Arsenal Refuse FA Cup Shock After Nightmare Start, Hit Back in Five Minutes with Another Set-Piece Goal at Portsmouth

Arsenal avoided an early FA Cup scare as they came from behind to level the score just five minutes after conceding in their 2025–26 FA Cup third-round clash away to Portsmouth.

The Gunners suffered a nightmare start when they fell behind in the 3rd minute. Chaplin’s initial shot was saved by Kepa, but Bishop reacted quickest to slam home the rebound from close range, giving the Championship side a shock 1–0 lead.

For a brief moment, the upset was on.

But Arsenal’s response was immediate — and familiar.

Heavy rotation, risky start

Before the match, Mikel Arteta made his ambitions clear:

“Of course we want to win the FA Cup and every major competition. That’s what we are here for.”

Still, with Arsenal facing four consecutive away games across competitions and a League Cup semi-final against Chelsea coming up, Arteta had little choice but to rotate heavily.

Compared to the draw against Liverpool, ten changes were made to the starting XI. Only Gabriel kept his place.

The reshuffled lineup looked unsettled early on — and paid the price.

Set-piece kings strike again

Arsenal didn’t panic.

In the 8th minute, just five minutes after going behind, they won a corner on the left. Eze delivered the ball into the box, and amid chaos at the far post, Nørgaard’s pressure forced Dozzell into turning the ball into his own net.

1–1.

Another goal.
Another set piece.

A journalist at the ground, Blitz, summed it up perfectly:

“Portsmouth are the second-highest scoring team from set pieces in the Championship. Arsenal are the best in the Premier League. Their very first corner, and they score.”

A pattern, not an accident

Once again, Arsenal’s dead-ball efficiency rescued them from trouble.

In a match where rhythm, chemistry, and structure were inevitably affected by rotation, it was their well-drilled set-piece routines that provided stability and control.

It wasn’t pretty.
It wasn’t dominant.
But it was exactly what cup football demands: a fast response, a cool head, and a reliable weapon when things go wrong.

No fairy tale — at least not yet

Portsmouth had their moment. For five minutes, they could dream.

But Arsenal’s reaction showed why elite teams survive in cup competitions:
They don’t need to play well for 90 minutes.
They just need to solve problems faster than opponents can create them.

And once again, for Arsenal, the solution came from a corner flag.

Same script.
Same weapon.
Same message: Don’t give them set pieces.