The game itself turned out to be immaterial,as Thierry Henry, Freddy Ljungberg and, bizarrely enough, Kolo Toure closed the door by half time.
The game degenerated into an exhibition, and even then Portsmouth couldn't cope and Henry and Ljungberg helped themselves to braces in a breathtaking display.
Former Hotspur Teddy Sheringham helped himself to a consolation in the dying moments of what may be his farewell to the FA Cup, but lets call a spade a spade; by that point, Arsenal were going through the motions.
But Arsenal couldn't silence the Pompey chimes. The fans gave a tremendous display, with their team being dismantled, and were saluted by Arsenal's Henry post-game who said that he had "never heard anything like it before".
Alex Ferguson said this week, he saw the cup as half-full rather than half-empty upon securing a semi-final spot but near as heck conceding the Premiership trophy. Portsmouth are still looking for the cup, but at least we can look on the bright side: with no more distractions, Portsmouth can look to secure the Premiership status their fans so richly deserve.