The Blues may have even taken the lead in the first half as Peter Crouch, playing as a lone striker, hit the post with a header. There was a let off later on in the half as Emmanuel Adebayor was clean through on goal only to be denied by a couple of excellent late challenges by Campbell and Distin.
That was as good as it got for either side in a poor first half that saw Arsenal disrupted by a Pompey side determined not to be broken down. Unfortunately the second half was all Arsenal as we didn't have a single noteworthy attack, although we were keeping the Gunners at bay.
That was until the last ten minutes when David James flapped at a free kick and allowed Gallas to head in the eventual winner. Jamo had been dodgy all match and one decent save cannot mask his shaky performance today which is a shame because his back four in front of him were excellent for the most part.
So despite slumping to our fourth straight defeat, there are more positives to take from this result than there was from the last three games put together. Campbell and Distin looked more like their old selves, Marc Wilson didn't look out of place whilst Sean Davis and Papa Bouba Diop did an excellent job in the centre, spoiling Arsenal's passing and getting right in their faces.
It's just a shame that Diop was stretchered off at the end and it looks like he will miss a fair few weeks with that injury so that's a bigger headache for Tony Adams.
And it's not as if he has a big enough migraine to worry about already as once again Harry Redknapp can't resist mentioning our players and slyly touting them for moves away if he can't afford them himself.
Adams says that omitting Jermain Defoe was tactical and nothing to do with the so-called "massive" offers Pompey have received for him, if Redknapp is to be believed. We shall see...
2008 has ended on a pretty low note with all things considered. This season we could have really pushed on following our FA Cup triumph but now we're involved in a relegation scrap.
What will 2009 bring?
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 4 - One good save does not mask his error strewn performance.
Marc Wilson: 7 - Looks promising.
Sol Campbell: 8 - Strong against his former club.
Sylvain Distin: 8 - Back to his best.
Nadir Belhadj: 7 - Good going forward.
David Nugent: 6 - Worked hard on the right wing.
Sean Davis: 7 - Tough tackling.
Papa Bouba Diop: 7 - Powerful presence in the centre.
Richard Hughes: 6 - Did his job.
Niko Kranjcar: 5 - Bottled most challenges.
Peter Crouch: 6 - Unlucky not to score.
Substitutes
Jamie Ashdown
Noe Pamarot (Diop 90): N/A - Replaced the injured Diop.
Hermann Hreidarsson
Arnold Mvuemba (Hughes 50): 6 - Slotted in fine.
Glen Little
Kanu
Jermain Defoe (Nugent 88): N/A - May be his last appearance in a Pompey shirt.