FA Cup: What Arteta Said As Young Arsenal Humble Portsmouth

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta said his young players were “worth the risk” after the Gunners defeated Portsmouth 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Monday night.

Concise News reports that Arteta fielded a team with six players aged 20 or below that got the better of the League One side who had not lost in 19 home matches.

Arsenal took the lead through Sokratis Papastathopoulos’ volley from Reiss Nelson’s cross just before the break, before Eddie Nketiah doubled the lead from close range from another Nelson cross.

“I’m really pleased with them [the youngsters],” Arteta told BBC Sport.

“I’m enjoying working with the players. They deserve a chance. It’s always a risk but they’re worth the risk.

“It was a great atmosphere and Portsmouth made it difficult. We knew we’d have moments we could suffer but we reacted and got control of the game. We got two goals and could have had a few more.”