Arsenal piled more misery on struggling Portsmouth as they cruised to a 4-1 success at Fratton Park.
Arsenal cruise home on South Coast to add to Fratton Park misery
Arsenal piled more misery on struggling Portsmouth as they cruised to a 4-1 success at Fratton Park.
Arsene Wenger's men are firmly in the title race after an excellent recent run but cash-strapped Pompey, who are fighting a winding-up petition from HM Revenue and Customs, remain rooted to the foot of the table.
The Gunners took the lead in the 28th minute, but enjoyed more than a slice of good fortune in finding the back of the net.
Eduardo's free-kick took a huge deflection off the unfortunate Younes Kaboul before beating Hermann Hreidarsson who had retreated to the line in a vain attempt to defend the post.
The Croatia international then had a hand in the second as the Pompey defence stood off the forward, allowing him to feed Aaron Ramsey, who immediately rolled it on to Samir Nasri to drill a low shot beyond Asmir Begovic before the break.
And Ramsey wrapped the game up in the 69th minute with the goal of the game, robbing substitute Anthony Vanden Borre before stepping away from another challenge and unleashing a superb shot from outside the box and beyond Begovic.
Pompey pulled one back soon after as Vanden Borre and Nadir Belhadj combined for the Algerian to fire home, but Arsenal restored their cushion as Alex Song was left unmarked to head home Nasri's cross.
Fabregas
Wenger had confirmed before kick-off he expected injured captain Cesc Fabregas to be out for around 10 days with a hamstring problem - meaning the influential Spaniard would miss the FA Cup third-round tie at West Ham this weekend.
Pompey had beaten Liverpool here just before Christmas and started well as Kevin-Prince Boateng caused problems down the right and fired in a shot from a tight angle which Manuel Almunia beat away at the near post.
However, Arsenal looked dangerous on the break and Andrey Arshavin collected a loose ball before drilling a shot from 20 yards over.
Bacary Sagna's cross from the right was glanced wide by Eduardo, before the Croatian got away down the left and laid the ball back into the path of Abou Diaby, who forced a good save from Begovic at close range.
Pompey captain Aaron Mokoena fouled Ramsey some 25 yards out in a central position - and it proved a costly error.
Eduardo drilled the 28th minute free-kick low, with the ball deflecting off former Tottenham defender Kaboul and past a static Hreidarsson on the right-hand post to give the visitors the lead.
Algerian midfielder Belhadj tried to relieve the pressure with a determined run and angled shot, which flew past the far post.
However, in the 42nd minute it was 2-0 when Song - who will not join up with Cameroon until the New Year - fed Eduardo in the left of the area. He pulled the ball back for Ramsey, who picked out Nasri - and the French midfielder drilled a low strike into the bottom corner.
Anger
To their credit, Portsmouth started the second half on the offensive and in the 52nd minute Belhadj flashed the ball across the six-yard box from the left.
The Fratton Park faithful chanted "where's all our money gone?", and cheered when captain Mokoena was replaced by Vanden Borre.
Hassan Yebda - another African Cup of Nations Cup departure - drilled a 20-yard effort straight at Almunia.
In the 65th minute there was a lengthy stoppage as Boateng needed treatment after falling heavily in the Arsenal penalty area.
The Portsmouth fans used the break in play to again vent their anger towards owner Ali Al Faraj as chants of "sack the board" and "you're not fit to run a club" rang out.
But, in the 69th minute, the home fans were silenced when Ramsey robbed Vanden Borre and charged past Frederic Piquionne before lashing a left-foot shot into the net from the edge of the box.
The home side at least had something to shout about five minutes later when Belhadj converted a low cross from Vanden Borre.
However, hopes of an unlikely home comeback were ended 10 minutes from time when an unmarked Song headed in Nasri's right-wing cross.
| Portsmouth |
Team Statistics |
Arsenal |
| 1 |
Goals |
4 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
2 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
6 |
| 5 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 3 |
Blocked Shots |
8 |
| 2 |
Corners |
10 |
| 16 |
Fouls |
3 |
| 5 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 68.8 |
Passing Success |
83.2 |
| 21 |
Tackles |
27 |
| 76.2 |
Tackles Success |
66.7 |
| 34.1 |
Possession |
65.9 |
| 47.8 |
Territorial Advantage |
52.2 |
|
