Gabriel Martinelli ended Arsenal’s last game as public enemy No 1 with Liverpool fans and Gary Neville after his clash with Conor Bradley on Thursday. But the Brazilian was his team’s saviour against Portsmouth, after the Championship side had threatened briefly to record their first win against the Premier League leaders in 23 attempts after Colby Bishop’s early strike.
Martinelli’s first senior hat‑trick included two almost identical headers from corners after an own goal from Andre Dozzell had drawn them level following – you guessed it – another corner. That takes Arsenal’s tally from set‑pieces this season to 17 and one wonders where they would be without them. Yet such is their proficiency under Nicolas Jover these days that Mikel Arteta can virtually rely on at least one bearing fruit.
“Yesterday, he was talking about it,” the Arsenal manager said of Martinelli. “His timing in the box is really good, especially when he attacks the space.”
The travelling supporters ended the game aiming taunts against Neville after the Sky Sports pundit had described Martinelli as “an idiot” for attempting to remove Bradley from the pitch as Arsenal chased a winner against Liverpool. But Arteta praised his Liverpool counterpart, Arne Slot, for his understanding and credited Martinelli for showing “personality”.
Philippe Clement claimed Josh Sargent refused to play in Norwich’s 5-1 FA Cup victory over Walsall – but insisted the USA striker would not be leaving Carrow Road during the transfer window.
The Canaries dominated their League Two opponents from start to finish, with Jovon Makama (pictured) leading the way with a hat-trick to take his tally for the season to 12.
“Josh sent me a message yesterday evening saying he would not be available because of transfer things in his head,” Clement said of a player linked with a move to Major League Soccer’s Toronto. “This is obviously not something we want, and will have consequences … The club has made it really clear to Josh and his agent that he will not be leaving.”
Nigel Clough praised the way his Mansfield team rewarded their supporters in their 4-3 victory at Sheffield United. Louis Reed scored twice against his old club, with Lucas Akins and Rhys Oates also on target, while United’s goals came from Gus Hamer, Patrick Bamford and a Nathan Moriah-Welsh own goal. The hosts had a penalty appeal waved away late on when Bamford went down under a challenge.
Clough said: “When you bring nearly 5,000 fans, although it’s just up the road, there’s a responsibility to put on a performance and have a go, and the players certainly did that. I thought the quality of the four goals we scored – their first one as well – was outstanding.”
United boss Chris Wilder was left to rue “individual errors” which proved costly. He said: “More than disappointing. I didn’t pick a team to get knocked out of the cup.”
Ollie Bostock kept his cool to hammer home the winning penalty in a shootout win at Swansea to bring to an end West Brom’s run of 10 successive away defeats. Having set up a goal for Jed Wallace in extra time to give his side a 2-1 lead, he hit the target following three successive misses to make it 6-5 in the shootout after the teams had been locked at 2-2 after extra time.
Dillon Phillips was the hero as Hull defeated Blackburn 4-3 on penalties after a drab goalless draw. Phillips saved Rovers’ first two attempts from Yuki Ohashi and Moussa Baradji. Hull’s Lewie Coyle was thwarted by Blackburn’s Balazs Toth but Kyle Joseph, Oli McBurnie, Charlie Hughes and David Akintola were all on target. PA Media
“It’s part of football and then it’s how you take it,” he said. “But he knew inside the reason why he did what he did. I think Arne Slot spoke brilliantly after the game, speaking of your opponent in the manner that he explained the situation and the fact that Gabi had no intention whatsoever to damage any player. And that’s personality. Come in and talk on the pitch.”
Arteta will have mixed memories of Arsenal’s last trip here in the fifth round during his first season in charge, when they were 2-0 victors on their way to winning the competition and he also contracted Covid. Martinelli was the only player who started that game six years ago to feature again, as only Gabriel Magalhães kept his place from the stalemate against Liverpool. Ethan Nwaneri started a match for the first time since the end of October and impressed in midfield.
The Portsmouth defender Regan Poole had predicted his side would have to make things “ugly” for their gilded opponents and the weather on the south coast certainly obliged. Wind and rain swept over the ground in the buildup to kick-off and the home supporters were clearly in the mood.
Their enthusiasm was matched by John Mousinho’s side, who endured a 5-0 thrashing by Bristol City to start the new year and are perilously close to the relegation zone. Incredibly you have to go back to 1958 and a 5-4 victory in the old First Division here for the last time Portsmouth got one over Arsenal. But it seemed like an upset might be on the cards just two minutes in when Bishop scored his first goal in 20 appearances.
Arsenal did not seem to know what had hit them when Noni Madueke tamely lost possession an Harvey Blair was able to pick out the unmarked Conor Chaplin inside the area. His shot was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga but it fell straight into the gleeful Bishop’s path and he could not miss.
Arsenal were level within minutes when Eberechi Eze’s corner was eventually bundled in at the back post by Dozzell – son of the former Tottenham midfielder Jason – under close attention from Christian Nørgaard. But Bishop was not far away from his second when Blair’s shot was saved and the ball deflected wide.
After Martinelli rose to head home Madueke’s corner as Portsmouth’s defence was caught out again, Arsenal should have been out of sight by half-time. But Martinelli spurned two excellent chances before Madueke was awarded a penalty less than 60 seconds later following a foul by Zak Swanson. The England forward looked full of confidence, only to completely miss the target to the Portsmouth fans’ delight.
Any hopes of a comeback were extinguished when Martinelli finally scored again six minutes after the restart. Myles Lewis-Skelly took a quick free-kick that caught Portsmouth napping and Gabriel Jesus was able to pick out his compatriot at the back post for a simple finish. His third was virtually a carbon copy of his first goal at the other end as Madueke again unerringly found his forehead from a corner.
There was a piece of history when Marli Salmon came off the bench and in the process became the youngest player to play for Arsenal in the FA Cup at the age of 16 years and 135 days, while Kai Havertz returned from his long layoff. The Germany striker could have a major role to play as Arsenal reached the fourth round for the first time since 2023. Whisper it quietly given Arteta still has only one major trophy to his name as a manager, but the possibility of a quadruple remains alive.
