LONDON — Here was something Arsenal badly needed at the start of the Championship. Bukayo Saka’s absence for too longsomething that managers crave above all at this point in the season: a prolonged training session, a prolonged session of at least 45 minutes to begin ironing out problems that cannot last more than two months.
This is not written to denigrate Ipswich Town, whose tough second half gave their hosts something to think about, at least briefly. What they didn’t do, however, was take advantage of the moments when Arsenal decided to get involved and find out. In the end, Ipswich might even have achieved something (with their third shot of the match, one that saw their xG skyrocket from 0.04 to 0.16). Kieran McKenna’s team organized themselves excellently, kept space between the lines to a maximum and approached each challenge with enthusiasm. In the second half they even managed to advance towards the Arsenal penalty area. They are simply not good enough to test the Premier League’s best.
In that sense, they are exactly what Arsenal would want to try in an attack that must undergo its second identity change of the season. No Saka means there is no lead shooter, no primary chance creator, and no number one method of ball progression. In short, it means a lot of adjustments on the fly.
From the start, Arteta adopted the same approach he took when Martin Odegaard missed two months at the start of the season. Without a player directing the game, fluidity would be the name of the game. “Saka’s replacement will be the team,” Arteta said. “Having minutes together, asking different things. There were moments in which it flowed very well, there were moments in which we can improve and adapt to each other’s qualities. I’m sure we’re going to do it.”
The team sheet might have led one to believe that Gabriel Jesus would lead the line, flanked by Leandro Trossard to his left and Gabriel Martinelli to his right. For the most part, that’s how Arsenal landed, but there wasn’t the static look of this team when Saka and Odegaard did their thing on the right side. In the opening attack of the game, Trossard moved infield, Jesus also looked to move down the left while Kai Havertz pushed up to form two forwards.
Before the half was over, Martinelli, who started with many tantalizing crosses from the right, had moved further upfield aiming to chase long balls over the Ipswich line.
The common denominator was increased pressure in the penalty area, the presence of Havertz as the left eight meant this was an XI with as much goal threat as Arteta could muster without Saka and Raheem Sterling. When it worked, Arsenal had enough. Trossard’s low center and Jesús attacked the near post, Havertz behind. The German arrived and Arsenal had their goal.
It would be all they needed, but they could have had more. Havertz could have done better in the 75th minute. A patchy performance from Odegaard still saw him beat three men and launch a rising shot into the fingertips of Arijanet Muric. Substitute Mikel Merino sent a tempting shot wide. The most surprising thing of all is that the king of set pieces, Gabriel, managed to shoot wide from three meters away.
It wasn’t particularly exciting, at times in the second half it was completely cumbersome. They certainly need more options for Arteta to turn to on a bench that contained four left-backs and no real forwards. Still, however, Arsenal took advantage of opportunities to win this game more tidily without their most reliable shot creator and taker.
Meanwhile, they block out the sun at the other end. That no-hitter game where your opponent doesn’t get a shot remains tantalizingly out of reach (Kalvin Phillips, did you have to hit one from there)? But this is a bottom line that routinely gives David Raya nothing to do. Even when he and William Saliba decided to turn the second half kick-off into a high farce, they managed to turn what promised to be a direct run at Sammie Szmodics’ goal into a no-shot situation. Since the last international break they have conceded less xG than Tottenham allowed Liverpool on Sunday and the margin is not even that close. If your attack is going to be a Saka-free zone, at least your defense is packed with William Salibas, Gabriels and even Myles Lewis-Skellys, the latter as cool under pressure as he is ready to fight when someone threatens his teammate.
“We should have scored more, but it’s consistency,” Arteta said. “The team did not concede anything. The defensive behavior was once again excellent. That is something that will always give us the opportunity to win games.”
And that is probably what Arsenal will need to be if they are to stay in the title hunt for the two-plus months they will be without Saka, a team that gives up so little in its own side that it can do without a top man. Two or three forwards in the Premier League this season. The offense might need time to figure out how to thrive without the star playing on the right. Fortunately for Arteta, however, the defense looks prepared to give them that.
