Arsenal progressed comfortably in the Carabao Cup with a 4-2 victory over Ipswich Town, but the closing stages at Portman Road produced a refereeing controversy.
Mikel Arteta’s side were already heading into the fourth round when former Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom scored Ipswich’s second goal late on.
However, Myles Lewis-Skelly immediately protested that he had been fouled in the build-up.
Referee Peter Bankes allowed the goal to stand, sparking an angry reaction that continued after the final whistle.
Jamie Carragher: “This was Mikel Arteta becoming the Alex Ferguson of the Premier League right now. He’s the don, he’s the champion. It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes another referee to give a penalty against Arsenal.” 😅👀
🎥 @SkySportsPL pic.twitter.com/mxhqAtKfjm
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) September 14, 2026
Peter Bankes Takes Charge of Ipswich vs Arsenal
Bankes was appointed referee for Arsenal’s third-round tie at Portman Road.
He was assisted by Constantine Hatzidakis and Alex James, with Josh Smith acting as fourth official.
Arsenal ultimately ran out 4-2 winners, with Max Dowman scoring twice and Noni Madueke and Mikel Merino also finding the net.
Supporters can revisit the full contest in our Ipswich vs Arsenal match report.
The late controversy did not alter the outcome, but it became one of the main talking points after the game.
Akpom Goal Leaves Lewis-Skelly Furious
Ipswich scored their second goal through Akpom in the closing stages.
The striker appeared to pull Lewis-Skelly down as the pair challenged for the ball before continuing forward and scoring.
Bankes waved away Arsenal’s appeals and allowed the goal to stand.
There was no opportunity for a video review because VAR is not in operation in the Carabao Cup until the semi-final stage.
That left Bankes’ original decision as the final call.
The incident was significant enough to trigger an angry response from Lewis-Skelly once the match had ended.
Arteta Forced to Intervene After Full-Time
Lewis-Skelly continued protesting after the whistle and approached the assistant referee before following him towards Bankes.
Mikel Merino initially attempted to calm his Arsenal teammate down.
Arteta then became involved and twice instructed Lewis-Skelly to walk away from the officials.
Ezri Konsa was also seen speaking with the officials after the game.
The Standard reported that Akpom subsequently appeared to discuss the incident with Bukayo Saka and Konsa, with the Arsenal players appearing to recreate the pulling motion involved in the challenge.
That reaction gives further context to why Arsenal’s players were frustrated.
Did Peter Bankes Get the Decision Wrong?
From the available footage and reporting, the Akpom incident is the clear decision worth examining.
Lewis-Skelly appeared to be impeded before the Ipswich striker broke clear, but Bankes judged that there was not enough in the challenge to award Arsenal a free-kick.
Without VAR, there was no secondary review available.
That does not automatically make Bankes’ decision incorrect, but it explains why Arsenal’s players felt strongly enough to confront the officials afterwards.
It is also important not to overstate the impact.
Arsenal had already built a commanding advantage by that stage and the decision did not threaten their place in the fourth round.
The focus will therefore remain on the result and another impressive display from Dowman, whose performance dominated our Arsenal player ratings from Portman Road.
But the final minutes provided one clear refereeing talking point.
Bankes allowed Akpom’s goal to stand, Lewis-Skelly strongly disagreed, and Arteta ultimately had to intervene to bring the confrontation to an end.
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