I don’t particularly care for the Carabao Cup. And I’ve probably said that on here before. But it’s just such a nothing competition. In fact, let’s call it what it is: a redundant tournament that’s essentially a naked cash grab involving what is almost certainly a mediocre beer (there goes that sponsorship for this newsletter).
Maybe I’m just cranky because I’m pretty sure I’m coming down with the flu right now. Maybe I’m still overly scarred by that Europa League night against Sporting that derailed our 2022/23 title charge. But in my opinion, it’s not a tournament that’s worth our time. When Arsenal lost in the final to Manchester City last season, I was more bothered by the fact that we had waited until the very last match to fail than I was about missing out on that particular piece of silverware.
With that being said… I do feel the first couple rounds of the Carabao Cup can be quite useful at this time in the season. With everyone still getting up to speed and the more established starters being leaned on during the outset of the league campaign, the depth options in the squad need to play too. The opening matches of the league cup typically allow that given the opposition.
That was the case on Tuesday night as Arsenal rocked up to Ipswich Town with a heavily rotated side. Mikel Arteta made nine changes to the team that won at Sunderland last weekend. Kepa Arrizabalaga started in goal while Martín Zubimendi, Marli Salmon, and Myles Lewis-Skelly joined Gabriel in the back line. Bruno Guimarães started at the base of midfield alongside Max Dowman and Mikel Merino. Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyökeres, and Eberechi Eze made up an entirely swapped-out front line.
This, for the most part (Gabriel and Guimarães are bona fide starters at this point while the likes of Ben White and Piero Hincapié were unavailable due to injury), is the current “B team” at Arsenal. These were the players who needed to impress the manager on the day and make him think twice about continuing to select others before them. Games like the third round of the Carabao Cup are the perfect low-stakes opportunities to demonstrate that a fringe player can be counted on.
As we’ll cover below, some did and some didn’t. Those that did led the Gunners to a comfortable 4-0 lead at Portman Road. With the English champions so far ahead they understandably eased off, allowing Ipswich to snag two goals at the end and make the score line a little more flattering. But make no mistake, this was a thorough thrashing by an Arsenal that fully rested most of their very best players.
Now, the Gunners turn toward yet another away day to begin the season. A trip to Brighton on Saturday means Arteta’s men will play four consecutive matches at another ground. But Tuesday showed that some players, in addition to the more recognized leaders in the current team, are more than capable of meeting those demands.
Ballers
Max Dowman
Another match, another spectacular performance by the teenager that makes you say, “What on earth do Arsenal have here?” On Tuesday, the young wonderkid was afforded a start at Ipswich and delivered the best display by any player to feature that night. Dowman scored a brace and was also involved in the creation of Arsenal’s fourth goal. I know the level of the opposition should be taken into account here, but the Hale Ender’s performance was utterly spectacular.
Let’s talk about that first goal for a moment. I’ve probably watched it back 20 times at this point, but I’m still floored by the quality of it. After winning the ball in midfield and playing a quick one-two with Eze, Dowman drove towards Ipswich’s goal. And at full speed, the Englishman deployed some exceedingly clever footwork to drop an opposing defender like third period French. Legitimately, I think it was Ronaldinho-esque. With a free shot at goal from there, he produced a slick finish on his weaker foot to curl the ball into the bottom corner. The whole move simply oozed sublime ability.
While not as likely to end up on a highlight reel, the second goal was also impressive. After making a smart run, Zubimendi found the teenager in behind Ipswich’s defensive block. Dowman then stroked the ball into the far corner to score his second goal of the match.
What was obvious from this performance wasn’t just Dowman’s insane quality for his age, but how unfazed he is by playing so high above the typical level for someone his age. These are men he was up against on Tuesday. But he didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. That is an elite mentality, and I think it will lead to him usurping someone in the squad over the course of this season.
Noni Madueke
Madueke also showed at Ipswich that he can be counted on a little more often by Arteta. Nine minutes after Dowman’s first goal, Arsenal won the ball high up the pitch through an aggressive press. In the ensuing scramble the Blues left a massive space open on the left side of their defense, which Madueke trotted into. Merino found the Englishman with a smart ball over the top and from there the winger made no mistake; he walloped the ball into the far corner of Christian Walton’s net to make it 2-0 to the Gunners.
Something I’ve noticed throughout the start of this season is that Madueke’s decision-making appears to be improving. In his first season at Arsenal the former Chelsea man was at times wasteful in possession, driving into crowded spaces or attempting ill-advised final balls. But in this new campaign, and particularly at Ipswich, I have been impressed by his patience on the ball. Under Arteta’s tutelage, I think Madueke is getting closer to striking that balance between forcing the issue and taking what the game gives you. The Englishman exploited gaps when they were there, and at other times was happy to take an expansion of territory and play an easy pass to a teammate.
Not only did this lead to his goal, but it also saw him play the pre-assist to Zubimendi ahead of Dowman’s second and the pre-assist to Guimarães for Merino’s goal in the 57th minute. Madueke was withdrawn after 76 minutes, and I think that is a good sign for him. While he certainly won’t displace Bukayo Saka, I think his ability to fill in for the Arsenal talisman without a precipitous drop in level makes him exceedingly important.
Marli Salmon
Sam Dean noted that Ipswich’s first action was to launch the ball toward Zian Flemming, whom Salmon was covering. The 17-year-old won the aerial duel. That was a signal of things to come.
Over the next hour, the young Arsenal defender continued to win the battle against a Premier League forward. Salmon won five of nine ground duels and two of three aerial duels. Flemming came off at 61 minutes with only a single shot worth 0.05 xG to his name on the night. Chuba Akpom would replace him and score a consolation goal, but I don’t blame Salmon for that one (also, there was a clear foul on Lewis-Skelly in the buildup which the refs didn’t pick up).
On the ball, Salmon was immaculate. He had 84 touches of the ball, bettered only by Lewis-Skelly across both teams. The young center back completed all 65 of his attempted passes. And he showcased some William Saliba-esque slaloms into midfield, dribbling out of almost certain danger at times and gracefully avoiding challenges. Dowman rightfully will earn the headlines, but Salmon is another Hale Ender who just should not be as good as they are at their age.
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Martín Zubimendi
With White and Cristhian Mosquera injured, and Jurriën Timber being preserved as a precaution, Zubimendi started as an emergency right back for Arsenal. But despite featuring out of position, the Spaniard involved himself in the game heavily. He had 77 touches, completed 53 of 61 attempted passes, and was continuously camped on the edge of Ipswich’s penalty area looking to help orchestrate a chance at scoring. Watching him yesterday, he more than anyone else struck me as simply being everywhere he needed to be.
Eventually, Zubimendi’s hard work paid off. Under two minutes into the first half, he clipped a ball towards Dowman inside the opposition penalty area, which the youngster received and converted into the Gunners’ third goal of the night. Even if Dowman hadn’t scored, the pass would have earned Arsenal a penalty by virtue of striking the outstretched arm of an Ipswich defender.
Defensively, Zubimendi was pretty solid. He got beaten quite handily by Jack Clarke for Ipswich’s first goal but outside of that, the World Cup winner did his job. He won five of nine ground duels, made four tackles, and complete three recoveries. Hopefully one of the more organic right back options will be available for Brighton, but Zubimendi has shown he can be trusted there if need be.
Mikel Merino
Merino also had a fine game for Arsenal on Tuesday. In midfield, he routinely rotated quite intelligently with Guimarães throughout the match. This meant that he oscillated between dropping into the back line in buildup and being the furthest player forward as the Gunners pressed Ipswich.
One such press led to Merino’s assist for the champions’ second goal. Guimarães poked the ball toward the Spaniard after initially winning it. Merino, under pressure from an Ipswich defender, managed to chip the ball perfectly to Madueke on his weak foot and while falling. I think the technique required to play that pass is extremely underrated.
Merino scored his own goal to round things out in the second half. Guimarães played a ball across the top of Ipswich’s penalty area toward him. Dowman dummied and Merino received before deftly turning and striking the ball in off the post. It was a clinical moment of quality to cap off an encouraging outing for him. Not that it was ever in doubt, but he can still do a bit of everything.
Fallers
Viktor Gyökeres
I’m strongly considering “delisting” Gyökeres from the Fallers section for the foreseeable future. He has already been included here so often, I just feel like I’m piling on. And his performance on Tuesday is far and away the most concerning we’ve seen this season.
At Ipswich, Gyökeres looked crestfallen throughout the match. He had the air of a player who wonders what the point of his involvement is. Perhaps that’s why his application throughout the night just wasn’t there. The Swedish striker didn’t push himself to make runs in behind like he did last season. He preferred to grapple with defenders instead of moving around in the box to get himself free. He never once looked capable of getting onto a cross. And that’s not to mention his failure to hold the ball up or that one almost lackadaisical pass he attempted from the right flank.
The cause for what we are seeing from Gyökeres is, I think, two-fold. First, Arsenal have evolved away from him over the summer. With their main attacking stars fit and firing, Arteta’s men aren’t playing the direct football that suited the former Sporting man during the 2025/26 campaign. The Gunners’ attacking play is now more technical, more patient, more about combinations in tight spaces and individual quality rather than playing runners in behind or cutting back from the byline.
That isn’t a game the Swede plays all that well because he’s not a very technically gifted player. I can only imagine how it feels to be on the pitch in a system like that when you’re not cut out for it, watching nine other players function comfortably playing a style that you can’t. It has to be absolutely discouraging.
Secondly, it was very clear that Arsenal were extremely willing to offload Gyökeres this summer in order to land someone like Julián Alvarez. I would be shocked if Gyökeres was not aware of that in some capacity. And that has to hurt. Put yourself in his shoes for a moment — the Gunners probably don’t win the Premier League last season without him, and they promptly turned around and tried to upgrade on the striker.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Gyökeres cut an extremely forlorn figure at Portman Road on Tuesday night. But football is often about how you respond to adversity. And right now, the Arsenal no. 14’s response has been to let his standards slip, to practically give up on his teammates. Again, we’ve known how limited a player Gyökeres is since he arrived. But he always had two things on his side: finishing (when he gets the time to fire off a shot) and work rate. That second trait goes a long way, even if it’s all you have.
The reality is that Gyökeres will be a member of this squad at least until January. If he wants to make his case, either for Arsenal or another club, he has to fix up.
Eberechi Eze
I don’t think Eze had a terrible game, if I’m being honest. He had a couple good give-and-go passes with Dowman for the first goal (which technically goes down as an assist) and with Guimarães as the Brazilian broke through the midfield to initiate a counter. He completed 27 of 31 passes and generally offered a reliable outlet on the left side of midfield.
My issue is that Eze had a pretty pedestrian showing against a rotated Ipswich side. The theme of this season so far for the veteran Englishman is a failure to really impose himself on matches, regardless of the occasion. And he’s just too talented for me to accept that.
Maybe, like Gyökeres, he is feeling rather disconnected from the team these days. I think this is less likely given that Eze at least has the skillset to fit in with how Arsenal seem intent on playing this season, as well as that his place in the squad was never in question this summer. But to be fair, Guimarães has been signed to play in the position the Englishman settled into for the Gunners in his first campaign in north London. Now an older player who has indicated that he views his future as being in midfield, Eze has been shunted out to the left wing.
But again, I think he has the ability to rise to this challenge. Instead of hitting strange shot-cross hybrids out for goal kicks, he can produce moments of spectacular quality to change matches. He needs to get back to that if he has any hope of displacing Christos Tzolis, let alone Guimarães.
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