Thank goodness we can put aside the stress and worry of battling for Championship points today and dare to dream of beating the mighty Arsenal.  Today, I want Pompey to roll up their sleeves and give everything to knocking the Gunners out of the competition.  I want every Pompey player to play with pride in the shirt and to relish the opportunity to stamp fresh glorious memories in the history books of our club.

How this day would stand out in our lives if we are victorious.  Imagine for a moment, being part of a heroic team that downed Arsenal in front of a packed, passionate Fratton Park.  Imagine how it would feel for us to be part of such a famous win, with our throats sore from singing Pompey to victory.  Think about the buzz we would have travelling home after such a win.  Ecstasy would barely describe the sensation.  I can envisage my cousin, Claire simply throwing her head back and laughing about today for many, many years to come, were we to triumph this afternoon.  Being a Pompey fan would be an even bigger badge of honour to carry than normal.

All I dream of when it is the FA Cup Third Round is of Pompey getting through to the fourth round.  We all know that Pompey winning the FA Cup for a third time is unlikely to happen this season, but it is not unreasonable to believe we can make it to the next round draw.  Was Pompey’s Wembley win in 2008 the best moment ever as a Pompey fan, or was it beating Spurs 2-0, two seasons later in the FA Cup semi-final?  Picking up the trophy in 2008 was good, but that win over Spurs fuelled by the roars of The Blue Army, was one of the greatest Pompey days of my life.

Other memorable Pompey FA Cup matches that spring to my mind are: beating Manchester United 1-0 in the 2008 Quarter-Final (which I only saw the second half of on a pub telly in Brighton); winning 3-2 at Division One Leeds United in 1977, when Pompey were in Division Two; the last-minute win, 1-0 at Championship side, Norwich in 2019, when Pompey were in League One.  Winning the FA Cup in 2008, comes a bit lower in the list, mainly because we were expected to win.

Of course, there is the B-side of Cup memories, the crushing disappointment of unexpected defeat.  Mention Leyton Orient to Pompey fans and they will groan out the name Kawaguchi, who had a nightmare in Pompey’s goal in January 2002.  Thinking about 2005, all I can recall is the dodgy penalty call against Matty Taylor, leading to a last-minute winner scored by Peter Crouch, as in 1990 when Ian Wright’s last-minute penalty for Crystal Palace away, totally ruined my birthday.

The FA Cup is not about the final game at Wembley.  The FA Cup is about giving every club in the country the chance to mix it for ninety minutes with any other club, however big or small.  It is about giving us all a brief burst of hope for just one afternoon in the middle of winter’s gloom.  With the FA’s abandonment of replays in all full rounds of the FA Cup, it could be argued that smaller clubs have a better chance of finding a way through, even if it is on penalties, so let us all get behind Pompey with hope in our hearts and give it our all.  Play up Pompey!

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Pundits versus Fans

FANS: 
Oh, we’re on the way with Moushino’s Army
We’re on the way to Wem-ber-ley
We’ll really shake ‘em up
When we win the FA Cup
Because Pompey is The Greatest Football Team

PUNDITS:
Oh, it’s a big day for proud Pompey
It’s a day to forget the league
They haven’t got a hope
Unless they use rope a dope
Because Arsenal is by far the better team

FANS:
Wem-ber-ley, Wem-ber-ley
We’re the famous Portsmouth FC
And we’re on our way to Wem-ber-ley

PUNDITS:
Wem-ber-ley, Wem-ber-ley
Pompey should re-focus on the League
Pompey ought forget about Wem-ber-ley

FANS:
When Sol went up
To lift the FA Cup
We were there
We were there

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n.b. This article was initially published in the Portsmouth FC v Arsenal match day programme on 11th January, 2026

Chris Perry

15^th Dec 2025