Arsenal crush 10 man Ipswich to delay Liverpools Premier League title party

Arsenal denied Liverpool the opportunity to be crowned Premier League champions on Easter Sunday with a 4-0 victory against 10-man Ipswich at Portman Road.

Leandro Trossard put Mikel Arteta’s side ahead after just 14 minutes and Gabriel Martinelli doubled their advantage shortly before the half-hour mark. Ipswich were then forced to play for an hour with 10 players after Leif Davis was shown a straight red card for a late tackle on Bukayo Saka. Trossard added his second on 69 minutes with substitute Ethan Nwaneri completing the rout two minutes from time. A defeat for Arsenal would have allowed Liverpool the chance to claim the title with five matches remaining, but their wait will go on. Ipswich avoid relegation for now, but their fate is likely to be sealed next weekend with West Ham only needing a draw at Brighton to send Kieran McKenna’s men straight back to the Championship. Arsenal’s hopes of a first league title in two decades had long since faded, with their priority now on capturing their maiden Champions League crown. Arteta’s side arrived at Portman Road hot off the back of their stunning 5-1 aggregate win against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals. They were brimming with confidence from the off, and were ahead inside a quarter of an hour. Just as Ipswich had looked dangerous at the other end – with Julio Enciso holding off Declan Rice and driving into the Gunners’ penalty area – it was his misplaced pass which allowed the visitors to break. Oleksandr Zinchenko found Martin Odegaard, who fed Saka and his pass was converted by Trossard. The Belgian fended off Sam Morsy before playing his shot through Dara O’Shea’s legs and into the net. Fourteen minutes later, and Arsenal had their second. It again came down their right-hand side, with Trossard finding Saka. The winger’s pull-back was met with a cute flick by Mikel Merino, which provided Martinelli with the chance to slot into an empty net. The visitors had their tails up, and Ipswich were dealt another hammer blow when referee Christopher Kavanagh dismissed Davis. The Ipswich left-back was late on Saka, and caught the Arsenal man’s standing ankle. Saka went down in agony and Davis was shown a straight red card. A VAR check followed but there was no intervention, with Davis adjudged to have endangered Saka’s safety. Saka was back on his feet and had a hat-trick of chances to extend Arsenal’s advantage before the interval. First, he cut back on his left foot only to see his trademark curling finish narrowly miss Alex Palmer’s far post. Then, he miscued Merino’s cute through-ball with only Palmer left to beat. Another opportunity fell to Saka from Trossard’s pass, but he missed the target – much to the amusement of the home support who were aggrieved with the Arsenal player’s role in Davis’ dismissal. With one eye on Arsenal’s opening leg against Paris St Germain in nine days, Saka was replaced by Nwaneri just 10 minutes into the second period. Saka promptly had an ice-pack wrapped round his right ankle, which Arsenal supporters will hope is a precaution. Ipswich spent much of the second half camped inside their own area, and Trossard broke their resistance from Rice’s corner when he was allowed time to turn and shoot in the box before firing underneath Palmer. Odegaard struck the post with three minutes left before Nathan Butler-Oyedeji forced Palmer into a fingertip save. From the ensuing corner, Nwaneri’s strike deflected in off Cameron Burgess as Arsenal moved seven points clear of third-placed Newcastle, with Ipswich 15 points adrift of safety following Wolves’ 1-0 win at Manchester United.

Published: 20/04/2025 by Radio NewsHub