The FA Cup, the oldest club competition, is very popular in the red part of North London. Why? Arsenal hold the record for the most trophies won in this competition. The Gunners have managed to dominate the FA Cup 14 times, making them the imaginary leader in the number of titles ahead of second-placed Manchester United, who have one less trophy to their name. And while we are on the subject of the FA Cup and its titles, I would like to remind you that former long-time manager Arséne Wenger won seven of them during his time at Arsenal. But now let's move on to the present. Arsenal will enter this year's FA Cup with the third round, in which they will play at the ground of the second league Portsmouth. In recent years, the Gunners have failed to build on their historic success and have always dropped out of the competition in the early stages. Let's hope that this time around, the charges Mikel Arteta's will step into the competition on the right foot.
Form
I'll be more brief than usual with the form today, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna deprive you of that part entirely. I'll go through Arsenal's form as usual with one big difference, I won't dwell too much on the last game against Liverpool, I'll tell you why in a moment. I'll look at Portsmouth's form again just by results, because I don't watch second division games at all.
Arsenal
Since I'm unfortunately (maybe more like unfortunately) didn't get a chance to watch Arsenal play Liverpool, so I can't really summarize and analyze the game. All I can do is evaluate the draw as such. It may sound a bit ungrateful, but I expected Arsenal to handle an injury-riddled Liverpool on home soil. However, there are some positives to be found in a goalless draw. Especially the loss of both Manchester City and Aston Villa, so Arsenal's lead at the top of the table remained six points after the twenty-first round. It is also worth mentioning the clean sheet maintained. And that's about it.
In the long term the Gunners' form remains very decent. The draw with Liverpool broke the winning streak, but also extended the unbeaten streak. So after seven wins in a row, the draw came. If I were to look back at the last five competitive matches, Arsenal's record is also very good, four wins and one draw. Looking at the standings, or the progression in the various competitions, Arsenal can hardly be better off. First place in the Premier League, first place in the Champions League and the semi-finals of the EFL Cup.
Overall, I can't rate Arsenal's form as anything but positive.
Portsmouth
For Portsmouth, I'll start with the league table. John Moushin's men are in the Championship just above the relegation zone, specifically in twenty-first place. It's certainly not a position the club would be happy with. Sure, you certainly have to take into account that Portsmouth were promoted to the Championship quite recently, before the 2024/2025 season, but even so, I'm sure they'd rather be higher up the table in the South of England. So in the longer term, Portsmouth's form is less than ideal.
However, even taking into account all the above mentioned circumstances, the team's current form is not bad at all. In their last five games Portsmouth have won twice, drawn twice and lost once. For a team currently fighting to stay in the competition, that's a very solid record. I certainly wouldn't call it a lifetime form, but if Portsmouth continue in a similar vein, they should easily retain their place in England's second highest competition.
To summarize, Portsmouth's longer term form is not good, but she andctual, on the other hand, is not bad at all.
Team and expected line-up
The tough league game against Liverpool a few days ago and the upcoming EFL Cup semi-final match against Chelsea mean only one thing for the choice of the line-up for the FA Cup match against Portsmouth. Rotate as much as possible. Certainly it's something I would really like to see from Mikel Arteta and I believe the Spanish manager feels quite similarly. Taking into account the schedule and the importance of the individual matches, the line-up now needs to be shuffled, which may even be to the advantage in the end. What could Arsenal's line-up look like at Fratton Park?
Expected line-up
Where changes can be made, they will come. At least that's my idea. What does this mean in practice? Players who haven't played in the starting lineup at all or only occasionally in the last few games will get a chance. I think we'll see only the stoppers from the traditional starting eleven on the pitch. William Saliba s Gabriel. With the rest of Mikel Arteta's lineup likely to be shuffled. There's bound to be a lot of people on the field. Ethan Nwaneri, who in recent times has often been missing not only on the pitch, but also on the bench. After a long injury, we could also see the return of the German striker Kai Havertz. He won't be in the starting lineup yet, but he could at least play a few minutes at the end. Let's be surprised. Let's see how the Spanish manager finally puts the line-up together.
Absences
Due to injuries, they will continue to miss Cristhian Mosquera, Riccardo Calafiori and Max Dowman. After the game against Liverpool, unfortunately, he also joined the injured Piero Hincapié. The Spanish manager should have the rest of the squad at his disposal. However, not all players will fit into the nomination. Given that this is a cup match, which simply and simply has less weight than a league competition, Mikel Arteta will, in my opinion, leave out some of the traditional members of the starting line-up. Practically, the choice could fall on anyone, but my personal guess is that the pair will be given the night off Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard.
About the opponent
I dare say that I'm sure most of you know Portsmouth from their time in the top flight of the English competition.. I personally associate Portsmouth with my first ever visit to the Emirates Stadium, which ended in an Arsenal victory, so for me at least this club is no stranger. As for the team as a whole, however, I would not like to go into a detailed assessment of it, because I definitely haven't got enough of the Championship units. The same applies to the squad of players from the south coast of England. Looking at the roster of Pompeys, as the Portsmouth team is nicknamed in the Islands, I don't see any more familiar name. That's certainly not to say that there aren't quality players in the Portsmouth squad, but purely in terms of names, there really aren't any that stand out to me. So today I've kept this section a little more concise than usual.
Match
We all know how FA Cup matches can be tricky. Especially against teams from lower competitions and on their home ground. Crystal Thumbs, who sensationally failed to beat Macclesfield from the sixth division in the third round this year, losing 1:2, could tell their story. You can probably see where I'm going with this. The demanding schedule of Premier League teams, which in cup games is often coupled with squad rotation, can result in similar surprises. That's why the favourites will not be able to afford they cannot afford to underestimate their opponents from lower competitions. And that goes for Arsenal as well.
Although Mikel Arteta is expected to send a much-changed line-up to the match, Arsenal should dominate the game at Fratton Park. The picture of the game is likely to be one of Mikel Arteta's charges will be conquering the goal of the home team Portsmouth, who will focus mainly on defence. Considering that Arsenal have huge quality across the board, they should be able to handle the game against Portsmouth without too much trouble. I am confident that the Gunners will make it to the next round, whatever line-up they field. On the other hand, I don't think we will see a goal scoring spree. I predict Arsenal to win 2:0.
Next match
Arsenal will continue their cup games after the Portsmouth game. The next competitive game is the first EFL Cup semifinal match, in which the Gunners will present to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea at home. The match is scheduled for Wednesday 14 January 2026 from 21:00 (CET).
See you next time, I'll look forward to it!
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Editor, administrator and editor of the True Gunner Diary website, but above all a devoted Arsenal fan. I started with sports articles at the Tipsport bookmaker, where I have published more than 100 blogs. If you want to know more about me, check out the section of the same name here on the site.