Ipswich Town 0-2 Arsenal - Half-Time
Tuesday, 15th Sep 2026 21:03
Goals from Max Dowman and Noni Madueke have given Arsenal a 2-0 half-time lead over the Blues in their third round Carabao Cup tie at Portman Road.
Town made 10 changes from the team which won 3-2 at Crystal Palace on Saturday with Jacob Greaves the only one to keep his place.
Christian Walton was in goal with Darnell Furlong skippering at right-back, Cedric Kipre partnering Greaves at the centre of the defence and Abdoul Ouattara at left-back.
Florentino Luis made his full debut for the Blues in the centre of midfield alongside Marcelino Nunez with Kasey McAteer, Anis Mehmeti and Jaden Philogene ahead of them. Zian Flemming also made his full debut as the number nine.
Club captain Dara O’Shea, Julio Enciso, Daizen Maeda, Jack Clarke and Leif Davis were on the bench, as was keeper Alex Palmer for the first time this season.
Arsenal, last year’s beaten finalists, made nine changes from the team which won 2-0 at Sunderland at the weekend with Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal, 17-year-old Marli Salmon alongside Gabriel Magalhaes at the centre of the defence and Martin Zubimendi at right-back and Myles Lewis-Skelly on the left.
Bruno Guimaraes started in midfield for the Premier League champions alongside Mikel Merino, who was wearng the armband, with Dowman, 16, wide on the right, Eberechi Eze the number 10 and Madueke on the left. Viktor Gyokeres was the central striker.
Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis were among those on a very strong bench.
Arsenal started confidently but with their early attacks stopped as they got towards the edge of the box with the Blues then looking to counter without success.
But in the sixth minute the visitors went in front. Nunez air-kicked McAteer’s pass inside from the right in midfield, Dowman picked it up, exchanged passes with Eze, then the youngster strode forward into space and beat the isolated Kipre with ease on the edge of the box before slipping the ball past Walton to the keeper’s right.
Arsenal maintained their dominance having gone ahead with Town struggling to get out of their final third. There were appeals for a penalty after the ball bounced up off Ouattara’s foot onto his hand but referee Sam Barrott, a replacement for scheduled official Peter Bankes, showed no interest.
The Gunners made it 2-0 on 16. Nunez was beaten to Walton’s ball out by Guimaraes and it ran loose to Merino, whose pass deflected off Florentino to Madueke unmarked on the right of the box from where the England international shot across the keeper and into the net.
Town looked to get back into the game and started to see more of the ball in the Arsenal half, mainly down the left.
On 19, Kepa punched a cross from the left straight up into the air and Flemming smashed a shot into Salmon. The loose ball ran to Florentino, but the Portuguese midfielder blazed deep into the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.
Six minutes later, Nunez wafted a free-kick from deep on the right towards the back of the box but Flemming’s header was easy for Kepa to pounce on down to his right.
Town put together their best move of the half in the 27th minute. Mehmeti fed Ouattara on the left - with Philogene calling for a ball down the middle - and the Ivorian crossed deep to Flemming, who knocked it inside for Mehmeti, who had continued his run, but the Albanian international’s first-time effort was too high.
As the game passed the half hour, Greaves and Kipre got in a bit of a mess on the edge of the area but the former Hull man was able to stick out a leg to take it away from Eze.
The Blues put together another nice move on 32, Ouattara playing a pass in for Philogene, but Gabriel stepped across to slide behind.
Town were getting more of a foothold in the game, McAteer winning another corner two minutes later, this time on the right, which Greaves flicked towards goal at the near post but which was blocked. Arsenal looked to break and McAteer fouled Dowman, picking up the first yellow card of the evening.
On 37, Philogene did well to get to the byline on the left, narrowly avoiding being tripped, but his low cross was too close to Kepa, who claimed.
The Blues again got into a promising position two minutes later, Nunez’s floated pass finding Mehmeti, who took the ball into the area one-on-one but was unable to find the space for a shot and was eventually crowded out.
In the single minute of time added on, Flemming, who had caused the Gunners’ backline more than a few problems with his physicality, battled the ball into the area towards Philogene ahead of him but the danger was snuffed out.
As against Liverpool in their previous home game, the Blues had started slowly, conceding twice before they had got started having been the architects of their own misfortune to a great degree on both.
But from there, again as against the Merseysiders, Town got themselves more into the game and into a number of promising positions but without forcing the visiting keeper to make a significant save.
A Blues goal early in the second half might give Town greater impetus on the field and in the stands but, at 2-0 at the break, Arsenal will feel they have the game all but won.
Town: Walton, Furlong (c), Kipre, Greaves, Ouattara, Florentino, Nunez, McAteer, Mehmeti, Philogene, Flemming. Subs: Palmer, O’Shea, Davis, Lukic, Walle Egeli, Clarke, Maeda, Enciso, Akpom.
Arsenal: Arrizabalaga, Salmon, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Zubimendi, Guimaraes, Merino (c), Dowman, Madueke, Eze, Gyokeres. Subs: Meslier, Saka, Odegaard, Konsa, Tzolis, Havertz, Calafiori, Ibrahim, Julienne. Referee: Sam Barrott. Assistants: Constantine Hatzidakis and Alex James. Fourth official: Josh Smith.
_Photo: Reuters_