Both sides were missing some star names as Lauren, Stefanovic, Campbell and Taylor were all out injured for the home side whilst Arsenal played ex-Pompey 'keeper Mart Poom between the sticks and rested a whole host of big names.
The first half was more of a sparring contest than a football match as neither side really managed to find any rhythm. Djimi Traore did well to acrobatically clear the ball off the line when it looked like a certain goal but an even bigger heart-stopping moment came after Linvoy Primus brought down Eboue in the area and Poll pointed to the spot.
Julio Baptista has taken a lot of stick from Arsenal fans this season for missing loads of chances and he won't have done himself any favours as his penalty was brilliantly saved by Jamo, who had previously made another excellent save from "The Beast" who looked certain to score before his missed the penalty. Our best chance came from a Kanu effort that was well saved by Poom and at half-time it was 0-0.
The second half followed a familiar pattern with Pompey lacking that killer ball and Arsenal looking to tear our defence apart with their pace. The Fratton End started singing "One goal from Europe, you're only one goal from Europe!" and it looked like we had got that goal after a scrap in the box resulted in Niko Kranjcar poking the ball in from close range and the celebrations began....
....until Graham Poll; who was rumoured to be officiating his last game today, had a word with his assistant and disallowed the goal for alleged offside.
Now I must admit, I thought it was offside from where I was sitting but having read various match reports it looks like we've been robbed and having seen the incident again, it's still unclear. Whether the decision was correct or not, it was certainly a buzzkiller and we needed to find a goal fast.
What followed was a lot of frustration from poor final balls, wrong decisions by the Pompey players and LuaLua constantly being flagged offside. We huffed and puffed but we didn't have the quality to break down the Arsenal defence and after Glen Johnson's skewed effort from a stoppage time free kick, Graham Poll called time on the game and our season.
Now what would really be a kick in the teeth is if the goal shouldn't have been disallowed (as what is likely to be the case), because Bolton drew 2-2 with Villa and Reading drew 3-3 at Blackburn, meaning just a single goal for us would have meant UEFA Cup football next season. We haven't entered the Intertoto Cup either, which we also would have got as Reading didn't enter themselves either.
Now whilst some of you will be saying "Poll has grabbed one final headline and cost us a place in Europe", you have to remember that these sorts of decisions happen to every team during a season. Instead, I say "If we hadn't produced such gutless performances at Newcastle, Blackburn, Wigan and Watford then we would have qualified for Europe before May even began." The bottom line is that we only have ourselves to blame, but we should not be at all downhearted at what we have achieved this season.
The players came out for their lap of honour following the game and confirmation of our 9th place finish in the Premiership. The applause the players received was well justified but how many of them will be playing for us next season and how many new faces is Harry going to bring in during the summer?
The next few months will bring the usual silly transfer speculation and although we may have missed out on a European Tour, we still have Hong Kong to look forward to. It's safe to say that Pompey have a very bright future, and I'm glad to be part of that.
Thank you Portsmouth Football Club for yet another fantastic (and relegation free) season!
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 9 - A couple of fine saves and an excellent penalty save from Baptista.
Glen Johnson: 6 - A solid final game for the club. It's doubtful he will sign permanently though.
Linvoy Primus: 7 - Solid as usual, Linvoy has been superb for us all season.
Noe Pamarot: 6 - Steady performance.
Djimi Traore: 7 - Djimi actually performed very well today and capped it off with an excellent goal-line clearance.
Gary O'Neil: 5 - Not at his best. More will be expected from him next season.
Sean Davis: 7 - Decent all-action performance in the middle.
Richard Hughes: 7 - Really got stuck in.
Niko Kranjcar: 6 - Showed glimpses of what he can really do. More will be expected of him next season too.
Benjani: 6 - Didn't do too bad but was subbed at half-time.
Kanu: 6 - Solid performance and gave his former club some problems.
Subs
Jamie Ashdown
Andy O'Brien
Arnold Mvuemba: N/A - No time to make an impression. Will he be signed permanently?
Pedro Mendes: 6 - Just good to see him back after so long out.
Lomana LuaLua: 5 - Frustrating performance that summed up his whole season.