This was an Arsenal side that contained three of their first team players and yet Pompey were swamped by a rampant attack that looked like scoring every time they ran at a shaky Pompey defence missing Glen Johnson.
The two worst things about this game is that the first two goals were awful to concede from our point of view and that was compounded by the fact that we had more than a few chances to pull a goal back but they were all squandered.
How David James managed to let Bendtner's tame header in I'll never know. It was a routine save that a keeper of his quality probably could have caught with both hands and when you concede a goal against a top four side then you really are giving yourselves a mountain to climb.
But Peter Crouch had the peak of Everest in his sights when he played a one-two and was through on goal but curled his shot just wide. Prior to that Nadir Belhadj burst through the Gunners rearguard but his skewed his effort high and wide.
The second goal infuriated the home crowd as it was clear to most that Sean Davis took the ball when challenging Andrey Arshavin in the box. The Russian pointed straight to the corner flag and then wagged his finger at referee Lee Mason as he pointed to the spot.
The gesture was a touch of class from arguably the best player on the pitch yesterday and if I'm being honest the penalty award was rough justice as Arsenal could have had two spot kicks earlier in the game because Distin hauled down Vela and Noe Pamarot also chopped someone down in the area.
Bendtner doubled Arsenal's lead going into half time and Paul Hart's response was to haul off the struggling Hreidarsson and the ineffective Pennant for the Nigerian duo of Kanu and John Utaka to play in a 4-3-3.
It looked like that would pay dividends as Pompey came out of the traps and laid siege to Arsenal's goal. Utaka had two good chances to score after using his pace to get the better of the Gunners' defence whilst Crouch had another good chance from close range and Kanu also missed.
However, the buoyant Pompey fans were then silenced by an Arsenal suckerpunch as Carlos Vela scored a good goal to end the game as a contest.
That didn't stop Pompey trying to claw one back but Lukas Fabianski wasn't to be denied a clean sheet after producing a point blank save to stop Sylvain Distin scoring his first goal for the blues.
But the game ended on a sour note as Noe Pamarot was shown a straight red card for cynically taking down Arshavin when he was through on goal. Fans then called for the returning Linvoy Primus to come on but despite being sent to warm up, Hart didn't grant their wishes but it's good to see him back.
The final whistle blew and the Pompey fans leaving Fratton Park had to simply accept that they were beaten by a much better team that was missing most of its best players and that further illustrates the huge gap between the big four and the also-rans.
I'm not too disappointed about our performance as we didn't play too badly. The defence struggled against Arsenal's attack of Walcott, Vela, Bendtner and Arshavin but then those four are difficult to keep out for most Premier League teams.
The finishing was the most disappointing aspect, especially from Peter Crouch who did not show the composure of an £11 million player yesterday. John Utaka was a bright spark when he came on but his finishing let him down.
Thankfully every result has gone for us so far this Bank Holiday weekend and so we're still seven points clear of the drop with just three games to go. Next week's encounter with Blackburn at Ewood Park is going to be very interesting as the winner will be certain to retain their Premier League status next season.
Pompey Player Ratings
David James: 5 - One good save can't mask awful blunder.
Noe Pamarot: 5 - Really struggled on return to the side.
Sol Campbell: 6 - Best defender in a Pompey shirt.
Sylvain Distin: 6 - Lucky not to give a penalty away, unlucky not to score.
Hermann Hreidarsson: 6 - Couldn't handle Walcott but did make a crucial block against Vela when he looked certain to score.
Jermaine Pennant: 5 - Ineffective.
Hayden Mullins: 5 - Outclassed in the centre and on the right.
Richard Hughes: 6 - Battled hard.
Sean Davis: 7 - Showed some spirit.
Nadir Belhadj: 5 - Wasteful again.
Peter Crouch: 5 - Missed two great opportunities.
Substitutes
Asmir Begovic
Linvoy Primus
Martin Cranie
Angelos Basinas
John Utaka (Pennant 46): 7 - Injected some pace and urgency into Pompey's forward play.
David Nugent
Kanu (Hreidarsson 46): 6 - Gave Pompey another dimension in attack.