Arsenal

Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has said trophies are not essential for him to be rated as a "top striker." 

The Gabon international has long been considered one of the most natural goalscorers in the game and he's excelled for the Gunners since arriving at the club in January 2018.

Speaking ahead of his team's clash with West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday, the Arsenal star was asked if his legacy would be blemished by a lack of silverware in north London, per Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday:

"I'm a striker so I will defend my side—I don't think you need trophies to be a top striker. Of course, it can help you but we've seen a lot of great players that didn't win trophies but we respect them because of their quality.

"You don't need to win trophies but if you win it, it's better."

As Arsenal journalist Layth Yousif relayed recently, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta made a similar point, referencing Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane:

Genuine question: Really interested to know what you think Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta meant when he said: "Yeah but Harry Kane has scored 30 goals and never won the league?" when he was asked if Aubameyang could be called world class if he hadn't won trophies... pic.twitter.com/c7cdDoQMTm

— Layth (@laythy29) February 27, 2020

The only major trophies Aubameyang has won in his career came before he moved to Arsenal. In 2013, he won the Coupe de la Ligue with Saint-Etienne and in the DFB-Pokal he enjoyed success with Dortmund in 2017.

With the Gunners he has come close on a couple of occasions, although the team fell at the final hurdle in the 2018 League Cup final and the 2019 UEFA Europa League final, losing comfortably to Manchester City and Chelsea respectively.

Arsenal's lack of silverware since Aubameyang joined the club has little to do with their star forward though. 

The 30-year-old recently received criticism for missing a glorious chance late on against Olympiacos that would have prevented their elimination from the Europa League; James McNicholas of The Athletic found it difficult to criticise the striker:

Personally, I can’t really hold Aubameyang’s miss against him.

It was only his brilliance that almost saw us win the game. His goals have carried this team at times.

He’ll be missed.

— gunnerblog (@gunnerblog) February 27, 2020

Arsenal are currently enduring an underwhelming campaign despite the recent improvement in form, although their position would be much worse if it was not for the prolific forward.

Aubameyang has been able to find the back of the net with remarkable consistency given the issues the team have had throughout the season. Per Squawka Football, he's been a supreme goalscorer since moving to the Emirates Stadium:

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored 49 goals in the Premier League since joining Arsenal in February 2018; only Mohamed Salah (50) has scored more.

Mikel Arteta is going to do everything he can to keep him at the club. pic.twitter.com/dF6Oo5I1Wu

— Squawka (@Squawka) March 5, 2020

As referenced in the above clip, there has been speculation linking Aubameyang with a move away from the club. At the end of the current campaign, he will have just one year left to run on his contract.

While the striker played down the importance of winning trophies, he will surely be desperate to win something with Arsenal before potentially moving on. The FA Cup is their only chance of a pot this season; the Gunners will face Sheffield United in the quarter-finals of the competition after their win over Portsmouth on Monday.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has urged the club to hold contract talks with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang before the season draws to a close. 

The Gabon striker's current deal expires in 2021, at which point he could leave on a free transfer.

Arteta said:

"We will have to do that at some stage before the end of the season for sure, and we will see the intentions that we have [and] his intentions.

"Where we are sitting in [the table at] that moment. I think it is difficult to predict that context right now. For me it is very easy. I want to keep him under any circumstances."

Aubameyang signed for Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018, and he has become their most important player.

The forward has netted 61 goals and assisted 13 in 96 appearances for the Gunners. 

This season, he has 20 goals and one assist in 31 matches in all competitions. Their next highest scorer in this campaign is Gabriel Martinelli, with 10 strikes.

Only Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie have had a hand in Premier League goals for Arsenal more frequently than Aubameyang:

Arsenal Premier League Minutes per goal involvement rankings

1 Henry 86
2 RVP 98
3 Aubameyang 102
4 Podolski 109
5 Giroud 117
6 Sanchez 119
7 Reyes 121
8 Bergkamp 123
9 Lacazette 125
10 Anelka 127
11 Adebayor 128
12 Kanu 130
13 Wright 130
14 Bendtner 131
15 Pires 136

— Orbinho (@Orbinho) March 3, 2020

He's on the verge of breaking one of Henry's Arsenal records in the Premier League, too:

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored 49 Premier League goals in 74 apps.

He is on pace to become the fastest Arsenal player to score 50 PL goals, breaking Thierry Henry's record, who did it in 83 apps.

Pierre would also be just the 10th African player to achieve the feat. pic.twitter.com/zQal2mycQa

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 24, 2020

Arsenal spent a club-record £56 million to prise him away from Dortmund, so they can ill-afford to lose him for free next year and will likely have to sell him this summer if he does not agree to fresh terms.

The Gunners have seen players such as Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck all leave the Emirates Stadium for nothing since 2018, and their lack of income from player sales has contributed to a precarious financial situation at the club.

How Arsenal finish this season could have significant bearing on whether he'll be willing to sign a new deal, though.

The north London outfit have not won silverware during his time at the club—they've lost in the 2017-18 Carabao Cup final and the 2018-19 UEFA Europa League final—nor have they played UEFA Champions League football.

Arsenal's only remaining chance of a trophy this season lies in the FA Cup. They'll face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in the quarter-finals.

In the Premier League they may only need to finish fifth to qualify for the Champions League because of Manchester City's European ban.

If that is the case, they have a five-point gap to make up on Manchester United with a game in hand. To finish in the top four, they're eight points back on Chelsea, again with a game in hand.

Arsenal have confirmed Lucas Torreira suffered a fractured ankle in their 2-0 win at Portsmouth in the FA Cup on Monday.

The Gunners broke the news on their official website on Thursday but did not offer a time frame for his expected recovery before further specialist assessment can be made.

Torreira had to be stretchered off early on at Fratton Park after a challenge from Pompey's James Bolton. 

The midfielder had to leave the stadium donning a protective boot and using crutches:

Oh dear.. #AFC pic.twitter.com/jdrBVENgLp

— Mark Mann-Bryans (@MMBonF1) March 2, 2020

Arsenal will miss his tenacity and work rate in midfield, and his injury will leave them a little short.

Mikel Arteta has Dani Ceballos, Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi to call upon in the centre, as well as Joe Willock.

Torreira's injury could provide a good opportunity for the 20-year-old, who has made just six Premier League starts this season.

If needed, Arteta may have to deploy David Luiz in holding midfield as an emergency. The centre-back has played that role on 37 occasions in his career, according to Transfermarkt.

As for Torreira, he'll likely find himself in a race to be fit by the end of the season. The Premier League campaign ends on May 17, while the FA Cup final will be on May 23 should the Gunners make it.

He'll also hope to return in time to feature at the 2020 Copa America this summer with Uruguay. La Celeste kick off their campaign against guest side Australia on June 13.

Pablo Mari's Arsenal debut earned lavish praise from fellow centre-back David Luiz following the Gunners' 2-0 win away to Portsmouth in the fifth round of the 2020 FA Cup on Monday night. 

Mari started the game at Fratton Park, his first senior appearance since making a loan move from Flamengo during the January transfer window. Luiz was left suitably enough impressed to say he's "so happy for Pablo, he’s a great guy, a great player and he had an amazing game," per Simon Collings of the London Evening Standard.

Helping Arsenal keep a fourth clean sheet in the last six matches across all competitions helped the north London outfit rebound after being eliminated from the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League at the hands of Olympiacos on Thursday.

Helping Arsenal reach the last eight of a competition the club has won a record 13 times also quickly endeared Mari to Gunners supporters. They will be hoping the 26-year-old can shore up what has been a shoddy backline for several seasons.

Head coach Mikel Arteta has made getting better defensively a priority. It hasn't been easy, though, with Arteta having to rely on sketchy talent in the form of mistake-prone duo David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi.

Arteta briefly worked with Mari at Manchester City and knows what the man who helped Flamengo win the Copa Libertadores can do. Mari's performance received a glowing endorsement from Arteta when the latter spoke to the Arsenal official website (h/t Metro): "He is very vocal and very comfortable on the ball, always commanding the back four and he looked like he’s played here for months. I think we have a good player."

For his part, Mari expressed happiness with his debut via Instagram (h/t Football.London's Andy Ha).

Mari getting up to speed quickly can solve a lot of problems for Arteta. As a cultured ballplayer, he will fit the possession-based game Arteta wants, a style based on building from the back.

More important, Mari can become the logical partner for incoming William Saliba. The 18-year-old signed for Arsenal last summer but stayed on loan at Saint-Etienne this season.

William Saliba vs Reims

37 passes
92% pass accuracy
1 tackle won
4 interceptions
9 clearances
1 aerial won

Saliba - insanely good at the age of 18... pic.twitter.com/B0sdeO6MV5

— Football Talent Scout - Jacek Kulig (@FTalentScout) February 23, 2020

Saliba represents a budding star who could become the building block to underpin a finally stable backline.

That's the theory anyway, but if Saliba needs time to adapt to England's top flight, Arteta may need to continue relying on a veteran like Luiz. The former Chelsea man is a proven winner, but he can be guilty of lapses in judgement.

Mustafi is also erratic, despite showing some signs of improvement since Arteta took charge on December 26.

Shkodran Mustafi subbed for Sokratis. Mustafi has been one of Arsenal's best players again tonight and receives a standing ovation https://t.co/ozpNLBK8GE

— Art de Roché (@ArtdeRoche) February 27, 2020

Options aside from Mustafi and Luiz are thin, with Sokratis Papastathopoulos, a goalscorer as an auxiliary right-back against Pompey, hinting at a possible exit, per Press Association reporter Mark Mann-Bryans (h/t MailOnline). Meanwhile, English duo Rob Holding and Calum Chambers have seen their careers blighted by injuries.

Arsenal's ideal scenario is for Mari and Saliba to become a regular and stable partnership next season. Naturally, it will take more than one promising outing for Mari to rate such an important role in Arteta's rebuild.

The caveats attached to his debut involve Portsmouth playing in English football's third tier. The League One side also left top scorers Ronan Curtis and John Marquis on the bench, eventually only introducing the pair after 67 minutes.

Mari will face tougher tests, but his initial showing offers encouragement for Arteta's plans to fix Arsenal's long-standing weakness. Improving the technique and athleticism at the heart of the back four can give the Gunners a strong-enough base to spark improvement on all fronts next season.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos has warned that he could look for a move away from Arsenal if he is not happy with the amount of game time he gets at the club. 

The 31-year-old has a contract at the Emirates Stadium that extends to the end of next season, but he said after Arsenal's 2-0 FA Cup win against Portsmouth on Monday that will not prevent him looking elsewhere if needs be, per Mark Mann-Bryans of the Press Association (h/t MailOnline):

"I don't know [if I will leave next year]. I have one more year here but me, I never sit on my contract. I don't care. If I'm not happy, I don't play enough or the coach doesn't like me, I don't care about the contract.

"For me, the money is not important, it is important I feel good, I feel happy and the team is happy with me. If not, I take the road and I finish. I don't think about it, I think every day to be happy and help the team and in the end we will see but what I say is that I am not a player who sits on a contract—I don't need it."

Sokratis joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in July 2018 for just under £18 million.

Under manager Unai Emery last term, he played in 25 Premier League games, and 12 of Arsenal's 15 UEFA Europa League games as they finished runners-up.

So far in 2019-20, the Greece international has made 18 appearances in the English top flight, but he has not made it on to the pitch in any of the Gunners' last five Premier League games.

New manager Mikel Arteta has played him in just three of the nine Premier League games he has taken charge of since being confirmed as Emery's permanent successor at the Emirates Stadium.

Even when Arteta has called on Sokratis, he has often played him out of position at right-back, as he did against Pompey.

In that role, though, he made a key contribution at Fratton Park, opening the scoring with a fine finish deep in first-half stoppage time:

HT: Portsmouth 0-1 Arsenal

Sokratis with a great finish on the stroke of half-time.

But Guendouzi booked for sarcastic ball placement without doubt the highlight of a very slow opening 45.

Follow the *action* LIVE via the F365 score centre.https://t.co/ZeLu7lly7O pic.twitter.com/gFRfMnIcwI

— Football365 (@F365) March 2, 2020

Eddie Nketiah then added Arsenal's second soon after the break to seal the Gunners their spot in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. 

Arteta's Arsenal are back in action on Saturday when they host relegation-battling West Ham United in the Premier League.

It is a must-win game for the Gunners, who still sit eight points off the top four with a game in hand. 

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said his young players are "worth the risk" after a youthful Gunners side beat Portsmouth 2-0 at Fratton Park in the FA Cup on Monday. 

Goals from Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Eddie Nketiah secured Arsenal a spot in the quarter-finals after Arteta named a starting XI that included six players aged 20 or under:

Arsenal’s young stars turn it on when they play this season 🌟 pic.twitter.com/AmCcqSMmlt

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 2, 2020

The Gunners were widely expected to get past the League One outfit, but it was a tough assignment for Arsenal's youngsters given Pompey went into the clash on a 10-game winning run at home.

Arteta acknowledged after the win that it was a risk fielding such a young side, per BBC Sport (h/t Tom Doyle of the Evening Standard):

"I'm really pleased with them [the youngsters]. I'm enjoying working with the players. They deserve a chance. It's always a risk, but they're worth the risk."

The Spaniard also told BT Sport he has "faith in the kids" and Monday's match was a good learning experience for the youngsters:

"Reiss Nelson is a special talent, he can eliminate players one vs one. That's what he is capable of."

Mikel Arteta was delighted to see his young charges advance in the FA Cup, especially with Reiss Nelson back in the side.

🎙 @ReshminTV pic.twitter.com/lXZwSlenog

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 2, 2020

The FA Cup is Arsenal's only remaining chance to win any silverware this term after they were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League last week by Olympiacos.

The Gunners are the most successful side ever in the competition having won it 13 times, including three times in four seasons from 2013-14.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are still in with a chance of qualifying for next season's UEFA Champions League given a fifth-place Premier League finish could be good enough after Manchester City were handed a two-year UEFA ban for breaching financial fair play rules.

The north London outfit sit 10th in the table, but they are only five points off fifth with a game in hand over most of their rivals:

#MondayMotivation? pic.twitter.com/TyFmLUVSQo

— Premier League (@premierleague) March 2, 2020

Arsenal also have winnable league games approaching against relegation-battling sides West Ham United (March 7), Brighton & Hove Albion (March 14) and Norwich City (April 4).

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said the Gunners aren't sure of the exact nature or extent of Lucas Torreira's injury after he had to be stretchered off in their 2-0 FA Cup win over Portsmouth on Monday. 

The Uruguayan had to be withdrawn after quarter of an hour following a challenge from James Bolton.

Arteta said:

"He was in a lot of pain. He is in a brace at the moment, he will be assessed in the next few days, and we will know more then.

"I don't know if it's the bone or ligaments, we don't know yet."

Torreira was quoted by ESPN in Uruguay (h/t the Mirror's Mark Jones) as telling his father: "It [the ankle] twisted, but I can move it. I'm fine."

Mark Mann-Bryans of the Press Association shared footage of Torreira leaving Fratton Park on crutches and wearing a protective boot:

Oh dear.. #AFC pic.twitter.com/jdrBVENgLp

— Mark Mann-Bryans (@MMBonF1) March 2, 2020

The 24-year-old started just twice in Arsenal's first 10 Premier League matches this season.

Unai Emery began using him more in the final weeks of his reign in November, and he retained his place as a regular starter under interim boss Freddie Ljungberg and then when Arteta took charge in December. Though this was his first start for the Gunners since their 2-2 draw with Chelsea on January 21.

Torreira is a tenacious presence for Arsenal in midfield, and he works hard to break up opponents' play, giving the Gunners intensity and bite.

He excels in protecting the ball to draw fouls from opponents, too—only Matteo Guendouzi has drawn more per game than Torreira for Arsenal in the Premier League this season, per WhoScored.com.

Arsenal advanced to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Monday courtesy of goals from Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Eddie Nketiah either side of half-time:

The competition has been their biggest source of success in recent years, having lifted the trophy in 2014, 2015 and 2017.

Arsenal are the first team into the quarter-finals of the 2019-20 FA Cup after they battled to a 2-0 win over Portsmouth on Monday.  

There was little to separate the first- and third-tier sides in the opening half, although the Gunners were able to find a breakthrough in added time before the interval after Sokratis Papastathopoulos connected with a sweet volley.

Following the opener, Arsenal took control. Eddie Nketiah was able to quickly double the team's advantage after the restart, poking home after the Pompey defence failed to clear their lines.

The remaining seven FA Cup fifth-round ties will be played this week, with the quarter-final matches scheduled for the weekend of March 21.

The atmosphere was raucous from the off at Fratton Park, and it was no surprise to see the home side respond in turn with a determined start.

Although they were unable to carve out many openings, Portsmouth were unsettling the Arsenal defence and clattered into some fierce tackles too. Lucas Torreira was on the end of one and the Uruguayan midfielder was unable to continue, with Dani Ceballos brought on to replace him.

Per James Olley of the Evening Standard, despite the clear distress of the Arsenal man, he received little sympathy from the Portsmouth fans: 

Torreira writhing around in pain on the floor. Medics rushing on. Portsmouth fans singing: “You’re going home in a f***ing ambulance.”

— James Olley (@JamesOlley) March 2, 2020

In general, Arsenal were unable to produce much quality in the final third, with their approach play sluggish and one-dimensional. Their frustration was summed up when Matteo Guendouzi picked up a yellow card for this act of petulance: 

A yellow card for sarcasm? 🤔

Mike Dean appears to caution Matteo Guendouzi for placing the ball down in an exaggerated way. pic.twitter.com/Xf3NFHUmsS

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 2, 2020

However, before the interval, they were able to finally pin their hosts back and make their superior quality count.

Reiss Nelson fizzed a dangerous ball into the penalty area that Sokratis thudded home a thumping volley in front of the travelling fans: 

A striker's finish!

Sokratis' crisp volley has Arsenal ahead at Fratton Park 🍌 pic.twitter.com/AjgkigRV9I

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 2, 2020

After falling behind so close to half-time, it was no surprise that Portsmouth lacked the same intensity in their play in the second period, and Arsenal were on hand to capitalise.

Nelson again was the provider, putting in another dangerous cross from the right flank. The Portsmouth defenders were unable to clear the ball, and Nketiah was on hand to prod home from close range: 

Willock ➡️ Nelson ➡️ Nketiah ➡️ ⚽️

The three Arsenal youngsters combine to devastating effect.

Great improvisation from Nketiah 📞 pic.twitter.com/lJwLTyKtgl

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 2, 2020

Per The Arsenal Review, since he returned to the Gunners following a loan spell with Championship club Leeds United earlier in the season, the young forward has excelled: 

⚽ Eddie Nketiah has scored 3 goals in 5 appearances since returning from his loan spell at Leeds.

📊 He currently averages a goal every 110 minutes.

👏 Keep up the good work, Eddie! pic.twitter.com/2drKEg8AnG

— GoonerBox (@gooner_box) March 2, 2020

Having finally silenced the Fratton Park crowd, Arsenal took control of possession in the second half and quickly sapped any lingering belief the underdogs had. 

In the end, instead of piling forward in search of more goals, Arteta's team conserved energy and kept the ball. The Gunners boss would have eventually been pleased with how his team dealt with what had the potential to be a challenging evening on the south coast.

   

What's Next?

The Gunners' focus will turn to the Premier League again this weekend, with London rivals West Ham United the visitors to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Portsmouth will be seeking to continue their promotion push in League One when they visit Peterborough United.

Mikel Arteta has discussed the impact the lack of UEFA Champions League football has had on Arsenal's finances ahead of the summer transfer window. 

Arteta's comments come after the Gunners announced a post-tax loss of £27.1 million for 2018-19, down from a profit of £56.5 million the year before.

The Spaniard said:

"The damage caused by the club not being in the Champions League for the third season is really big.

"Financially the impact is enormous because the structure of this club is built to be in the Champions League, and you can sustain that for one year or two, but then after you have to start making decisions.

"So we will have to make decisions one way or the other depending on the scenario we find ourselves in, whether we are in the Champions League, Europa League or nowhere near that.

"And we'll have a very clear plan of what we want to do and depending where we are we have to act like this."

The coach added that the club will have no "margin for error" with the decisions they'll need to make in the transfer market because of their precarious situation.

Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick has also pointed to the lack of Champions League football as the biggest contributor to the Gunners' struggles, which could be set to worsen, per Football.London's James Benge:

Arsenal already on track to lose tens of millions over coming 12 months due to Europa League elimination *and* rebate for season ticket holders as they will not play required number of games for cup credit

— James Benge (@jamesbenge) February 28, 2020

The Gunners played Champions League football every season under Arsene Wenger from 1998-99 until his final campaign, the 2016-17 season.

Wenger guided them to fifth in the Premier League in his last season in charge, and they're yet to finish in the top four again.

Arsenal had the chance to secure Champions League qualification last season by winning the UEFA Europa League after they got to the final, but they lost to local rivals Chelsea 4-1.

The lack of Champions League revenue caused them to drop to 11th in Deloitte's 2020 Football Money League, having dropped from sixth place to ninth last year.

Football finance blog Swiss Ramble provided further insight into their struggles, as they've also seen a drop-off in income from player sales:

#AFC swung from £70m profit before tax to £32m loss, a £102m deterioration, very largely due to profit on player sales falling by £108m from £120m to £12m, though revenue rose slightly by £7m (2%) to £395m. After tax, went from £57m profit to £27m loss (£5m tax credit). pic.twitter.com/BTRnT41Udg

— Swiss Ramble (@SwissRamble) March 2, 2020

In 2018, the Gunners sold Lucas Perez to West Ham United for £4 million, two years after paying a reported £17.1 million for him. They also lost Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla for free.

Last summer, Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck also departed the club on free transfers, although they did make more than £40 million from the combined exits of Alex Iwobi, Krystian Bielik, Laurent Koscielny and David Ospina.

The Gunners were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League by Olympiacos on Thursday, so there will be no repeat of last year's run to the final.

In the Premier League they're eight points off fourth-place Chelsea with a game in hand. Fifth might provide Champions League football this season following Manchester City's European ban, though. The Gunners are five points behind Manchester United in fifth, again with a game in hand.

Arsenal visit Portsmouth on Monday in the FA Cup, with the competition representing the Gunners' last chance of silverware this season.

Mikel Arteta's men crashed out of the UEFA Europa League against Olympiacos on Thursday, and the north London giants continue to float in mid-table in the Premier League.

Pompey have been in excellent form this season. The 2008 FA Cup winners are third in League 1 and fighting hard for promotion.

                 

Date: Monday, March 2

Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT, 3:45 p.m. ET

TV: BT Sport 1 (UK)

Stream: BT Sport Player, ESPN+

Odds: Portsmouth: 127-20, Arsenal: 3-7, draw: 37-10 (via Caesars Palace)

             

Preview

After a crushing exit from Europe for Arsenal, a trip to the south coast poses plenty of questions for Arteta in the cup.

The Spaniard fielded a superior side on paper against Olympiacos, but Arsenal's lack of leadership and endeavour was exposed by the visitors during a 2-1 extra-time loss in the capital. The Greek team went through on away goals after a dramatic last-minute winner.

Football.London's James Benge was unimpressed with the Gunners' performance:

Hard to explain that performance from Arsenal. Bar Mustafi everyone else was, at best, putting in the performances they were in the dog days of Emery’s reign.

Feels like an abberation with all the progress Arteta has made but it will be a while before we know.

— James Benge (@jamesbenge) February 27, 2020

Per BBC Sport, Arteta told his pre-match press conference on Saturday his team are hurting, but he hopes to see a reaction in the upcoming cup tie:

"We trained today, we were all very down, frustrated and disappointed.

"The first message to them was that I am right behind them, I said 'thank you for the attitude' - they tried, tried and tried again and deserved to win.

"We can fall and we can have disappointments but it is how we react individually and collectively."

Pompey won't be an easy prospect for the top-flight team, and Kenny Jackett's men have produced a high level of consistency this term. Thirteen wins in their last 15 games in all competitions sees Portsmouth enter the tie high on confidence and belief.

They collected a convincing 3-0 win over Rochdale on Friday, making it 51 goals for the season in League 1—the fourth-best record in the division. Forwards John Marquis and Ronan Curtis have accounted for 24 of those goals between them, and they will look to feast on an Arsenal back line that has conceded four times in the last two games. 

However, with the side just three points off the top of the table in a tight race for promotion to the Championship, Jackett may want to rest some players with a return to the second tier in sight. 

Much will also depend on Arteta's selection and whether the coach prioritises his team's cup endeavours over league position.

The Gunners still possess faint ambitions of a top-four finish, and the eight-point gap to catch Chelsea isn't impossible to bridge.

A favourable run of games could see Arsenal catapult up the table in the weeks ahead, but if Arteta wants to win a trophy, he will need to field an experienced side at Fratton Park.