Martinelli hat-trick sends Arsenal past Portsmouth, Leeds rally to beat Derby

Gabriel Martinelli shrugged off the backlash to his clash with stricken Liverpool defender Conor Bradley to send Arsenal into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 4-1 win at Portsmouth on Sunday.

The Championship side were dreaming of an upset against the Premier League leaders when they went in front after just three minutes through Colby Bishop.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had made 10 changes from the side that drew 0-0 with Liverpool on Thursday.

Martinelli drew stinging criticism for trying to push Bradley off the pitch in the closing stages after the Northern Irishman hit the ground with a serious knee injury.

Liverpool confirmed on Sunday the right-back will need surgery and will miss the rest of the season.

Bradley is also a major doubt for the World Cup should Northern Ireland navigate two play-off matches in March, starting with a trip to Italy.

His absence is a major blow to both club and country.

The Brazilian apologised to Bradley after the game and did not seen affected by the furore at Fratton Park.

Arsenal could rely on their threat from set-pieces to turn the tie around.

The Pompey lead lasted only two minutes as Christian Norgaard bundled in from close range before Martinelli flicked in the first of his three goals.

Noni Madueke missed the chance to make it 3-1 from the penalty spot when the England international fired wide.

Martinelli did kill the tie off early in the second period from Gabriel Jesus’ cross before completing his hat-trick from another Arsenal corner.

Martinelli will hope his first hat-trick for the Gunners will be the boost he needs, as Arsenal attempt to win major silverware for the first time since their 2020 FA Cup success.

Martinelli has lost his place as a regular starter in the Premier League but has excelled in the Champions League, scoring five goals in his five appearances in the competition.

The fight for places has gone up a notch this season, with more depth in the squad after eight summer signings — including forwards Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to TNT Sports: “We started exactly how we didn’t want to - giving them hope and momentum with an early goal. Then we started to turn things around, we were more dominant and scored a difference. Some positives to take, and the posit

“We made ten changes, there are certain things that are missing in cohesion. The level of rhythm you need in the way we play, it wasn’t there. We weren’t individually at certain levels, especially technically, to get out of their press. You have to do those basics much better than what we done,” he added.

Leeds needed a second half fightback to beat Derby County 3-1 and book their place in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday.

The Premier League side have lost just once in their last nine games to pull clear of the relegation zone.

But they were headed for defeat at half-time to second-tier Derby after Chilean international Ben Brereton Diaz drilled a strike into the bottom corner.

Joel Piroe had seen a penalty saved by Jacob Zetterstrom before Leeds fell behind but the Dutch striker redeemed himself by playing a part in the comeback.

Jaka Bijol played the ball into the area and Piroe’s neat step-over allowed Willy Gnonto to smash home a 55th-minute equaliser.

Just four minutes later Piroe’s low shot was parried by Zetterstrom and Ao Tanaka slotted in the rebound.

The visitors made sure of victory in stoppage time when James Justin rounded off a slick counter-attack.

Premier League survival is undoubtedly the main priority for Leeds — and they have ensured they have a very real chance of attaining that on their top-flight return amid a promising upturn in results since late November.

Agencies