82
QQQ Daily Mail, Tuesday, March 3, 202082 FA CUP
MATT
BARLOW
at Fratton Park0
PORTsMOUTh
2
ARsenAL
Sokratis 45+4
Nketiah 51Reiss the mastermind as young Gunners tame Pompey to claim their place in last eight
The AdMiRABLe neLsOn!
T
his was not the
script ordered by
Michael Eisner, the
D i s n e y e x e c u t i v e
who sank his money
i n t o P o r t s m o u t h a n d
remarked how the best
s p o r t i n g f i l m s a l w a y s
featured the triumph of the
underdog.
instead, another sweet narrative,
one in which the Pompey dream
w a s s u n k b y a n a d m i r a b l e
performance from a young man by
the name of Nelson.
Arsenal sailed into the quarter-
finals of the FA Cup and it was
Reiss Nelson not Viscount horatio
who clinched victory on the south
coast, creating two goals either
side of half-time with two wonder-
ful crosses from the right flank.
The first was converted by
sokratis, a sweet volley, and thesecond was hammered in from
close range by Eddie Nketiah.
For Mikel Arteta it was the per-
fect response to the disappoint-
ment of a shock defeat in the
Europa League at the hands of
Olympiacos. Arteta held his nerve
and made nine changes to theteam, trusting in his young players
and they passed the test by
silencing the raucous atmosphere
i n s i d e F r a t t o n P a r k w h e r e
Portsmouth have been in strong
form this season.
‘Yes, it was a risk,’ said the
Arsenal boss. ‘But i had no doubt
about picking them. Even if we
had won in the Europa League i
assessed the team, some of them
were exhausted, some of them had
issues, some of them mentally
were still hanging over
w h a t h a p p e n e d o n
Thursday.
‘They responded really
well with all the energy.
in the 94th minute they were
still pressing and chasing and
working. it’s a joy to see
them. i am enjoying work-
ing with them. They
f u l l y d e s e r v e t h e
chance. it’s risky
to play them inthis competition but they are
worth that risk.’
The only concern for Arsenal
came in the shape of an injury to
Lucas Torreira, who hobbled out
of Fratton Park on crutches and
with his left foot in a protective
boot after a twisting an ankle in a
strong first-half challenge from
James Bolton.
‘he was in a lot of pain,’ said
Arteta. ‘he’ll get it assessed in the
next few days. i don’t know if it’s
the bone or ligaments yet.’
Portsmouth started
with intensity and
a g g r e s s i o n a n d
disturbed Arsenal at
t h e b a c k w i t h a
swerving cross by steve
seddon and an effort
from Ellis harrison that
deflected wide.
David Luiz and Pablo
Mari, on his debut,
w o n i m p o r t a n theaders to protect their goal dur-
ing the early phase of pressure.
Arsenal lost Torreira inside 15
minutes. Bolton slid in and took
the ball cleanly but flattened the
Uruguayan with his momentum
and left him writhing in agony.
Dani Ceballos came on and the
short interval cost Pompey their
impetus. Until then, Arsenal’s only
flash of menace had come from an
explosive run and cross, flashed
low across goal by Nketiah.
But they performed with more
control when play restarted.
Bukayo saka, Gabriel Martinelli
and Nelson (left) caused problems
out wide and both Nketiah and
Martinelli were unable to convert
decent — though not simple —
chances from close range.
Nketiah dragged another effort
wide after good play by Luiz, car-
rying the ball through midfield.
Portsmouth were forced deeper
a n d t h e i r o c c a s i o n a l f o r a y sSteady,
Eddie:
Nketiah
bundles
home the
secondPICTURE:
AndY
hOOPeR