By Chalien Dantes 

Gabriel Martinelli stole the spotlight at Fratton Park, firing a hat-trick as Arsenal shook off an early scare to book their place in the FA Cup fourth round with a convincing win over Portsmouth.

With upsets already grabbing headlines elsewhere in the competition, the hosts raised hopes of another surprise when Colby Bishop struck after just three minutes. Arsenal, heavily rotated with ten changes, briefly looked rattled.

The response was swift. Five minutes later, a familiar Arsenal corner caused chaos in the box, and Christian Norgaard forced the ball in, off Andre Dozzell to level the score. That settled the visitors, and they soon took control. Another corner did the damage on 25 minutes, this time Martinelli glancing Noni Madueke’s delivery into the net.

Arsenal had the chance to pull further clear before the break when Madueke was brought down in the area, but his penalty slid wide. Martinelli remained a constant threat, clipping the post and passing up another opening.

After the restart, Arsenal made their pressure count. Quick thinking from Myles Lewis-Skelly sparked the move, Gabriel Jesus drilled a low cross, and Martinelli was perfectly placed to finish from close range. The Brazilian completed his treble soon after, again from a corner, flicking the ball on at the near post.