From the grandiose surroundings of the Bernabéu to the comparatively humble Portman Road in the space of four days, Arsenal picked up where they left off in the Spanish capital in a dominant start to this contest.
While chances were hard to come by in the first 10 minutes, the Gunners’ patience was rewarded before the quarter-hour with the opening goal. Bukayo Saka’s cutback was miscontrolled by Martin Ødegaard into the path of Leandro Trossard, who swept home a rather tame shot despite being off balance.
Ipswich had hardly had a kick in the first 20 minutes, and a rearguard that has consistently fallen short this term was breached again by Mikel Arteta’s men before long.
Saka once again picked the lock, surging past Jacob Greaves before cutting back to Mikel Merino, who exquisitely backheeled towards the back post where Gabriel Martinelli arrived to slot home his 50th goal for the Gunners.
A two-goal lead already looked unassailable, but the Tractor Boys’ task became ‘mission impossible’ when Leif Davis was sent off for a nasty challenge on Saka’s achilles.
The extent of Arsenal’s advantage in the contest perhaps inevitably led to a drop in intensity after the break, and Ipswich nearly capitalised when George Hirst was allowed space to cut inside by William Saliba, but he could only fire wide.
With Saka and Merino both withdrawn before the hour, Trossard assumed responsibility as tormentor-in-chief, stroking home his second of the afternoon after a quickly-taken corner caught the hosts cold.
And though the result was long inevitable, Ethan Nwaneri then beat a helpless Alex Palmer in the fading moments thanks to a hefty deflection as the Gunners applied extra gloss to the scoreline.
A fifth successive H2H win without conceding keeps Arsenal mathematically in the title race, but with their realistic aims of a first league triumph since 2004 all but over, it was a more important result to keep their momentum.
With this result, Arteta’s men went a seventh successive game unbeaten on the road, while Ipswhich will be relegated when next they drop points, after a seventh successive home league defeat in 2025.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)
