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Confirmed Arsenal team to face Ipswich Town – Rice starts

Arsenal welcome promoted side Ipswich Town to the Emirates this evening and this is the team that Mikel Arteta has gone with.

On the surface, Arsenal should secure an easy win, but this season has already demonstrated that any team is capable of achieving a result against any opponent. Everton provided a prime example of this just a couple of weeks ago at the Emirates. Therefore, Arsenal must approach their match against Ipswich with respect and avoid falling into the trap of complacency.

That said, Ipswich are highly likely to face relegation. While they may occasionally pull off surprise wins—such as their recent victory against Tottenham—the Tractor Boys are, more often than not, expected to struggle.

If Arsenal play with the same intensity and quality they showed against Crystal Palace last week, it would be a major upset if Arteta’s men fail to secure all three points.

Ipswich will put up a fight, they have shown against several teams so far this season that they will not roll over but their level is far below that of Arsenal.

Let us know in the comments below your thoughts on Arteta’s team selection and your predicted final score.

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Tags Arsenal v Ipswich

96 Comments

  2. Havertz in the midfield again, maybe it will be balanced and work this time.

    Hopefully an early lead and early subs in the game; Nwanarei, Trossard, and Merino, they need game time to find their form

  4. A very attacking line-up, one that is suitable against a team that is likely to “park the bus”, I think.
    Let’s win this please, Gunners.

  5. They might be the tractor boys but the only team doing the ploughing tonight is Arsenal. 6-0 They are poor. Get that GD up.

  6. We have 3 leftbacks on the bench, thats right, 3. And 1 offensive player in Nwaneri. Lets hope we wont be needing firepower from the bench.

  7. I’m beginning to wonder why we signed Merino.Rice the only ball winner in midfield and despite their lowly position, Ipswitch are likely to be a tough nut to crack.

  8. 4 defenders, 4 Central midfielders, no attacker on the bench and MA puts all the attackers on the pitch . Who do we turn to if things aren’t working? We pray 🙏 it works
    I don’t see sence in putting all your eggs in a basket

  9. Arteta persisting with Havertz in midfield. Hmmm!!…
    He should not try this against stronger opponents else Havertz might cost him his job.

  10. Kai starts again! Done complaining, that dude will be one of the reasons Arteta will miss out on the league and any major trophy, it hurts me so much as an Arsenal fan, and also because i love Arteta. Just do not no what he is trying to prove with Kai still. How can you keep Partey in the bench for Kai? This is not even about rotation as Kia has played way more Minutes than Partey. Dude dosen’t even get a rest, he is one player i wish gets enough rest due to the fact that we have better players than him, especially in midfield. But, no. He has started more games than any aother player in Arsenal this season. Hope we win today though, but going foward, Kai has no place in our strobgest starting eleven when Jesus in form, i can manage him as a top 9 when Jesus is not in form.

    1. solwills,

      I’ve said many times in the past, under Arteta Havertz has to play. He’s Arteta’s little project, it doesn’t matter what position it is, he simply must play.

      Like you, I’m frustrated by it, but sadly not surprised. Partey, one of if not the best midfielder’s at the club benched, and Havertz in the midfield, says it all really🤦‍♂️.

      1. We have a game in two days Derek! Partey however much you want him to play, that wont happen every game, there must be rotation more so playing every 3 days

    2. Boss probably starts Kai for the simple reasons he knows the germany international is a threat and sees how well he trains – quit complaining 1 – nil to the arsenal.

  12. The only reason I can entertain keeping Partey on the bench for Havertz is that he is managing Partey’s minutes so he doesn’t get injured because he is injury prone.

  13. All this are excuses, we all know Harverts MUST play in MA’s team no matter what & where.
    But starting all available attackers doesn’t make sense to me

  14. I will be keenly looking at the wingers Trossard and Martinelli. Will they be interchanging? I have been hoping and rooting for that to one day happen between Mart and saka. Hoping for a good game from the boys tonight.

  16. Should be an easy 3 points …4-0 nil
    But blimey why as Arteta got to make room for Havertz ,would he do that against a top team ?no he would play players in their natural positions .

      2. NY_Gunner
        I would normally stream off grid, but his was part of my Amazon Prime subscription, and it was poor throughout.
        I was getting around 80/100 meg download speed which ought have been good enough.

  20. Very slow start we seem to be in that mood to just pass, pass and pass because who cares if the score is 0-0 of we had 80% possession

  29. Why is that chelsea reject even playing! 😂😂
    Great to see Martinelli putting in some excellent crosses as well.
    Let’s see how Ipswich react now, as the stats are absolutely incredible.

  31. Lewis-Skelley is doing okay but I wish he’d pass forward rather than sideways more. Can’t stand crab football.

  33. Hate to say it but this game has 1 – 1 written all over it. Place your bets as to which of our players is going to cock-up and gift them an equaliser in the second half. So so slow in our build-up.

  34. Ipswich are like another recent blue wall
    A real shame that Jesus was just offside as I nearly got very excited when the ball found its way into the net only to be chalked off

  35. We played very cautiously as usual, but luckily we managed to create a good goal

    However, Odegaard didn’t play well and Martinelli couldn’t cut inside easily with his weaker foot

    If Saka is out for several months, we need to sign a new inverted-RW

    1. An interesting point there GAI
      He looked at times to not know which foot to use. When he used his right foot to cross, I thought he did well but cutting in was the obvious problem

      1. Yes Sue

        We might need to play Nwaneri on the right wing in the next game. Martinelli would likely be more impactful if he comes in the second half to play RW

      2. Sue P and GAI, I think his difficulties resulted from his lack of significant recent playing time on the right with different players coordinating with him and also that Davis is imo one of the more difficult one-on-one LBs to go against. This is the biggest reason why he seemed so ineffective going inside, coincidentally more than anything imo, on his weaker foot. It is going to be a big challenge for Martinelli to mesh effectively into the right side but I’m hopeful. I’ll be interested to see if the play improves as the season moves forward assuming MA sticks with the same plan.

  36. So boring to watch so many unnecessary passes, will probably win but ffs a bit more urgency and passion please. Better than a sleeping pill imo 😴 but hopefully 2nd half will be better

    1. the emirates crowd sounded bored too. Title race is already done but how was arteta planning to win a title by putting the home crowd to sleep all season.

      1. I’ve only been once this season but I can assure you that our encounter with Liverpool didn’t have a sophomoric effect on the crowd- quite the opposite in fact

  37. These sideway and back passes are being played in order to drag this defensive formation out.
    While we have the ball, they can’t score…. simple really!!

  38. Why did Odegard hold a huddle just then, surely Arteta should’ve given his instructions at half time. Unless of course he doesn’t have a clue how to improve things in the second half.

  39. ..and it wouldn’t be the first time a Havertz goal catapults up the league table – come the end of Jan his same detractors will be saying how much they always believed in him. Personally I think he’ll add more to tonight’s goal. In short I like the kid.

    1. Waal2waal,

      You won’t catch me saying anything of the kind. If a club like ours has to rely on Havertz to win the league, it shows you how the standards at the club has dropped. Havertz, Really!.

    1. I don’t know about crossing but he is good at through passes when he gets the chance – he’s still finding his feet a bit and being careful not to force things, perhaps overly careful. Give him time, he’s still new.

        1. Several of the Ipswich players were trying to get under the new boy’s skin hoping that he would loose his cool and do something rash to get thrown out. I was worried and then proud of how MLS handled himself. If it were a young Xhaka I would have been worried for the Ipswich players 🤣

      1. But only a few until we play again. I felt that Arteta was giving Skelly a further chance and as Arteta said in his post match interview that Martinelli was only just beginning the task of replacing Saka. I said it wasn’t a classic.

  46. 2nd place main rivals to liverpool and you wouldnt know it youd think we were city. I get media always frames but youre supposed to be fans? trophies come from quality from the team and energy from the fans. We are in all comps going strong! Stay true, good things happen.

    1. It Wasn’t easy at all but it’s all about getting the job done.
      3 points and the fans are singing one nill to the Arsenal.

  47. Three points and what a lot of rubbish. Wonder how long we can keep up the pretence of being title contenders.

    2. Probably because we are 2nd above Chelsea,and City have fallen off. such weird tales on here youd think we were not 2nd but tenth.

    3. Joe. S,

      Totally agree, how easy are some of the fans to please.

      They can’t even use the schedule as an excuse. 6 days since there last outing, the standards at this club are dropping, sadly.

  48. Arsenal has one big enemy to winning the titles, themselves. We are too predictable in our play, our threat in the final third and lack of firepower upfront. I don’t understand why we don’t take long shots. It’s like all our midfield and attacking players fancy sideways and back passes. Train on shooting guys! It’s set pieces or tap ins when we get a goal! Let’s master shooting, we create too much space for shots, but almost everyone looks for a pass. Pains me!

  49. 18 other prem sides would love to be in our spot – let’s be thankful, lets get behind the squad and hope Arteta adds some quality in the jan window.

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