Arsenal 1 - Ipswich Town 0: good enough
Yesterday at 05:37 PM
The Gunners move into second in the table.
Of all the Arsenal matches, that was certainly one of them. The Gunners won 1-0 over Ipswich Town to move into second place in the Premier League. It wasn't a pretty match but Arsenal were deserving winners. They created enough to score one or two more goals, and the visitors didn't manage a shot on target (1.8 xG to 0.1 xG).
There's a part of all of us that wants to see Arsenal smash teams like Ipswich at the Emirates, but right now without Bukayo Saka, that's not what the Gunners are going to do. The games are going to be slow and grinding. Mikel Arteta will look to control matches to cut down on the chances conceded. Again, Ipswich didn't force David Raya to make a single save all match. There were moments where it looked like Ipswich might create something, but none of those moments turned into anything.
Set pieces are going to feature heavily for Arsenal going forward. They would have today but Gabriel missed a wide open header at the back post. Declan Rice had an excellent volley, that looked to be beyond the keeper's reach, blocked by the defender on the far post. The Gunners probably should have had a penalty, too. Lee Dixon (on comms) was particularly unhappy that Liam Delap was not whistled for dragging Gabriel down in the box. The former Arsenal fullback usually goes out of his way to show that he doesn't have a bias in favor of his former club, and he went on at length about how and why he thought it was a penalty.
The only goal of the match came in the 23rd minute. Leandro Trossard collected an over-hit cross on the far side of the box. He got a step beyond his man down the outside and put a cross on a platter into the six-yard box. Kai Havertz reacted quickest, beat his man to the ball, and guided it home. And that was that.
Martin Ødegaard doesn't look 100% right. Having his Achilles / ankle stomped on from behind in the second half didn't help things, although almost immediately after that, he danced through several defenders and forced a really good save. It seems as if the Arsenal captain is still working his way back from the ankle injury that kept him out for two months. Before missing time, he hardly ever misplayed a pass or touched the ball too far. Right now, it's happening every now and then. It's more an annoyance than a problem.
Gabriel Martinelli did well playing right wing. There is going to be an adjustment period where he, and his teammates in the box, get used to the winger wanting to go all the way to the touchline and cut back rather than cut inside at 12-18 yards out. I continue to be impressed with how hard Martinelli works without the ball, too.
Myles Lewis-Skelly continues to look right at home playing in the Premier League. He has the strength and confidence to ride out challenges and hold off defenders that you don't often see from an 18-year old. I was particularly impressed that he stood up for Gabriel Magalhaes after out-of-shape, never-was Kalvin Phillips tried to injure him by throwing him into the advertising boards.
The rest was average, nothing to write home about football from the Gunners. It was enough to beat Ipswich, which is all that matters. The Gunners 21 points from home games this season is third-best in the Premier League, behind only Liverpool and Brentford (22 each). Arsenal are the only team to have not lost at home this season. The Gunners are next in action at Brentford on New Years Day and then they travel to Brighton on Saturday — two tough away matches in a row.
