FA Cup news - Sokratis and Nketiah fire Arsenal past Portsmouth into FA Cup quarter-final

Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Eddie Nketiah scored either side of half-time as Arsenal battled past League One Portsmouth to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Pompey created the better chances in the first half but, having failed to test goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, fell behind deep into injury-time when Sokratis neatly volleyed in.

Nketiah added a second in the 51st minute after good work from Reiss Nelson down the right.

That seemed to knock the stuffing out of Portsmouth, who were left chasing the ball for the rest of the second half as a much-improved Arsenal dominated possession.

The result keeps alive Arsenal’s hopes of winning some silverware this season, having been knocked out of the Europa League on Thursday.

Portsmouth meanwhile will turn their attentions to earning promotion into the Championship, but might have some regret that they couldn’t trouble the Gunners further after a positive first-half display.

The home side looked dangerous in attack and got into good positions as Arsenal, who saw Lucas Torreira carried off on a stretcher after a sliding tackle from James Bolton, struggled in defence.

But Sokratis’ strike on the stroke of half-time, along perhaps with some stern words from Mikel Arteta at the break, proved decisive in turning the game in Arsenal’s favour.

Arsenal bounce back, eventually. After a crushing Europa League exit at the hands of Olympiacos last week, another cup exit five days later would have really deflated Arsenal. Even though Arteta opted to make a number of changes from the last game it looked as though the Gunners were still feeling the after-effects as they struggled to contain Portsmouth in the first half. The Premier League side were fortunate that Pompey didn’t take advantage of any of their opportunities, before Sokratis scored to change the complexion of the contest. Arsenal looked a different side in the second half and produced a masterclass in possession football as they controlled the game and didn’t allow the home side a sniff of a comeback. Arteta will be hoping they can continue in similar fashion going forward to ensure a positive finish to the campaign.

Reiss Nelson (Arsenal). David Luiz produced a solid performance alongside debutant Pablo Mori in the centre of defence, but Nelson shone on his first outing for almost two months. The 20-year-old produced a fine cross for the opening goal and then delivered again for Nketiah to score after bursting past Ross McCrorie.

Portsmouth: Bass 5, McCrorie 5, Bolton 5, Burgess 5, Seddon 6, Close 5, McGeehan 5, Williams 6, Evans 5, Harness 6, Harrison 5. Subs: Marquiz 5, Curtis 5, Cannon 5.

Arsenal: Martinez 6, Sokratis 7, Luiz 7, Mari 7, Saka 7, Guendouzi 6, Torreira 5, Nelson 7, Willock 6, Martinelli 6, Nketiah 7. Subs: Ceballos 6, Xhaka (N/A) Maitland-Niles (N/A)

14’ - Torreira's night is over. The stretcher is coming on to carry him off the pitch after that crunching sliding tackle from Bolton.

27’ - CHANCE! Portsmouth are still playing some really nice stuff. They work it around in the Arsenal half and then play a quick free-kick out to the left to Seddon. He swings in a cross to the penalty spot where Evans rises high but heads well wide.

31’ – CHANCE! They don't look assured in defence, but Arsenal do look lively in attack. Nelson skips past his marker in the box and fizzes a cross into Martinelli, who heads over from six yards out. The cross might have been a bit behind him, but would have expected Martinelli to finish from there.

45+4’ - GOAL! Arsenal take the lead on the stroke of half-time. A corner is headed out and played out to Nelson on the right. He whips in a powerful cross that Sokratis volleys in very nicely from about 12 yards out.

51’ - GOAL! Arsenal double their lead. Nelson does brilliantly down the right as he gets McCrorie one-on-one and races past him before delivering a cross towards Nketiah at the near post. Nketiah is between two defenders and gets a bit fortunate as the ball bounces kindly and falls for him to finish from close range.

Arsenal have gone 11 games without defeat away from home in all competitions (W4 D7), since a 0-2 loss at Leicester in Unai Emery’s final away game in charge of the club – their longest unbeaten run on the road since March to December 2016 (15 matches).

Tonight’s loss was Portsmouth’s first at Fratton Park since September 2019 against Southampton in the League Cup (0-4). Since then they had put together a 19-game unbeaten streak on home soil in all competitions.