Pre-match thoughts
I’m trying very hard not to have any expectations of today’s game.
A big team to play who are at the top of their form at the moment. They are in the news currently due to their European success, following a stunning 5-1 on aggregate win over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. They are now just three matches away from claiming the UEFA Champions League title for the first time.
Random fact: Relegated only once, Arsenal has won the second-most top-flight matches in English footballing history.
Considering all of this makes the coming match feel slightly unreal for me, let’s hope they are saving their firepower for PSG. As with all the big six, we must try not to let reputation defeat our spirit before we start – every team is beatable, right?
Two incredible free kicks from Declan Rice were the icing on the cake in their Spanish clash, which, according to Mick, my Arsenal-supporting friend, were deserving of a knighthood. I’m not sure it bears out his muttering of the week before, that Rice was the only decent player they have – the club’s alleged £1.13 billion market value (the highest in the Premiership), would put that in doubt. Jostling on their team sheet, you will find the names of many of the current footballing elite. Note to team: “Don’t give away any free kicks within striking distance”.
Arsenal’s name and nickname come from their origins as a group of munitions workers in a Royal Arsenal armaments factory in Woolwich. Hence the ‘Gunners’ epithet. Founded as Dial Square Football Club, they morphed through several similar titles to become simply The Arsenal Football Club.
From 1912 to 1923, with the intervention of two businessmen, they became a very wealthy club and were known as ‘The Bank of England Club’. One can only think a nickname of the ‘Bankers’ would have been an absolute gift to opposing teams!
Mind you, I would rather be called a ‘Tractor girl’ than a ‘Gooner’ any day of the week.
On the train
Walking up to the station, I had an interesting conversation with 81-year-old Brian on the game, the team, the club - past and future; we covered it all. On the train, we were joined by Martyn (with a 'y' – yep got it), who is involved in professional football, so had many sensible things to say. Interestingly, like many others I’ve spoken to recently, he said he preferred Championship football. Also interestingly, he was surprised to meet me, as he had read my column before and had me pegged as an elderly man.
First half
It got off to a slower start than I expected, as if the teams were weighing each other up or conserving energy. Sad to see no start from Delap again today, because of bruised ribs, but Enciso and Clarke were combining and moving well, with a couple of half chances falling for both of them. Gradually, this changed, and the Gunners began to dominate. On 14 minutes Trossard scored a fairly soft goal from a pass across by Odegaard.
Suddenly, the Blues' goal is under siege. A missed header over the bar by Merino and solid defending from Tuanzebe kept two more attempts out of harm's way, but a good strike from Martinelli, the Brazilian international, netted their second goal on 28 minutes.
Disaster strikes – again. A clumsy tackle by Davis on Saka gets him a red card on 32 minutes, and now we have a real battle to face. Saka plays dead for a long time. This gets him a round of boos when he finally gets up, and trots back into the game; boos which are repeated every time he touches the ball from then on, changing to a huge cheer when he goes on to miss three scoring opportunities.
Turning to Gary, I said, “It’s like being at the Pantomime”!
“Oh no it isn’t” he replied. What a wag.
Clarke is taken off to bring on Burgess, thus shoring up the hole left by Davis. Necessary, no doubt, but in my opinion, a real shame as Clarke was one of the bright sparks on the pitch today. Presumably because of formation, I feel he shines brighter when Delap is not in the squad. Enciso is subbed at 45mins for Jack Taylor, which seems a strange one as now the two players I thought most likely to score so far have left the field of play. There may be an injury issue in the case of the latter, let’s hope not!
Arsenal keep pressing until the break.
Second half
It was more of the same after the break, with the visitors having most of the possession and Town defending like fiends against a pile of corners. Straightaway, Rice played through to Odegaard on the left-hand side, but his shot was well saved by Palmer. The constant pressure pays off, however, and Trossard scored the third goal on 69 minutes from a corner taken short.
At three-nil, substitutions for Arsenal so far have been Nwaneri for Saka (54m), Skelly for Merino (57m) and Tierney for Rice (73m). I do wonder why Delap and Luongo are not introduced until the 83rd minute, and even more so, why Chaplin is brought on in the 92nd minute with only 4 minutes of stoppage time added? Mysterious are the machinations of football managers at times.
It’s not over yet, and a fourth goal is added to the Gunners’ tally on 88 minutes courtesy of Nwaneri, from a move by Zinchenko with a scramble in the goal mouth, sending a rebound off O’Shea into the net. Zinchenko tries for a fifth in the last minute of play from Sterling’s pass just outside the area, before firing narrowly over Palmer's crossbar. Phew!
Full-time score: Ipswich 0-4 Arsenal
Men of the Match: O’Shea, Palmer and Tuanzebe all played their part well to stop the score from being much higher. Clarke and Enciso were looking useful in the first half.
Cajuste was outstanding for Town in his attempts to feed the ball up to the strikers.
Man of the Match: Leandro Trossard
Round up
There is no doubt this was inevitably a very one-sided affair. Town were defending heroically, but struggling before Davis was sent off, so it was obviously going to be more of the same that followed. Arsenal’s team is full of top internationals, playing at a level we can’t match, especially with our four best players in attacking positions on the injury list – Hutchinson, Szmodics, Burns and Delap. Our subs bench at the moment reads very similarly to the one we had in League One.
These are not excuses, but rather straightforward facts. And it hasn’t yet stopped them from fighting until the bitter end – I’ve not seen their heads go down yet. They will always win my respect for that. It must be tough.
Was it a sending-off offence? Why did VAR not come into play?
I wasn’t sitting near enough to judge live, but knowing Davis as a player and watching replays, slow-mos, and close-ups at home, I would say it was not deliberate. He tried for the ball with his toe and missed before sliding into Saka’s heel.
Yes, I’m biased, but the percentage of belief seems to be 50/50 on this one, even from neutral observers. Yes, it was a foul, but an instant red card (and reportedly a 3-match ban) is harsh. Comments along the lines of “raking his studs down the back of Saka’s leg” are quite honestly risible. This is where many would use the ghastly expression ‘it is what it is’, but I won’t do that – perhaps I’ll just say "it was what it was" instead. Expressions are endlessly fascinating; endless arguments about refereeing decisions are not.
Regarding criticisms of the booing that have emerged, no one wants to see anyone hurt, least of all Leif Davis or the Ipswich supporters. But having gone down as though pole-axed, stayed down, and not left the field, I was worried Saka was badly hurt, expecting him to get stretchered off at any moment, when up he pops and runs into position on the field. Not even a limp in sight. That’s what triggered the boos.
One question I would ask is, why are we getting better results away from home? Answers on a postcard, please.
Town are now being described as mathematically NOT relegated. I have tried to steer clear of all the predictions and calculations up to this point, but by my reckoning – to stay up we have to win all of our remaining games and West Ham have to lose all of theirs, including when we host them at the end of May – to be equal with them on points. Add to that the need to score a fistful of goals without conceding to overtake their goal difference. An extraordinarily tall order, I would say, in the realms of impossible through to miraculous.
It was great to hear Kieran’s recent announcement of commitment to the Club for 2025/2026, up or down, which hopefully means some of our new signings may stay too. We will still need our Magician, and I hate saying goodbye to players.
Fans were quiet walking away from the stadium and on the train, but many are still philosophical about the season as a whole. It has been an experience that most think we could repeat soon, better equipped and wiser; the general consensus being that it was a year too early to make the leap.
The last words are from Peggy, who was the sweetheart who said she didn’t mind what happened, “as long as they try their best”.
Perfect, Peggy – I think they hear you.
