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Victory over Portsmouth was enough for Arsenal to match their best FA Cup run in five years.
Mikel Arteta’s side have not made it past the fourth round of the competition since winning it in 2020 but they looked prime for a deep run here.
There was an early test here, Colby Bishop putting Portsmouth ahead inside three minutes, but Gabriel Martinelli scored a hat-trick after Andre Dozzell turned into his own net to earn Arsenal a 4-1 win.
This was the start of a run of four away games in four different competitions in the space of nine days for Arsenal. The charge on all fronts remains on track.
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Arsenal flex their muscles
If a reminder was needed of just how strong this Arsenal squad is, here it was.
The Gunners made ten changes to their side, naming the likes of Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice on a bench consisting of around £360million worth of transfer fees.
That was even with the likes of William Saliba, Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie not in the squad. A rotated lineup, but still starts for Eberechi Eze, Ben White and Noni Madueke.
An early Portsmouth goal asked questions of this side. The narrative has been seen before, when a much-changed side gets caught cold against fired up lower-league opposition.
This was not a team of untested youngsters, though. Arsenal were stacked with internationals and had the character to respond.
Martinelli stepped up with a hat-trick, Gabriel Jesus pushed his case for more starts and Ethan Nwaneri, handed a rare opportunity to impress, looked incredibly sharp. The return of Kai Havertz was another huge boost.
You would back even a second-string Arsenal lineup to make a strong run at the FA Cup this season.
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Arsenal made a dreadful start, losing 70 per cent of the duels in the opening 20 minutes and their build-up play was well off the usual standards.
After one charged down clearance from Kepa, the goalkeeper had a lengthy discussion with Gabriel. Christian Norgaard and Ben White also took the chance to have a chat, which continued as they walked off at half-time.
With fluid football lacking early on, Arsenal fell back on their safety net of set-pieces to turn the match around.
Dozzell turned into his own net after a scramble for Arsenal’s equaliser, before Martinelli headed in from Madueke’s corner to put Arsenal in front.
There was a carbon copy for Martinelli’s hat-trick goal in the second half. It got to the stage where the Portsmouth fans went up in ironic cheers when their side cleared a corner.
The hosts could not live with the Gunners from set-pieces but not many sides can. Arsenal now have 22 goals from dead-ball situations this season.
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Merino leads from the front
Mikel Merino has delivered for Arsenal as an emergency striker and as a box-crashing midfielder, but here was another role for the Spaniard.
Captaining the side, Merino started as the deepest of the midfielders, behind Eberechi Eze and Ethan Nwaneri.
His instincts to get forward crept in, with Arteta having to shout at him to tuck back in from one throw-in, but this was a brilliant performance.
Arsenal looked ragged in the early stages but he brought some calm, turning away from two Portsmouth shirts with a great pirouette.
Merino then played Martinelli in with a sublime first-time pass, only for the Brazilian to curl wide, before getting back in his own box a couple of minutes later to throw himself in front of a shot.
What Merino’s best position is remains up for debate, but his importance to the side, wherever he plays, is in no doubt.
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