Arsenal eked out a 1-0 win at home to struggling Ipswich Town on Friday night to move into second place in the Premier League table.
On what could very easily have descended into a night of great frustration for the Gunners, Kai Havertz settled the nerves with an early opener. Breaking forward from a deeper midfield role, Arsenal’s upright German bundled Leandro Trossard’s firm cross over the line from point-blank range in the 23rd minute.
Ipswich, wounded by a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Newcastle United last time out, had started in an energetic mid-block, a uniform mass of blue shirts hurriedly scuttling to cover any dangerous passing lanes.
The visitors may have been pierced early on but didn’t lose their spirited resolve. Ipswich also benefitted from some wastefulness in front of goal from their hosts. Gabriel nodded wide from a corner, Martin Odegaard blazed over after a winding weave and Havertz could only brush his studs against the ball when presented with a glorious sight of goal.
Despite a later flurry, Arsenal managed to hang on to their slender advantage without much difficulty, climbing above a faltering Chelsea in the Premier League standings to move six points behind Liverpool.
*Ratings provided by FotMob*
|
Player |
Rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: David Raya |
7.1/10 |
|
RB: Jurrien Timber |
8.2/10 |
|
CB: William Saliba |
8.0/10 |
|
CB: Gabriel |
7.8/10 |
|
LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly |
8.1/10 |
|
CM: Martin Odegaard |
7.0/10 |
|
CM: Declan Rice |
7.4/10 |
|
CM: Kai Havertz |
7.8/10 |
|
RW: Gabriel Martinelli |
6.5/10 |
|
ST: Gabriel Jesus |
6.6/10 |
|
LW: Leandro Trossard |
7.9/10 |
|
SUB: Mikel Merino (72′ for Jesus) |
6.3/10 |
|
SUB: Thomas Partey (87′ for Rice) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Neto (GK), Jakub Kiwior, Kieran Tierney, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Riccardo Calafiori, Ethan Nwaneri, Jorginho
*Ratings provided by FotMob*
|
Player |
Rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: Arijanet Muric |
7.0/10 |
|
RWB: Ben Johnson |
5.7/10 |
|
CB: Dara O’Shea |
6.7/10 |
|
CB: Luke Woolfenden |
6.8/10 |
|
CB: Jacob Greaves |
6.8/10 |
|
LWB: Leif Davis |
6.8/10 |
|
CM: Kalvin Phillips |
6.2/10 |
|
CM: Jens Cajuste |
6.9/10 |
|
CM: Sammie Szmodics |
6.2/10 |
|
ST: Omari Hutchinson |
6.4/10 |
|
ST: Liam Delap |
5.6/10 |
|
SUB: Jack Clarke (71′ for Szmodics) |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Jack Taylor (80′ for Cajuste) |
6.3/10 |
|
SUB: Ali Al Hamadi (80′ for Delap) |
5.7/10 |
|
SUB: Nathan Broadhead (80′ for Johnson) |
6.7/10 |
|
SUB: Harry Clarke (90′ for Woolfenden) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Christian Walton (GK), Conor Townsend, Conor Chaplin, Wes Burns