As the clock ticked down on Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Ipswich Town, David Raya received a backpass just outside his penalty area, dribbled back into the box, hovered over the ball and gathered it up, using up precious seconds. “Boring, boring Arsenal,” chanted the visiting fans.
And they were right. A global audience tuning in hoping for some festive entertainment would have been disappointed. This was not a match for the neutral.
But Mikel Arteta is not a manager who places much stock in the opinion of the neutral. He is concerned with results first and foremost — and this was a performance he appeared to find highly satisfying.
In their previous game, Arsenal thrashed Crystal Palace 5-1. A somewhat chaotic match made for a thoroughly entertaining spectacle. But despite the narrow margin of the victory against Ipswich, Arteta appeared to prefer this win.
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That scoreline at Selhurst Park did not tell the full story of the game. Palace had several presentable chances to score more goals, and Arsenal relied on several good stops from Raya to maintain their cushion.
Against Ipswich, Raya did not have a save to make. Asked if that made it a more gratifying performance for the manager, Arteta said: “In terms of how well we control the position, 10 times (more), because we conceded 14 or 15 shots against Palace. And it’s nothing that we normally do. So overall, I think this one was much better.”
Arteta conceded there is more to football than points.
“It’s about the goals as well, and the beauty of it, and entertaining people — and that one (Palace) probably was better for them.” But this came across more as a concession to “them” — those faceless neutrals — than a reflection of his true opinion.
There was much for Arteta to enjoy about this win. No side has kept more clean sheets (seven) or conceded fewer goals (16) in the Premier League this season than Arsenal. This 1-0 victory marked a fourth consecutive clean sheet at the Emirates Stadium — their best run since December 2021. That Palace game, just a few days ago, already looks like an anomaly.
Arsenal did enough to win this game. They had 13 shots on goal to Ipswich’s three. Were a header from Gabriel a yard the other side of the post, or Declan Rice’s goal-bound volley not blocked, the margin would have been more convincing.
“We should have scored more,” admitted Arteta. “But it’s the consistency. The team conceded nothing, again. Their defensive behaviour was, again, outstanding. So that’s something that’s always going to give us the chance to win games.” That might be Arteta’s football philosophy in a nutshell.
Perhaps the scoreline might have been different had Bukayo Saka been available. Arteta revealed after the game that the England winger had successfully undergone a procedure on his torn hamstring, and would likely miss “at least two months”.
Arteta said Saka will be out for at least two months (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Arsenal have not long got one left-footed creator back from injury — they are unbeaten in the 11 games since Martin Odegaard returned to the starting lineup — and have now lost another. Against Ipswich, they sought to replace Saka by deploying Gabriel Martinelli on the right, with Leandro Trossard playing from the left. Kai Havertz once again operated in midfield, with Gabriel Jesus at centre-forward.
It worked in patches — Martinelli and Trossard were both involved in the build-up for Havertz’s goal. “There were moments that it flowed really well,” Arteta said. “There were moments that we can still have some work to do there and improve it and adapt to the qualities of the individuals. And I’m certain that we’re going to do that.”
In the meantime, Arsenal can lean on their solidity and structure. In a title race against a free-scoring Liverpool, it makes for an intriguing clash of styles. Against Ipswich, Arsenal looked like the league’s hardest team to beat. But Liverpool continue to look the hardest team to stop.
It might be distilled into the league’s best attack attempting to hold off the league’s best defence. It’s an over-simplification, certainly — but in the absence of Saka, it feels there is arguably even more fundamental truth to that delineation.
One goal will not always be enough. In Arsenal’s 18 league games, this was the seventh time they have scored one or zero goals. Those games have cost Arsenal 11 points.
Liverpool, by contrast, have scored at least two goals in all but two of their games.
There is an aphorism in football that goals win games, but defence wins titles. The 2024-25 Premier League season looks poised to put that to the test.
(Top photo: Arteta with his players against Ipswich; Julian Finney/Getty Images)
