Arsenal to make one unique change for Portsmouth FA Cup clash as Ethan Nwaneri, Marli Salmon predictions made

Arsenal will make a unique non-player change that could significantly aid their chances of success in Sunday's FA Cup clash with Portsmouth, Charles Watts has exclusively told Sports Mole.

Record 14-time winners of the competition, the Gunners kick off their quest for an unprecedented 15th crown at Fratton Park, aiming to banish the demons of recent campaigns since their last tournament success in 2020.

Arsenal have only been past the third round twice in the past six seasons, have failed to reach the fifth round since their triumphant 2019-20 campaign, and have been eliminated at the first hurdle in the last two editions.

However, the Gunners will not be wearing their white strip in alliance with the No More Red campaign - which tackles knife crime across London - after traditionally sporting the jersey in their third-round ties.

Arsenal lost to Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Manchester United in the white jersey, and while Watts lauded the campaign's efforts, he believes that the unfamiliar kit could have disorientated the Gunners a tad.

“It's been really disappointing," Watts said of Arsenal's recent FA Cup travails. "The games have been tough - they had Man City in the fourth round away a couple of years ago, then it was Liverpool and Man United last year, the game all of us want to banish from our memories forever.

“They’re not going to be wearing the white kit this weekend. The No More Red campaign is fantastic – I’m delighted that Arsenal are as serious about that campaign as they always have been. But I do think the white kit had come to the end of the road.

“The results have just been bad in it, and fans didn't really want to see it again, so I think that's the right decision. It’s going to be nice to see Arsenal in red - not saying that'll make any difference, but I did find it strange seeing Arsenal playing in white.

“I did wonder if that changes things half a percent. I don't think I'm alone in that thought - if you’re not used to scanning for a white kit. That’s not the reason Arsenal missed about 50 chances against Man United last season, so I'm probably clutching at straws, but I am going to be quite happy to see them wearing red.”

Arsenal head south with a largely healthy squad, but Max Dowman, Cristhian Mosquera and Riccardo Calafiori are likely to miss out through injury, while Piero Hincapie needs assessing after sustaining a suspected hamstring problem against Liverpool on Thursday.

Sixteen-year-old Dowman would have been a contender to start had he not suffered an ankle injury a few weeks ago, but the third-round clash could offer other young starlets a chance to shine in Arsenal colours.

Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are both expected to come in, while the likes of Andre Harriman-Annous, Joshua Nichols and Marli Ellis Salmon are knocking on the first-team door too.

Portsmouth vs. Arsenal: Young Guns prediction made for FA Cup clash

However, Watts played down the latter trio's chances of featuring at Fratton Park, where he expects Arteta to field a largely senior, but second-string team.

“We’ll certainly see likes of Ethan, Myles, Max definitely would have played if he wasn't injured," Watts added. "But knowing Arteta, he'll change everything but it'll be very much League Cup style.

“I imagine he'll have some big hitters on the bench to turn to if he needs them, so he'll make changes. Kepa in goal, Ben White, Myles, we'll see what he does at centre-back, Christian Norgaard, all those sorts of players will come in.

“We might see Havertz get some minutes, but I don't see him going down the route of dipping into the 21s. Salmon might be on the bench and I think Harriman-Annous is injured, so I'd be surprised if he goes quite down that route when it comes to changes. But it'll certainly be a lot.”

Arsenal and Portsmouth's most recent meeting coincidentally came in the FA Cup in March 2020, when the Gunners secured a 2-0 fifth-round win under Arteta thanks to goals from Sokratis and Eddie Nketiah.

> Click here to listen to the full preview for Arsenal's FA Cup tie with Portsmouth