What an FA Cup tie we have tonight. Despite the disappointing result on Thursday the Gunners will look to bounce back to a win, although this will not be a straight forward test.
Portsmouth have won four of their last five games in all competitions, all of which have come at home. Arsenal will have to be at their best to beat the League 1 side. I would expect Arteta to make changes to the team he set out against Olympiacos, with potential minutes for one of our January signings, Pablo Mari
This game, like most FA cup games, will be filled with passion, heart and determination as Portsmouth will look to provide a ‘cup upset’. Arsenal will have to show all these qualities if they want to beat a very motivated home side. The pace of transitions from defence into attack as well as our solidarity in both attack and defence will be key if Arsenal want to progress in this special tournament.
As I said earlier I believe Arteta will makes a lot of changes to the team tonight, I only say this as it’s what he seemed to hint at in his pre-match press conference. Rob Holding and Ainsley Maitland-Niles being mentioned. I think we could potentially see a very, very young side tonight. This really is one thing that I’m positive about, the future for the club does look bright. I’ll go into more detail on this in another post, but our academy and younger players really are something special.
Anyway, as for the line-up I think our gaffer will go for….
Formation
4-2-3-1: This is a formation that we have played the most since Arteta has been at the club. Plus this is the formation best suiting the players we have.
The team…
GK – Martinez
RB – Maitland-Niles
CB – Sokratis
CB – Holding
LB – Saka
CDM – Torreira
CDM – Guendouzi
RW/RM – Nelson
CAM – Willock
LW/LM – Martinelli
ST – Nketiah
I expect Martinez to start tonight as he had very limited playing time, after losing his place to Leno for both legs of the Europa League tie against Olympiacos and has had very little playing time in the League.
In defence, Maitland-Niles is likely to replace Bellerin. Holding I think will play alongside Sokratis as he is looking to regain full fitness. Saka is the player who I think Arteta would have liked to give a rest as he played in the first leg against Olympiacos, came off the bench and played most of the game against Everton, then played one hundred and twenty minutes on Thursday. However with Tierney and Kolasinac both out injured he is likely to keep his place.
Torreira and Guendouzi come in for Xhaka and Ceballos. There is a very young and energetic three ahead of them, Nelson who is coming back from injury will want to make an impression and will look to challenge Pepe for that position. Willock replaces Ozil who also played the entire game on Thursday. Martinelli on the LW, who whenever he plays, makes some sort of impact and positive impression, with his energy and quality both with and without the ball.
Leading the attack is EDDIE EDDIE EDDIE! Lacazette played one-hundred and six minutes on Thursday, plus Eddie had shown in the games he has played recently that he has the instinct, quality and enthusiasm to lead the line for the Arsenal.
This will be a tough, tough test for the Gunners. An away tie against a lower league opposition is always difficult. That being said, Arsenal have to bounce back from their last defeat, learn from it and move on and show the character to get the W.
Prediction: 1-2 to the Gooners!!!