Duncan Barkes

And what a good show they put on.

Frankly, I think we knew that we weren't going to get anywhere against them.

And it was quite enjoyable watching a game where the result didn't matter to us too much.

Of course we'd like a cup run.

But actually, we knew we weren't going to get one.

And it does mean with all our injury problems, and we'll come on to that in just a second, ouch, with our injury problems and our fixture congestion problems, what with the Ipswich game having to be replayed, and just plenty of games coming thick and fast, exiting from the FA Cup may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

A lot of people say the same thing.

Not football watching weather at all.

But anyway, on to the game.

It didn't surprise me that we went in at halftime, the losing side.

Did it you?

They are that good.

And they scored goals languidly.

They did everything languidly.

Even when they were flying around, sprinting in a sprint race with a Pompey player for the ball, they were taking a yard off us and doing it without breathing heavily.

They were fast and they were fit and they were strong.

They weren't that strong, actually, come to think of it.

I just let that word slip in there almost lazily.

They weren't that strong.

Ume, Flo Ume, looked stronger than most of the Arsenal side.