Theo Walcott levelled before Van Persie sealed victory with a second spotkick after Bent's foul on Laurent Koscielny.

BBC: Arsenal 3-2 Aston Villa

The Middle Eastern side, runners-up when hosts in 1996, went on to dominate the game after Hong's spotkick hit the bar but could not beat goalkeeper Ri Myong-Guk.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

But Portsmouth hit back seven minutes later with another spotkick, this one more debatable as Nemanja Vidic was ruled to have tugged the shirt of Frederic Piquionne.

CNN: Man Utd ruin Grant's Portsmouth bow

The Bosnian's 11th-minute spotkick was saved by a combination of the legs of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and the woodwork, but it was only another 10 minutes before James Milner put City ahead after being set up by Carlos Tevez.

CNN: January 13, 2013 -- Updated 1910 GMT (0310 HKT)