Kenny Jackett has total respect for Arsenal - but insists Portsmouth will be no soft touches in FA Cup

The Blues play host to the Premier League heavyweights in the fifth round of the Cup at Fratton Park (7.45pm), with 37 places in the football ladder separating them.

Mikel Arteta’s side sit 10th the top flight as they retain an interest in qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Meanwhile, Pompey occupy third spot in League One as they strive to make a welcome return to the Championship at the third time of asking.

The gulf is there for all to see ahead of the teams’ first meeting in more than 10 years – when Arsenal recorded a 4-1 win at Fratton Park during the 2009-10 Premier League season.

It’s a gap reinforced when you look at both club’s summer outlays in the transfer market.

Pompey’s single top spend was the £1m-plus forked out on bringing John Marquis to Fratton Park.

Yet that was dwarfed by the reported £72m the north Londoners paid Lille for the services of Nicolas Pepe.

According to Jackett, though, such contrasting fields of operation doesn’t give tonight’s visitors the right to proceed to the quarter-finals of the Cup.

With the Blues unbeaten in the league on home soil, and full of confidence following a run of 13 wins from their past 15 fixtures in all competitions, he believes his side is capable of causing Arsenal problems.

Jackett has no plan to go soft on tonight’s opponents.

He intends to send his team out with the remit of doing Fratton Park proud.

The manager said: ‘You have to say they have some fantastic players.

‘There’s nothing wrong with saying that, but after you have to have a plan to contain them and also hurt them.

‘We’re the home side and we have the threat and we do want to cause them problems.

‘They are one of the genuinely big clubs.

‘It’s a great game and we have to enjoy it, but I don’t mean enjoy it as in being soft about it. It’s a big challenge and we have to rise to it.

‘We’re the home team so there should be a degree of confidence and positivity about us.

‘There’s a balance in the tactical side of the game, but after that, Arsenal or not we have a home game – and we want to do well in it and do ourselves justice.’