy he has won since taking charge in 2019.
Arsenal have won the FA Cup a record 14 times, but with so many games under their belt, it’s understandable that they rolled the dice by making wholesale changes. However, Arsenal looked a little loose and uninterested in the early stages. Portsmouth, who were struggling in the Championship, bravely took the lead in the third minute and it was Madueke who fired the ball that led to Portsmouth’s opening goal.
Arsenal bounced back well after conceding an early Portsmouth goal (Image: )
Harvey Blair’s ball into the box hit Conor Chaplin, whose shot was deflected away by Arsenal keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. It fell straight to Colby Bishop, Pompey’s captain, and beat home, bringing this great old ground back to life. However, Arsenal equalized five minutes later. Eberechi Eze’s corner kick caused chaos as bodies flooded the six-yard box.
The ball was ultimately deflected by Andre Dozell, son of former Spurs midfielder Jason, resulting in an own goal. Christian Norgaard tried to shoot, but the ball went over the line. Arsenal then scored their second goal. The visiting fans cheered after Martinelli converted Madueke’s near-post corner to put his team back in the game.
Arsenal then wasted a chance to end the game even before half-time. Martinelli made a clean through, but his shot went wide. And the Brazilian winger hit the post just as it looked like he was going to score easily.
The worst mistake came after 42 minutes. Former Arsenal youngster Zac Swanson clumsily tripped Madueke to concede a penalty. Maduke side-footed the penalty wide, despite keeper Josef Bursik going the wrong way. Arsenal finally gave them a cushion. Gabriel Jesus delivered a wonderfully inspired cross from the right, which Martinelli smashed into the back post for the goal.
Martinelli then completed his hat-trick with Arsenal’s fourth goal in the 72nd minute. Martinelli curled in Madueke’s near post corner, much to the delight of Arsenal fans.
After the home team had used all their substitutes, substitute Franco Ume was forced off with an injury, leaving Pompey with a pitiful 10 men.
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