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By OLIVER HOLT, CHIEF SPORTS WRITER Published: 03: 57 AEDT, 12 January 2026 | Updated: 06: 07 AEDT, 12 January 2026 92 View comments Arsenal used the tumult of an FA Cup third round tie to move another step closer to winning the Premier League when they overcame Portsmouth at Fratton Park in driving, swirling rain, in front of a hostile, frenetic, loud, jeering, mocking, unfettered crowd on the south coast on Sunday afternoon. This was football as some of the young Arsenal players trusted to negotiate this test by Mikel Arteta may not have experienced it before. This was football without the mute button. This was football unsanitised. This was football, raw and testing, and ragged and exposed at one of the most evocative and atmospheric grounds in the country. This was a place where Pompey Sailor Kevin strutted around the pitch before the start in a sailor suit, holding up a sign reading 'Play Up Pompey', and gently riling the visiting supporters in their section behind one of the goals. This was a place where the whole ground joined in the pre-match sing-along to Mike Oldfield's tune 'Portsmouth' and made it rousing and communal and stirring and made it feel it carried power and that it meant something more than a gimmick. This was a place where, when Noni Madueke missed a penalty in the first-half, the entire ground, bar the away fans, stood on their feet and pointed at him in unison screaming 'w****r' at him over and over and over again. This was a place where opposition players cannot hide. And Arsenal's players did not hide. Portsmouth threw everything at him and even though what amounted to an Arsenal second team went behind inside three minutes, they did not shrink. They had other setbacks, too, but they recovered from them. Arsenal overcame a tough away test at Portsmouth on Sunday as they progressed through to the fourth round of the FA Cup Gabriel Martinelli scored a hat-trick as Arsenal's players did not hide or shrink when they went behind And even if most of the players who started for Arsenal were household names, they were still mostly the reserves. They were still the support acts for Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard and the rest. But the way they prospered here, the steel they showed, the class they showed, proved again that when they are called upon to aid the Premier League title effort which is Arsenal's obsession, each and every single one of them will be an asset, not a liability. This was not an ordeal for them. It was invaluable experience. They even proved they could recreate Arsenal's famed excellence from set-pieces. Every one of their four goals came from dead ball situations. It was also invaluable for Gabriel Martinelli, whose response to becoming public enemy number one for his rash and foolish mistake in attempting to push the badly hurt Conor Bradley off the pitch during Arsenal's clash with Liverpool on Thursday was to score a hat-trick here. It was just one of the signs of progress Arsenal kept clocking up. Kai Havertz, who has been out since the first day of the Premier League season, came on as a second half substitute and Marli Salmon, who is 16 years and 135 days old, became the youngest player to feature for Arsenal in the FA Cup when he was introduced for Gabriel 14 minutes from time. It was that kind of afternoon for Arsenal. A day when they were tested and a day when they responded and a day when they strengthened their grip on that league title in a cup tie. Arteta had made 10 changes to the Arsenal line-up from the starting eleven that faced Liverpool at the Emirates last week. In other clubs, that might be interpreted as complacency or indifference but Arsenal have such a strong squad this season that it did not seem like either. Kepa Arrizabalaga was in goal, Gabriel was the sole survivor of the Liverpool game, and Mikel Merino was at the heart of midfield, Eberechi Eze, Madueke, Gabriel Jesus and Martinelli, the villain of the piece against Liverpool, all started. Mikel Arteta's squad showed that they are available to help on the Gunners' title charge Not only was it a team that looked more than capable of dealing with a side like Portsmouth, sitting one point above the relegation zone in the Championship, it was a team that looked like it might have a decent shot of finishing in the top four in the Premier League. That sense of calm was shattered after two minutes and 34 seconds. Arrizabalaga could only parry an effort from Conor Chaplin and Colby Bishop, who had not scored for Portsmouth since August, pounced on the rebound and smashed it high into the roof of the net in front of the travelling Arsenal fans. But Portsmouth's lead only lasted for five minutes. Arsenal won a corner, Portsmouth could not clear it, there was a scramble and it was bundled into the Portsmouth net. Christian Norgaard was credited with the goal initially but it was later attributed to an own goal by Andre Dozzell. There was no doubt about the identity of the goalscorer of Arsenal's second. Martinelli had been enthusiastically booed each time he got the ball as part of the aftermath of his antics against Liverpool. Martinelli has apologised for his actions and he did not appear inhibited or intimidated by his new-found infamy at Fratton Park. Midway through the half, Madueke swung a perfectly-weighted corner in from the Arsenal right and Martinelli rose highest to glance the ball past Josef Bursik. Martinelli should have doubled Arsenal's advantage a few minutes later but he curled his shot wide when he was clean through on Bursik. A few minutes after that, he tapped a shot against the post from a tight angle when the goal was beckoning. But Arsenal kept forging forward. Madueke drew a rash tackle from Zak Swanson a few minutes before half time and the referee pointed to the spot. Madueke took it himself, paused his run so that Bursik committed himself and then dragged his kick wide of the post. The miss provoked an explosion of delighted derision from the home fans. It was the kind of moment that carried an element of danger. An escape like that can energise a team and it can energise supporters. Portsmouth went about their task with a renewed vigour. Colby Bishop had put Portsmouth ahead but Arsenal eventually showed their class Martinelli scored his first career hat-trick just days after his controversial run-in with Liverpool's Conor Bradley Portsmouth (4-2-3-1): Bursik; Devlin, Poole, Shaughnessy (Ogilvie 62'), Swanson (73'); Dozzell, Le Roux; Segecic (Swift 73'), Chaplin, Blair (Umeh-Chibueze 40'); Bishop Subs not used: Kilip, Bowat, Farrell, Kirk Goal: Bishop 3 Booked: Le Roux Manager: John Mousinho Arsenal (4-3-3): Arrizabalaga; White (Timber 69'), Norgaard, Gabriel (Salmo 76'), Lewis-Skelly; Nwaneri (Odegaard 69'), Merino, Eze; Madueke, Jesus (Havertz 69'), Martinelli (Zubimendi 82') Subs not used: Raya, Rice, Gyokeres, Saka Goals: Dozzell OG 8, Martinelli 25, 51, 72 Booked: White, Lewis-Skelly Manager: Mikel Arteta  But a few minutes after the interval, Arsenal popped that particular balloon. They took a quick free kick just inside their own half and spread the ball wide to Gabriel Jesus. Jesus looked up and played a lovely low ball into the area where Martinelli was waiting at the far post to prod it in. Martinelli got his hat-trick with his header direct from another Madueke corner. Arsenal's fans responded by chanting abuse about Gary Neville, who had led the chorus of criticism about his behaviour against Liverpool. Arsenal have lost in the third round in the last two seasons. That fate was averted but that was only among equals in their reasons to be cheerful.

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