Arsenal leapfrogged Chelsea and moved to within six points of league-leading Liverpool thanks to a narrow 1-0 win at home to Ipswich Town on Friday night.
Kai Havertz was responsible for the game’s only goal as the hosts made a fast and commanding start, yet Mikel Arteta’s side failed to extend their advantage. Ipswich Town played a part in Arsenal’s frustrations and even quickened the pulse of an increasingly nervy home crowd with a late surge of activity.
Nevertheless, the north London outfit saw out a 1-0 win to keep the pressure on Arne Slot’s table toppers. Ipswich, by comparison, remain ensconced in the relegation zone.
How the game unfolded
The Emirates crowd had scarcely finished belting out the final verse of ‘London Forever’ when Ipswich caused an early scare with a ball across the box. It proved to be an entirely misleading opening 30 seconds.
“Our organisation is going to have to be really good,” Kieran McKenna warned pre-game. It wasn’t good enough. The visitors’ defensive resolve was stretched and strained to breaking point during a suffocatingly one-sided contest, penned into their own defensive third as Arsenal kept their collective boot firmly on Ipswich’s throat. Mikel Arteta’s title chasers boasted 91% possession by the time Kai Havertz fired in a 23rd-minute opener.
Leandro Trossard jinked away from Ben Johnson, finding just enough room to sneak a low, left-footed cross scuttling along Ipswich’s six-yard box and into the grateful stride of his German teammate.
A combination of Ipswich’s defensive rigidity and a weary post-Christmas atmosphere prevented the Gunners from creating another chance of note in the first half. That changed after the break.
Gabriel lost his marker while hurtling onto a second-half corner, nodding the ball into the turf from three yards out and – somehow – beyond Arijanet Muric’s post. Declan Rice had a creative set-piece effort blocked, connecting sweetly with a corner fizzed at hip-height by Martin Odegaard which met a mass of blue shirts.
There were also chances in open play. Arsenal’s Norwegian skipper spooned a close-range effort over the bar shortly before Trossard and Havertz combined again. The Belgian played the role of provider again, but Havertz scuffed his effort from seven yards out.
Ultimately, the German’s first-half tap-in proved to be enough, extending Arsenal’s unbeaten run to 11 matches across all competitions.
Check out the player ratings for Arsenal vs Ipswich here.
‘London Forever’ was performed with its usual gusto, Mikel Arteta’s hair was perfectly coiffed and Gunnersaurus Rex had his signature grin, but something was missing at the Emirates on Friday night. For the first time since May – and only the third time this calendar year – Arsenal lined up for a Premier League home game without Bukayo Saka.
The injured star will remain on the sidelines for “many weeks”, leaving a yawning chasm on the Gunners’ right flank. Gabriel Martinelli filled the void on paper, dutifully scurrying around the final third with more endeavour than end product. As Arteta was quick to point out pre-game, one player cannot be expected to solely replace Saka’s swollen output and Arsenal had their best moments with a collective approach.
“No playmaker in the world can be as good as a good counter-pressing situation,” former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp once infamously declared. Despite his long-running association with Pep Guardiola, Arteta’s best Arsenal teams have always bore a close resemblance to Klopp’s high-energy Reds.
When faced with Ipswich’s compact 5-3-2, the Gunners spent much of the contest tamely stroking the ball in front of their visitors. Without the game-breaking change-of-gear Saka’s affords the north London outfit, winning the ball back in the final third proved to be their most potent weapon on Friday.
Trossard collected a loose header to create Arsenal’s opener, but that passage of play had been preceded by a glut of sharp turnovers as the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard led the forward thrust. The aggressive approach against the ball also limits the opposition’s threat – Ipswich didn’t force David Raya into a single save.
Arsene Wenger could not contain his fury after his Arsenal side were consigned to a 2-1 defeat by Stoke City in November 2008 thanks to a pair of goals both created by Rory Delap throw-ins. “It is a little bit of an unfair advantage,” the French boss huffed post-game. “He is using a strength that is usually not a strength in football.”
Delap’s son Liam doesn’t boast the same unique skillset and had his more familiar strength – physical brawn – neutralised by Arsenal’s experienced defensive duo. Delap junior struggled to emerge with a piece of loose lint, let alone any change, from his one-side scrap with William Saliba and Gabriel under the glaring Emirates light. Maybe he would have had more joy in Staffordshire.