Arsenal battered Ipswich 4-0 on Sunday as Mikel Arteta’s side cemented their spot in second place in the table.
MORE — Watch full replay
Leandro Trossard scored twice and Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri both added another, as Leif Davis was sent off in the first half for Ipswich for a poor challenge on the brilliant Bukayo Saka.
With the win Arsenal move on to 66 points, seven points clear of third place. Ipswich remain on 21 points and their relegation is all-but confirmed.
Gunners full of confidence as regulars shine
Mikel Arteta decided not to make wholesale changes from the team which won at Real Madrid in midweek and it worked a treat. Saka was sublime, Rice and Odegaard dominated and Martinelli and Trossard were clinical. This was Arsenal in all their glory. Last week against Brentford Arteta decided to rest plenty of stars and Arsenal dropped points and just gave the chasing pack a glimmer of hope they could finish in second place. Not now. Arsenal have all but secured second place and can now fully focus on the Champions League semifinals against PSG. This game at Ipswich proved that Saka and Co. should still probably start most games but there’s nothing wrong with whipping them off after 55 minutes when the damage is done. That is probably the way Arteta is going to approach things from here on out, but Saka and Odegaard may get some extra rest as the former was on the end of a nasty challenge which saw Leif Davis sent off. Arsenal are still just one key injury away from being in crisis again but right now it seems likely that Arteta will limit his rotation between the Premier League and Champions League.
Ipswich vs Arsenal player ratings (via FotMob.com)
What’s next?
Arsenal host Crystal Palace on Wednesday, while Ipswich head to Newcastle on Saturday.
Ipswich vs Arsenal score: 0-4
Trossard 14', 69', Martinelli 29', Nwaneri 88'
Nwaneri’s shot deflects in — Ipswich 0-4 Arsenal
The ball is worked to Ethan Nwaneri and the sub cuts inside and his shot deflects off two Ipswich defenders and flies in.
Trossard slots home — Ipswich 0-3 Arsenal
Lovely short corner routine from Arsenal as Rice plays in Trossard who slots home calmly. Classy. Easy. Clinical.
Double sub for Arsenal as Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri come on
Saka and Merino are off. They’ve done their job superbly. Youngsters Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri are on, with Lewis-Skelly playing at left back and Zinchenko moving into midfield.
Arsenal keep pressing
The Gunners have kept the pressure on in the second half and are dictating the tempo.
Half time: Ipswich 0-2 Arsenal
The Gunners have been sublime in this first half. Ipswich can’t handle them. The red card to Davis was warranted and Saka could have scored a hat trick.
Another chance for Saka before the break
Saka could have scored a hat trick in this first half. A cross comes in but he skews his effort just off target. That was a difficult chance but he will feel like he should have hit the target.
Saka should make it 3-0!
Lovely slick play from Arsenal and Saka is in on goal. Everybody expects him to score... but he slots it wide. He has a smile on his face. He can’t believe it.
Saka curls just wide
He’s back up and involved again and Saka cuts in on his left foot and curls a trademark effort just wide of the far post.
Straight red card for Leif Davis!
The Ipswich left back catches Saka who has stayed down and the replays do not look good. Davis is shown a straight red card and his studs caught the back of Saka’s Achilles. That is a nasty tackle and Davis has no complaints.
Martinelli doubles their lead — Ipswich 0-2 Arsenal
That is peak Arsenal. Lovely flowing move and Martinelli is found unmarked at the back post and sweeps home. Brilliant from Merino to set him up. The Gunners are flying.
Merino heads a corner over
Yet another great Arsenal corner routine and Merino is free at the back post but heads over from close range. He did well to get there after slipping, but he should be scoring.
Trossard finishes impressively! — Ipswich 0-1 Arsenal
Saka is the architect down the right and his cross finds Trossard. He’s on the floor but somehow finds a way to drag the ball home. That is a very tidy finish.
Ipswich lineup
Palmer; Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis; Morsy, Cajuste; Johnson, Enciso, Clarke; Hirst
Arsenal lineup
Raya; White, Saliba, Kiwior, Zinchenko; Rice, Merino, Odegaard; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli
Ipswich team news, focus
There have been plenty of injury issues to sort out for Ipswich all season long, while Alex Palmer has been excellent since he arrived in goal. Liam Delap is Ipswich’s top goalscorer with 12 goals and big Premier League clubs are circling to sign him this summer. With relegation all but secured, the Tractor Boys can play with absolutely no fear and that worked well for them against Chelsea last weekend.
OUT: Omari Hutchinson (hamstring), Jaden Philogene-Bidace (knee), Kalvin Phillips (achilles), Arijanet Muric (shoulder), Sammi Szmodics (ankle), Wes Burns (knee), Chiedozie Ogbene (achilles - out for season) | QUESTIONABLE: Liam Delap (chest)
Arsenal team news, focus
The Gunners will once again rotate heavily with Trossard, Nwaneri, White, Zinchenko and Tierney all expected to come into the starting lineup. That is the sensible thing to do given Arsenal’s injury absentees, as the last thing they want is to lose another key player before the PSG semifinals.
OUT: Jorginho (chest), Gabriel Magalhaes (hamstring - MORE), Riccardo Calafiori (knee), Kai Havertz (hamstring - MORE), Gabriel Jesus (torn ACL - out for season), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee)
Ipswich vs Arsenal prediction
This is probably going to be very tight and end in a draw. Ipswich will be happy enough with that and even though Arsenal will still want to finish the league season strong and finish second in the PL, all of their eggs are now in the Champions League basket. Ipswich 1-1 Arsenal.
Ipswich vs Arsenal preview
If West Ham beat Southampton on Saturday and Wolves beat Man United on Sunday (both likely on current form), Ipswich will need to win against Arsenal otherwise they will be relegated. Kieran McKenna’s new boys have given it a good go in the Premier League but have come up short in their quest to stay up. They were 2-0 up at Chelsea last weekend but ended up drawing 2-2 which summed up their season. They’ve also been particularly poor at home, with just one win at home all season.
Arsenal will be flying high after winning 2-1 at Real Madrid on Wednesday to secure their spot in the Champions League semifinals against PSG. Mikel Arteta’s side came of age as they smashed Real 5-1 on aggregate and the likes of Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard went to a new level. Arteta knows that Arsenal can’t catch Liverpool in the title race so he’s been rotating his side heavily for league games as all of the focus is now on winning the Champions League.
How to watch Ipswich vs Arsenal live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 9am ET Sunday (April 20)
Venue: Portman Road — Ipswich
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock
