Arteta must drop Arsenal dud who dropped a 5/10 v Pompey

It might not have been the perfect performance, but Arsenal did what they needed to do this afternoon.

Just a few days after dropping two points to Liverpool in the Premier League, Mikel Arteta’s side were tasked with an FA Cup Third Round tie away to Portsmouth.

Before kick-off, it felt like it could be something of a banana skin fixture for the North Londoners, a feeling that only intensified two minutes in when the hosts went 1-0 up.

Fortunately, the Gunners got back into the game in no time, and once they went ahead, they never really looked like conceding another.

In terms of performances, it was a mixed bag for Arsenal, with the impressive Gabriel Martinelli on one end and a disappointing attacker on the other.

Martinelli’s game vs Portsmouth

Starting with the positives and after grabbing the headlines for all the wrong reasons during the week, Martinelli was once again the biggest talking point at full-time against Portsmouth, but for all the right reasons.

The rapid Brazilian was a handful throughout the match and ended up coming away with the match ball after netting his first senior hat-trick.

Two of his goals came from corners, with the first giving the Gunners the lead and the second being the final goal of the match.

However, his second strike came in open play and from a wonderful Gabriel Jesus cross.

The two Brazilians looked like a real threat together, and while it was against lower-level opposition, Arteta surely has to at least consider keeping this partnership going into the next game.

The 24-year-old also made quite the impression on the watching press, with the Express’ Archie Griggs awarding him a 9/10 match rating and writing that he was ‘the star of the match.’

In all, it was a match to remember for Martinelli and one that should keep him in the side for the Chelsea game, which is not something that can be said about one of his fellow attackers.

The Arsenal player saved by Martinelli

Now, while Noni Madueke certainly deserves some criticism for missing his penalty, he wasn’t even close to being Arsenal’s most underwhelming attacker vs Portsmouth.

After all, the former Chelsea star was a constant threat on the right-hand side, saw two of his corners result in a goal and played three key passes.

No, the player who was the most disappointing from a Gunners perspective has to be fellow summer signing Eberechi Eze.

The former Crystal Palace star is a hugely talented player, and has shown as much in glimpses this season, but that has been the problem: it’s only been glimpses.

The game against Pompey was yet another one that seemingly passed the Englishman by, as while he tried to make things happen here and there, nothing came off for him.

In fact, if it wasn’t for Martinelli, the North Londoners’ left-hand side would’ve been a real problem.

That might sound harsh, but it’s an opinion shared by Griggs, who gave the 27-year-old a rather generous 5/10 match rating, writing that he was ‘quiet’ and ‘should have done better against Championship opposition.’

Unfortunately for the summer acquisition, his statistics from the game do not make for pleasant reading either.

In his 93 minutes of action, he failed to play a single key pass, misplaced two of three crosses, took one shot on target, lost 50% of his duels, completed just one dribble and took 39 touches – 12 fewer than Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Ultimately, it was a really disappointing performance from Eze at a point in his Arsenal career when he can’t really afford to make too many mistakes if he wants to be starting. Therefore, for the sake of the team, Arteta should take him out of the side for the Chelsea game.

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