Kanu was declared fit for the game meaning he started up front on his own in a 4-5-1 formation. Manuel Fernandes was withdrawn because of a reported clause in his contract meaning we'd have to pay £7 million for him when Pompey do not value him that highly. David Thompson took his place.
The first half went very well as our midfielders managed to constantly win back the ball from the home side and pass it tidily along the floor to create some nice passages of play. It was a pretty comfortable half in truth as Arsenal's only real chance came from a shot spilled by David James who then did well to save Robin van Persie's follow up. We played some great passing football that surpassed that of Arsenal's usual free-flowing style.
Although we didn't create any clear cut chances in the first half we were definitely a match for Arsene Wenger's side and we always looked dangerous when we had a corner or free kick. I'd go as far as to say we were the better side as our midfielders outgunned theirs whilst our defence kept the home fans quiet because they restricted Arsenal to few chances.
It was all looking rosy and I would certainly have been happy going into the break at 0-0. But it got better than that....
In stoppage time a foul gave Matty Taylor a chance to whip in a dangerous free kick. His ball hit the far post of Lehmann's goal and there was former Spurs man Noe Pamarot to head in his first ever goal for Pompey and the away end erupted!
Throughout half-time the Pompey fans celebrated the goal and things would get even better as two minutes after the restart some dodgy defending from the Gunners' rearguard allowed Taylor to blast in another cracker and send the fans in the corner of the Emirates into dreamland!
However the unbelieveable feeling didn't last long as Emmanuel Adebayor came on for Aliadiere and changed the course of the game completely. Within minutes of his arrival he had scored to half the deficit. Then just a couple of minutes after Kolo Toure's piledriver forced a defensive mix-up after James pushed away and that allowed Gilberto to get in the box and slot in an equaliser.
The gutting feeling could have got worse as Arsenal continued to push for a winner as Pompey did everything they could to go down the other end and try and nick one but chances were few and far between as the home side smelt victory. However any real opportunities they had were wasted as shots were sent wide with James having to make a couple of easy saves.
After a long spell of pressure the final whistle blew and the travelling fans applauded their battlers off the pitch, but perhaps with a bit of disappointment.
I'm feeling 50/50 about this result. At 2-0 up away from home we should have had the game sewn up. We should have battened down the hatches and claimed a famous win. On the other hand, at 2-2 we easily could have lost if Arsenal managed to hit the target more often and it could have been a very depressing journey home if we threw it [i]all[/i] away.
I'm happy with a draw though. Albeit a bit disappointed we didn't make history and jump back into 3rd in the table. We played some great passing football in the first half and looked better than our so-called "superior" counterparts however once Adebayor was introduced, we were clearly second best. I think a draw was a fair result.
We may have dropped a few places now but all of the "unwinnable" games away to the "big four" are out of the way. Chelsea and United are different class but I'd fancy us to take the scalp of Liverpool and Arsenal on home turf after they failed to beat us on theirs. First things first though, we must beat the Blades next week!
All-in-all, an enjoyable day out and I thank the person who donated me his ticket for the opportunity to watch the game. We could have made history today, but at least it wasn't a 4-0 defeat, eh?
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 8 - Made a couple of great saves and dealt with the other shots on target comfortably.
Glen Johnson: 7 - Showed plenty of attacking prowess down the right but lacked a bit of bite at the back occasionally.
Sol Campbell: 7 - Generally good but found Adebayor hard to handle.
Linvoy Primus: 7 - Ditto.
Noe Pamarot: 7 - His defending was hit and miss against Walcott but he was strong enough and even poached a goal!
David Thompson: 8 - Gave Arsenal plenty to think about down the wing and put in some decent crosses. He also did his fair bit of defensive work.
Gary O'Neil: 6 - Tireless effort but not much drive.
Sean Davis: 7 - Strong in the centre and passed it well.
Pedro Mendes: 8 - Rarely gave the ball away with his sublime passing and won it back in midfield often, especially in the first half.
Matthew Taylor: 8 - Just shades Man Of The Match for me. Another cracking goal and decent all-round performance. If he keeps it up he'll have Player Of The Month in the bag as well as an England call up to celebrate.
Kanu: 6 - Held up the ball well but offered little going forward in truth.
Subs
Jamie Ashdown
Andy O'Brien
Richard Hughes: N/A - Only got the last 5 or so minutes to make sure we didn't concede late on.
Niko Kranjcar: 5 - Didn't notice him.
Roudolphe Douala