Arteta Praises Martinelli After Portsmouth Hat Trick

• Gabriel Martinelli scored three as Arsenal won 4-1 at Portsmouth in the FA Cup third round.
• Mikel Arteta said Martinelli showed the mentality required at a big club after recent criticism linked to the Conor Bradley incident.
• Portsmouth manager John Mousinho said his side had spells where they were on top, but felt Arsenal deserved the result.

Gabriel Martinelli answered a difficult few days in the best way players know, by deciding the match.

The Arsenal forward scored three times as the Premier League leaders won 4-1 away to Portsmouth in the FA Cup third round at Fratton Park, a win that also ended a run of three seasons without reaching the fourth round.

Martinelli arrived on the south coast under scrutiny after Thursday’s goalless draw at the Emirates, where he was criticised for throwing the ball at injured Liverpool right back Conor Bradley, then trying to push him off the pitch. Martinelli later apologised to Bradley after learning the seriousness of the injury, and on Sunday it was confirmed Bradley will undergo knee surgery that will rule him out for the rest of the season.

Arteta said Martinelli’s response was rooted in the mindset Arsenal expect from players operating under constant judgment.

“That’s personality, come in and talk on the pitch,” Arteta said.

“To play for a big club you need a big personality because it can be that [being involved in a controversy], it can be an action that you miss, it can be something that costs you a game, and three days later there is a game, so you need to lift yourself up and make it count.

“Today he scored three goals, tomorrow he’s going to train a hundred miles an hour, for sure. He’s not going to change that, that’s Gabi.

“It’s part of football and then it’s how you take it. But he knew inside the reason why he did what he did.”

Portsmouth made the start Arsenal wanted to avoid, scoring in the third minute through captain Colby Bishop. The home side’s lead did not last, with Andre Dozzell turning the ball into his own net to level the match and shift the mood inside a loud Fratton Park.

Martinelli then struck twice to put Arsenal in control, scoring either side of Noni Madueke’s penalty miss. He later missed an open goal at two one, then completed his treble in the seventy second minute, a finish that settled the game and earned him the match ball after a hostile reception from the home support.

Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino said the dressing room was pleased for Martinelli, and stressed that those close to him see a different character than the one painted by a single moment.

“We are really happy for him, he’s a great guy.

“Everyone that knows him knows he’s a really kind kid. He’s always smiling, he’s always kind with everyone.

“We are very pleased that he’s performing this well.

“Sometimes when you’re on the pitch you don’t have all the information and you can react in a certain way but obviously everyone knows how good of a kid he is and he never tries to make someone feel bad.

“It’s just a small mistake and he said sorry, and the matter ends there.”

Arteta made 10 changes for the trip to Hampshire and said that level of rotation always comes with a cost in fluency, even for a squad that trains together daily.

“When we make that many changes, there is an element of cohesion that is not going to be as perfect as we want,” Arteta explained.

“We started the game exactly how we didn’t want to: giving them momentum and an early goal and hope.

“The more we started to do the simple things right and be a little bit more dominant, the quality took over and the margins were bigger.”

Portsmouth could not build on the early lead, and their manager accepted Arsenal’s edge across the 90 minutes.

“I thought for large parts of the game we were well in it.

“I thought there were spells where we were the better side as well, particularly the opening and maybe when we came out in the second half.

“Arsenal were better than us ultimately and deserved the win.”