Arsenal Vs Portsmouth: Last chance to avoid humiliation

Arsenal were yet again humiliated in Europe on Thursday night. When they play Portsmouth on Monday night in the fifth round of the FA Cup, they face their last chance to avoid utter embarrassment.

Arsenal have a penchant for humiliation. They are inherently frustrating, in large part because of the hope they offer. Even in what has largely been a lost season, featuring heartbreaking defeats, mind-numbing, hopeless periods, and a manager sacking, something that is very fare for the Gunners, there has still been hope.

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Somehow, they are not entirely out of the top-four race, such has been the desperate form of the teams around them, they were among the favourites to win the Europa League, a backdoor into the hallowed Champions League, and the FA Cup offers a chance to win a trophy.

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But, given that this is Arsenal and their greatest skill is letting down their supporters, humiliation was always just around the corner. And, typically, it came in Europe. In February. Again.

On Thursday night, despite holding a one-goal lead and looking comfortable in doing so, the ghastly north London outfit produced an utterly desperate performance. They fell 2-1 in backbreaking fashion, first scoring a last-gasp winner only to then somehow concede a laster-gasp winner. Only Arsenal.

The defeat sees them crash out of the Europa League, thrusts tremendous pressure on their Premier League campaign in which they must finish in the top five to reclaim Champions League status, and now makes the FA Cup as the only competition that they can actually win.

On Monday night, head coach Mikel Arteta takes his team to Portsmouth for their fifth-round tie. It is the team’s last chance at some semblance of redemption from last week’s calamity. Winning the FA Cup might just be only hope of avoiding utter humiliation. And Arteta, to his credit, values the competition highly:

"“It’s really special. It’s probably once of the nicest games and days of the season when you play the final day in England, at Wembley, nice weather and an incredible atmosphere. And you know, it’s a trophy that’s been very much linked with our history. So we want to continue to be attached to that, knowing that on Monday night in Portsmouth, it will be tough.”"

After a rough run of fixtures that has tested the fitness and health of his squad, it remains to be seen what type of team Arteta will put out against League One opposition. Even away from home, he may rotate heavily in the belief that his younger players can still get the job done. But if Arsenal were to lose again, crashing out of their second cup competition in a week, it really would be a dark time.

The Gunners are specialities in humiliation. To avoid that damning inevitability, then, they must win on Monday night.