Max Dowman-mania could make Carabao Cup hottest ticket in town
Max Dowman-mania could make Carabao Cup hottest ticket in town
Ji-min Lee Tue, September 15, 2026 at 10:19 PM UTC
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Max Dowman’s early goals in the first and second halves sent Arsenal well on their way to a midweek win - Getty Images/Stuart MacFarlane
There is an obligation on all of us, from supporters to pundits and journalists, to remain calm and measured about footballers as young as Max Dowman. But, my word, he does make it difficult. Arsenal’s 16-year-old sensation continues to sparkle whenever he steps onto the field, and he did so again with this superb display against Ipswich Town.
At this rate, Arsenal supporters will be looking forward to Carabao Cup matches as eagerly as any Premier League or Champions League game, simply because it will be a chance to watch Dowman again. The forward’s age and inexperience means he is still used sparingly in those high-priority competitions. The League Cup, by contrast, may prove to be his domain over the coming months.
Dowman’s double at Portman Road made him just the second 16-year-old to score two goals in a game for a Premier League side. The first was Wayne Rooney, for Everton against Wrexham in 2002.
The two goals underlined why there is so much excitement around Dowman. The first was a demonstration of his prodigious dribbling ability, as he weaved through Ipswich’s defence and buried his shot with the weaker right foot. The second showed his composure: a slotted finish, rolled in with ease.
As Mikel Arteta approaches the point of signing a new contract in north London, one wonders how much the idea of developing Dowman will excite him as he looks to the future. Which manager would not want to coach a player of such natural ability? Which manager would not want to see how good he could be? The same is true of Marli Salmon, the 17-year-old defender who also impressed on Tuesday night.
“A joy to have him,” said Arteta of Dowman. “It’s remarkable. It’s something very natural for him. He can deliver those actions effortlessly, I would say. What we have to do is look after him. He is 16. You don’t see that in this league. In other leagues in Europe, that’s a totally different context.
“Having two teenagers playing for Arsenal at this level is so fulfilling. Because I’ve been there and just to be able to contribute to somebody’s career and dream, to be able to experience a game like tonight, is phenomenal. And yeah, medium and long term, we know that if they continue to develop in the way that they are, we are going to have two tremendous footballers.”
Dowman’s two goals, along with strikes by Noni Madueke and Mikel Merino, secured a comfortable victory for Arsenal against Premier League opponents. Ipswich scored a goal of their own, through Anis Mehmeti, but never seemed likely to cause the visitors too much bother. A late strike from former Arsenal player Chuba Akpom was only a consolation. “We found a way to fight back into it,” said Gary O’Neil. “Losing by two goals to them isn’t a dreadful effort.”
Dowman is already developing a trademark goal, of sorts. His first strike for the club, against Everton last season, came after he left an opponent face-down on the turf at the Emirates Stadium. He inflicted the same pain here upon poor Cedric Kipre, who tried to tackle the teenager in the seventh minute but ended up with a mouthful of grass.
It was an image that encapsulated Arsenal’s dominance in the early exchanges, as was the sight of Madueke firing in the second. The chance came after Bruno Guimarães and Merino, majestic in midfield, had monstered Ipswich’s attempts to play out from the back. Merino was dominant throughout, winning tackles with steel and then spinning away opponents with style. “He’s unbelievable,” said Arteta.
Arsenal’s long-term relationship with the League Cup is not a particularly healthy one. For a club of their stature, it is a source of mild embarrassment that they have not won this competition since 1993. They came close last season, reaching the final at Wembley, but were defeated by Manchester City.
Given the depth of Arteta’s squad, Arsenal really should reach the final again. If this is a tournament for the B-team, at least in these early stages, then Arsenal probably have the best B-team in the country. They started this game without any of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, and Kai Havertz but were still extraordinarily strong in midfield and attack.
The only pre-match concern was their defence, which has been weakened by a couple of early-season injuries. Arsenal started with Salmon at centre-back and the teenager was in direct combat with the physical, sharp-elbowed threat of Ipswich striker Zian Flemming. He stood up to the challenge with determination and class.
Marli Salmon held off Ipswich’s Zian Flemming, helping his team nullify the home side’s attack - Reuters/Hannah McKay
Ipswich had made ten changes following their victory at Crystal Palace this weekend, which was an indication of where the Carabao Cup sits in their priorities. They were able to get into Arsenal’s penalty area but never gave the impression they could really hurt the Premier League champions, apart from when Mehmeti converted Jack Clarke’s low cross.
Akpom struck in the 91st minute to encourage O’Neil, but by then the game had been lost. Arsenal’s work, and indeed Dowman’s work, had been done.
10:55pmVideo • Reaction
More Arteta reaction
10:52pmReaction • Video
Arteta: We have to look after Max
On managing the hype that surrounds Dowman, Arteta said: “What we have to do is look after him. He’s 16 years old, you don’t see that in this league. In other leagues in Europe, that’s a totally different context, but in this league, with the demands... We need to make sure that every time we throw him in it’s in the right context with the right preparation.”
Conor Coady shares his thoughts on Arteta’s role in Dowman’s development:
10:45pmReaction
Arteta: Dowman an unbelievable player
Asked about Dowman’s two-goal performance, Arteta said: “A joy to have him, Marli [Salmon] as well. Seventeen years old, to play at that level with the physicality they have to be able to handle that level, it’s remarkable. Max, yeah, it’s inevitable to talk about him when he scores and he creates the moments he has created tonight. It’s normal.”
He added: “He is coping better and better and better, he did the action where he regains the ball and wins it in the first goal, he loses his man... He’s an unbelievable player because of the character that he has and how much he loves to play on the biggest stage and still handles the situation with such naturality.”
Dowman delivered in Suffolk on Tuesday night - Reuters/Hannah McKay
10:41pmReaction
Arteta: Some big individual performances
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Mikel Arteta said: “Really pleased with a lot of things we did tonight, the way we attacked the game, how dominant, fluid and aggressive we were, right from the beginning to try to influence the result. We scored two very early goals that gave us obviously a great platform for the game.
“Individually some big performances as well. Some debuts tonight which is great to see as well, so we take a lot of positives from tonight.”
10:35pm
Cover blown...
Undercover Arsenal fans emerge in home sections at Portman Road - Getty Images/Justin Setterfield
10:31pm
Salmon impresses at Portman Road
10:25pmReaction • Video
Madueke salutes the Arsenal fans
10:10pm
Up next for tonight’s teams
Arsenal’s next fiveSep 19: Brighton and Hove Albion vs ArsenalOct 10: Arsenal vs Leeds UnitedOct 13: Arsenal vs Lille (Champions League)Oct 18: Nottingham Forest vs ArsenalOct 21: Bayern Munich vs Arsenal
Ipswich’s next fiveSep 19: Everton vs Ipswich TownOct 10: Ipswich Town vs FulhamOct 17: Manchester City vs Ipswich TownOct 23: Ipswich Town vs Nottingham ForestOct 31: Hull City vs Ipswich Town
10:08pm
Final scores from across the grounds
10:01pm
Struggling to get involved
Gyokeres ended up making 18 touches across the 90 minutes.
Among Arsenal’s substitutes, Julienne took 24 in 26 minutes while Odegaard had 25 in 14 minutes.
The Swede is not the type of player to take scores of touches (his average in the league last year was 18.14, so today was about on par for him), but you feel that there were opportunities for him to work into the half-spaces a bit more, as he did towards the end of the match.
09:52pm
Full-time: Ipswich Town 2 Arsenal 4
Arteta’s side are through to the fourth round of the League Cup.
Plenty of talking points: Dowman, Salmon and an ominous Arsenal showing... Leave your thoughts on the match and join the conversation in the comments section beneath this live blog.
09:50pm
Goal! Akpom grabs a consolation goal
Ipswich Town 2 Arsenal 4 (Akpom) Davis picks out Akpom who swivels to deceive Konsa before sweeping home. There was perhaps a foul in the build-up as Lewis-Skelly appeared to get held back by the goalscorer as he scrambled to get back.
09:49pm
90min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
There will be two minutes of time added on.
09:48pm
89min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
Dowman seemingly makes history with every touch of the ball. A remarkable talent.
09:46pm
87min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
Arsenal are finishing this match with a 16-year-old, 17-year-old and two 18-year-olds on the pitch. A good evening for the academy.
And right on cue, Salmon picks up the ball on the halfway line and drives forward, eventually forcing a foul from Nunez who goes into the book for his troubles.
09:45pm
84min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
Gyokeres finally gets a sniff at goal but Greaves is wise to his movement in behind and times a slide-tackle perfectly to poke the ball off for a corner.
Ibrahim comes on for Zubimendi before it is taken and joins the crew congregated at the far post but Walton punches Odegaard’s delivery away.
09:42pm
82min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
A really assured performance from Salmon, who has completed all 61 one of his passes and marshalled Flemming and Akpom with maturity beyond his years.
09:40pm
79min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
Chance! A high regain puts Mehmeti into a promising position in the right half-space, but his cross in to Akpom comes to nothing.
Tzolis, who is booed by the home fans owing to his Norwich connections, has a glimpse at goal but is immediately closed down before Ipswich earn a corner after a swift transition but it is easily dealt with.
There is an appeal for a handball off an Arsenal defender in the second phase of the set-piece but Egeli is offside so it matters not.
09:35pm
76min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
Just the 13 touches for Gyokeres tonight, make of that what you will...
Arteta shuffles the pack again, taking off Eze and Madueke for Tzolis and Odegaard.
Gyokeres has struggled to get involved at Portman Road - Getty Images/Stuart MacFarlane
09:34pm
75min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
Florentino tries his luck from the edge of the box, but his effort is comfortably saved by Kepa despite taking a slight deflection off Konsa’s Achilles.
09:33pm
73min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
It has been a relatively quiet night for Eze as Arsenal have prioritised attacks down the right. He twists this way and that and escapes the clutches of Furlong but his eventual effort sails well over.
09:29pm
70min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
Davis gets his teeth into the action right away. He swings in a cross from the left but it’s smothered by Kepa.
09:28pm
69min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
Ipswich’s substitutes have breathed some life into their attack. Akpom fires a cross-cum-shot towards goal but strikes the side-netting.
Another couple of substitutions for O’Neil, who will now be thinking about Everton next weekend. Davis and Walle Egeli are on for Ouattara and McAteer.
09:26pm
67min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
For those who are into your statistics, another Dowman goal here would create some history...
The record for the youngest hat-trick scorer across all professional tiers of English football belongs to Trevor Francis.
Playing for Birmingham City against Bolton Wanderers in Division Two on February 20, 1971, Francis scored four goals in a 4-0 win at just 16 years and 307 days old.
09:23pm
64min: Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4
Guimaraes makes way for 18-year-old Julienne.
09:21pmGoals
Goal! Mehmeti pulls one back
Ipswich Town 1 Arsenal 4 (Mehmeti) Clarke makes an immediate impact, bursting down the left before cutting the ball back to Mehmeti who had just held his run and is able to beat Kepa from 10 yards out.
09:20pm
60min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 4
Ipswich have been outgunned in the centre of the park, with Arsenal seemingly always creating plus-one and even plus-two situations.
O’Neil makes a pair of changes, replacing Philogene and Flemming with Clarke and former Arsenal striker Akpom.
09:17pmGoals • Video
Goal! Merino curls in a fourth
Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 4 (Merino) Arsenal work the ball infield from the right in instalments, Madueke feeding Zubimendi who passes through Dowman to Merino on the edge of the box who opens up his body before guiding the ball around Walton.
09:15pm
56min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 3
Max Dowman was first spotted by Arsenal at four years old. He’s been running past opponents and scoring goals ever since. Now he’s just doing it on the professional stage, in front of the watching world, but it still looks completely normal to him.
09:14pm
54min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 3
Chance! It could, and maybe should, have been four. Merino threads a wonderful through-ball beyond Ipswich’s final line of defence and Madueke steals in to poke the ball across the face of goal with the outside of his left boot. Gyokeres was in the middle but could not divert the ball goalwards.
09:10pm
50min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 3
Kepa stretches to claim a looped Flemming cross which had echoes of the Spaniard’s game-defining error in last year’s League Cup final. This time he collects with a minimum of fuss. That Flemming was so far out on the left will be of concern to O’Neil.
09:06pmVideo • Goals
Goal! Dowman at the double
Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 3 (Dowman) Madueke picks out Zubimendi in the box who in turn finds Dowman in the right half space and he gallops on to the ball before arrowing the ball past Walton. The assist had grazed Greaves’ outstretched arm and would surely have led to a penalty had Dowman not done the honours.
09:06pm
46min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Arsenal’s kick-off routines caused a stir last season, but this term they have mixed things up once more. Here, Zubimendi lays off Lewis-Skelly, who punches in a line-breaking pass to get Arsenal on the front foot from the off.
09:04pm
Back under way
Zubimendi gets us going again for the second 45 minutes. Konsa has replaced Gabriel at the interval.
09:02pm
Guimaraes proving his worth
Such is the midfielder’s versatility, his heat map tonight paints a wildly different picture to that from his 45 minutes at the Stadium of Light over the weekend. He has played the midfield-sentry role in Suffolk and has executed it well.
It is further evidence as to why Arteta was hell bent on signing him in the summer. You would imagine his all-conquering presence will relieve pressure from Rice and Zubimendi’s shoulders. They were out on their feet by the end of the last campaign.
08:57pm
Scores on the doors
L: Peterborough United 2 Barnsley 2L: West Ham United 2 Fulham 2HT: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2HT: Liverpool 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0HT: Reading 0 Brentford 2
Liverpool are ahead against Spurs at Anfield thanks to this strike from Mac Allister:
08:48pm
Half-time: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Arteta’s nine changes are looking fairly sensible now. He will be particularly pleased to have seen fringe players like Dowman and Madueke get on the scoresheet so emphatically. Arsenal will need their full squad to achieve their lofty goals this season and that half will give Arteta confidence that they have enough firepower to last the course.
Dowman delights in his second senior Arsenal goal - Getty Images/David Price
08:46pm
45min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
We’ll play one minute of time added on...
08:46pm
43min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Arsenal inject a bit of calm to proceedings with a healthy spell of possession. Their horizontal and vertical rotations (Lewis-Skelly is now minding to drop into that Rice role alongside the centre-backs) are proving tricky for Ipswich to track.
Gyokeres gets a shot away after a clever run in behind by Merino but cannot get enough pace behind his strike to trouble Walton.
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08:42pm
40min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Mehmeti brings down a searching ball from deep and faces up to Gabriel as he enters Arsenal box. Such is the Brazilian’s poise, though, that even when the Ipswich forward appears to have worked a yard of space, he telescopes in his leg and stops Mehmeti’s advances with perfunctory ease.
08:39pm
37min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Ipswich are getting more bodies forward, with both full-backs bombing on. The ball is worked out to Furlong out on the right but, in a promising position, he loses his footing and the ball rolls out of play.
Next comes a foray down the left, Philogene beats Salmon on the outside but Kepa gets down smartly to cut out his cross. The next goal will naturally go a long way to determining how this tie plays out.
08:36pm
35min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Ipswich are in the ascendancy and Greaves heads goalwards off a corner but does not get the requisite contact to beat Kepa. Arsenal launch a swift counter which is snuffed out by McAteer, illegally, and he goes into the book.
08:34pm
34min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Ipswich might have thrown the towel in at 2-0 but they are pushing quite hard here and have caused Arsenal a few problems since the second goal. Philogene looks particularly dangerous on the left flank.
08:34pm
32min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Outtara has been Ipswich’s best attacking outlet and he threads another lovely ball into the path of Philogene who is just beaten to it by Gabriel. The subsequent corner is punched away by Kepa.
08:32pm
31min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Kepa goes long and Greaves misjudges the flight of the ball. Madueke looks to be in, but Ipswich’s centre-half recovers well and is able to block the eventual effort.
08:30pm
29min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Merino picks out Dowman between the lines and the teenager is straight into Ipswich’s backline. His effort is well-struck but is charged down and cleared to safety.
08:28pm
27min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Better from Ipswich! Their best shot at getting back into this contest is through counters when Arsenal are not set, and here Outtara bursts down the left before swinging in a deep cross to Flemming who cuts the ball back to Mehmeti who fires the ball just over the crossbar.
08:26pm
24min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Guimaraes is slotting in between Arsenal’s split centre-backs in Arsenal’s build-up and Ipswich are not prepared to go three vs three that high up the pitch meaning the Brazilian has all the time in the world to dictate play from there. We’ve seen this all season long from Rice.
08:24pm
22min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Arsenal are in complete control. Madueke flashes a delivery across the face of goal which is just cut out by Kipre before Gyokeres can get a foot in.
08:21pm
21min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
Arsenal’s midfield is so powerful and they showed it there, as Guimaraes slammed into one tackle and then Merino followed up with another to create the chance for Madueke. Arsenal are completely dominant here.
08:21pm
19min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2
A flurry of chances for Ipswich. Philogene’s lopping cross is tipped away by Kepa but the ball falls to Flemming at the back post and his effort pinballs around a thicket of Arsenal limbs before reaching Florentino on the edge of the box, whose effort sails over the bar.
08:16pmGoals • Video
Goal! Mudeke punishes Walton error
Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 2 (Madueke) That is goal of Ipswich’s own making. Walton’s loose pass out is picked off by livewire Guimaraes, and Merino spins in a ball in behind for Madueke to stride on to and spear beyond Walton into the bottom corner.
08:13pm
12min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 1
Florentino’s loose pass is picked off by Dowman and the youngster earns a free-kick as the Ipswich midfielder attempts to recover. It’s taken quickly and Eze bursts into the box - there is a half-hearted shout for a penalty as the ball appears to strike Ouattara’s arm but the contact appears incidental and the referee waves play on.
08:10pmVideo • Goals
10min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 1
Max Dowman’s second goal for Arsenal is quite similar to his first, scored so thrillingly against Everton last season. On both occasions he has put an opposition defender face-first in the turf before scoring the goal. Outrageous ability with the ball at his feet.
08:10pm
9min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 1
Ipswich earn a free-kick on the left by-line but Gyokeres does his job at the near post and heads away Nunez’s delivery.
08:07pmGoals
Goal!! Dowman dances through Ipswich’s defence
Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 1 (Dowman) Simply majestic. A simple one-two with Eze on the left has Dowman running at Ipswich’s defence. He drops his shoulder and sells Kipre a dream before stroking the ball beyond Walton. “1-0 to the champions” sing the travelling fans.
08:06pm
4min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 0
Lewis-Skelly bursts down the left and picks out Dowman on the edge of the box. He attempts to tee up Guimaraes but Nunez gets a toe in and is able to avert the danger.
08:03pm
2min: Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 0
Early indications suggest Zubimendi will play in the nominal right-back position, inverting into midfield when Arsenal build up.
Madueke picks up the ball on the right flank and drifts inside before Guimaraes’ effort from the edge of the box is blocked.
08:01pm
We are under way!
Flemming gets us started. Ipswich kicking from right to left.
07:59pm
A kit question...
The players emerge from the Portman Road tunnel, Ipswich in their customary home blue shirts and white shorts, Arsenal in red and also white shorts. Last week Arsenal were made to change into red shorts to avoid a similar clash with Napoli, but apparently that’s no problem tonight. Modern football for ya!
Here’s a reminder of the line-ups in full:
Ipswich Town Walton; Furlong, Kipre, Greaves, Ouattara; Florentino, Nunez; McAteer, Mehmeti, Philogene; Flemming
Substitutes Palmer, Davis, O’Shea, Walle Egeli, Enciso, Clarke, Lukic, Maeda, Akpom
Arsenal Kepa; Zubimendi, Salmon, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Guimarães, Merino; Dowman, Eze, Madueke; Gyokeres
Substitutes Meslier, Calafiori, Konsa, Tzolis, Odegaard, Ibrahim, Julienne, Saka, Havertz
07:55pm
Around the grounds
Here are tonight’s League Cup third-round matches:
L: Peterborough 1 Barnsley 1L: West Ham United 0 Fulham 08pm: Ipswich Town vs Arsenal8pm: Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur8pm: Reading vs Brentford
07:52pm
Final preparations before kick-off
Max Dowman could start in the No 10 role tonight - Reuters/Hannah McKay
Anis Mehmeti and Jaden Philogene start in Ipswich’s front line tonight - PA/Joe Giddens
07:49pm
How the teams have fared this season
Arsenal
Aug 16: Arsenal 3 Manchester City 0 (Community Shield)Aug 21: Arsenal 3 Coventry City 0Aug 31: Aston Villa 0 Arsenal 1Sep 6: Arsenal 2 Chelsea 1Sep 9: Napoli 0 Arsenal 1 (Champions League)Sep 12: Sunderland 0 Arsenal 2
Ipswich Town
Aug 22: Ipswich Town 2 Sunderland 1Aug 25: Ipswich Town 3 Leicester City 1Aug 30: Manchester United 5 Ipswich Town 2Sep 4: Ipswich Town 0 Liverpool 2Sep 12: Crystal Palace 2 Ipswich Town 3
07:48pm
Intel from Arsenal’s warm-up
Arsenal are warming up with Eze on the left, Madueke on the right and Dowman as the No 10 behind Gyokeres. In defence it looks like Zubimendi at right-back. The formation in the warm-up is not always the formation in the match, though...! They have played that trick before.
07:46pm
Redknapp and Coady on Dowman
07:43pmVideo
Arteta and O’Neil preview tonight’s tie
07:42pm
Arsenal’s three decades of League Cup hurt
Arsenal have won the League Cup twice – in 1987 and 1993 – meaning eight clubs have better records, including Aston Villa (five titles), Tottenham Hotspur (four), Nottingham Forest (four) and Leicester City (three).
Their rather modest haul is a far cry from their record-setting 14 FA Cup titles. In the 33-years since Arsenal’s most recent League Cup triumph, the competition’s title sponsor has changed hands four times (kudos to anyone who can name all five!).
Nico O’Reilly’s double downed Arsenal in last season’s League Cup final - Getty Images/Adrian Dennis
07:37pm
Ipswich’s summer buys come good
No team has scored more goals through substitutes in the Premier League than Ipswich, which is a nod to the promoted club’s depth and work in the summer transfer window.
It has meant that Gary O’Neil has had to leave established players out of match-day squads. “It was really tough leaving out Darnell [Furlong] and Anis [Mehmeti] from the squad [against Crystal Palace],” he said. “Doing that to good people is one of the toughest parts of the job. But I have faith in them, it’s just that everyone’s fit at the moment and we’ve had to recruit a strong squad to get us through an unbelievably challenging season.
“On Tuesday, whoever I pick, I have 100 per cent faith that they’re ready and that they’re going to represent what we do and how we go about it.”
07:35pm
Some pre-match insights from Arteta on Sky
On Hincapie’s omission from the match-day squad:
“Some players were carrying some fatigue, some little issues that we have to look after and some other players are available, fresh and in better conditions to play.
On Timber being left out of tonight’s squad:
“Everything is fine, but obviously he has played much more than we would have wanted. He played 53 minutes [against Sunderland] after five months. I will need to look after him.”
When asked if Arsenal will set up with a back three tonight:
“Let’s see.”
07:30pm
If you want a fight, Arsenal will have a fight. And Arsenal will win
Arsenal are not a team to shy away from confrontation - Reuters/Lee Smith
Alan Davies, the actor and comedian who is a famously passionate supporter of Arsenal, recently told a story about a charity event he once attended with former captain Tony Adams. Speaking on The Tuesday Club podcast, Davies said Adams revealed his football philosophy to be: “You need seven.”
The “seven” in question, Adams explained, are seven members of the team who are ready and willing to fight the opposition in the tunnel after the game. Once a team have those seven individuals, Adams said, everything else flows from there.
For much of the past two decades, Arsenal have not had seven. In some years in the latter stages of Arsène Wenger’s tenure, they probably did not even have three or four. But that has all changed in recent seasons under Mikel Arteta, to such an extent that the Premier League champions would now undoubtedly bring considerably more than seven combatants to any touchline scrap or tunnel bust-up.
Saturday’s gritty 2-0 victory away to Sunderland provided evidence that Arsenal have added two more of these characters to their squad this summer.
07:25pm
Good test for youngster Salmon
Tonight will be a good test for young Marli Salmon, the 17-year-old defender who is the latest high-class graduate of the Arsenal academy. Arsenal have extremely high hopes for Salmon, who made four senior appearances last season. He could be in the centre of defence or at right-back tonight. I suspect Ipswich striker Zian Flemming might try to target Salmon with some physical challenges, especially in the air. Let’s see how he handles it.
Salmon will make his fifth senior appearance tonight - Reuters/Hannah McKay
07:22pm
The teams in black and white
Ipswich Town Walton; Furlong, Kipre, Greaves, Ouattara; Florentino, Nunez; McAteer, Mehmeti, Philogene; Flemming
Substitutes Palmer, Davis, O’Shea, Walle Egeli, Enciso, Clarke, Lukic, Maeda, Akpom
Arsenal Kepa; Zubimendi, Salmon, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Guimarães, Merino; Dowman, Eze, Madueke; Gyokeres
Substitutes Meslier, Calafiori, Konsa, Tzolis, Odegaard, Ibrahim, Julienne, Saka, Havertz
07:16pm
Arteta: Dowman will get minutes
Max Dowman announced himself last season, showing off his gilded footwork in impressive cameos off the bench. Who could forget that lung-busting run and goal against Everton?
And while the 16-year-old winger featured in Arsenal’s pre-season, these will be his first minutes of senior football in the season proper. His only game time thus far has come in the Premier League 2 under-21s competition and he was not included in the match-day squad at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
When asked about Dowman after the victory at Sunderland, Arteta said: “I wish we could have him here, but we have the limitation with the numbers that we can have. He will have his chance, he will have his minutes and he will have to earn them like anybody else. We know the talent that we have, we know the players that we have there and we need to help him and find a way to make sure he continues to develop and help the team.”
Max Dowman will be eager to push on after his breakthrough season last term - Reuters/Paul Childs
07:13pm
O’Neil: ‘Ipswich has worked hard for these moments’
Although keeping Ipswich in the Premier League must be Gary O’Neil’s primary goal, he has insisted that the club will embrace opportunities in the cups.
When asked how he would approach tonight’s tie, O’Neil said: “We’ll have a strong side, we’ve worked our socks off in the transfer window to give ourselves a strong squad. Of course, a different level to Arsenal, but we’ll be strong on Tuesday and we’ll do our best to win the game.
“The club has worked so hard to have these moments and of course it’s a cup game, but to have Arsenal and Liverpool come to Portman Road a week or so apart is what everyone has worked so hard for in recent years, so we’re going to enjoy it, we’re going to have a right go and worst thing that can happen is we lose to Arsenal.”
Gary O’Neil’s Ipswich have won two of their first four Premier League matches - PA/Adam Davy
07:03pm
Arsenal academy products on show tonight
Teenage sensation Max Dowman gets his first minutes of the season tonight (above), while 17-year-old Marli Salmon makes his first appearance in the League Cup - Getty Images/Stuart MacFarlane
Getty Images/Stuart MacFarlane
Myles Lewis-Skelly arrives at Portman Road - PA/Joe Giddens
06:56pm
An intriguing Arsenal line-up
Good evening from Portman Road, where it’s a gorgeous night for football. Ipswich have made 10 changes, which is an indication of where this competition sits in their list of priorities. Arsenal have made nine.
The Arsenal line-up is quite hard to decipher. It looks like it might be Martin Zubimendi at right-back or centre-back. I’ll keep an eye on the warm-ups and report back shortly.
06:55pm
Ipswich team news
Gary O’Neil wins the rotation battle, raising Arteta’s nine changes with 10 of his own. Greaves the only survivor from last weekend’s win at Selhurst Park.
06:53pm
Arsenal team news
Young defender Marli Salmon comes into the starting XI as Mikel Arteta makes nine changes to the team that started against Sunderland on Saturday.
06:51pm
No VAR tonight – good news for Arteta?
Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the Carabao Cup third-round tie between Ipswich Town and Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s side have won all six of their matches so far this season, but travel to Portman Road fresh off an incident-filled win over Sunderland which thrust officiating back into the spotlight after Ezri Konsa conceded a penalty having been – in Arteta’s words – “judo-rolled” by Dan Ballard.
After the match, the Arsenal manager said: “I watched [the incident] 20 times and I cannot find a way to understand how to even think to give a penalty in this situation or the way the VAR has to intervene. So I don’t know what to think, really. But I’m sad, that we have to discuss, after such a beautiful game, something at this level that has the gravity of that because that changes the course of the season and it can cost you the championship… This cannot happen.”
Mikel Arteta is booked during Arsenal’s victory over Sunderland - AP/Ian Hodgson
Arteta may be pleased that VAR is not in use at this stage of the Carabao Cup, and all eyes will be on Peter Bankes who takes charge of tonight’s match against Ipswich.
This season Arsenal hope to arrest a startling League Cup record. It has been 33 years since they last lifted the trophy, during which time they have been runners-up seven times. Losing last year’s final will have also added fuel to Arsenal’s fire, and Arteta may resolve he must field a strong starting XI. In fact, he may not have much choice in his backline as Ben White has emerged as a serious injury doubt after picking up an injury at the Stadium of Light and may join Cristhian Mosquera and William Saliba on the treatment table. This would likely mean starting Jurriën Timber, who is only just returning from a long-term groin issue. There is more scope for rotation in advanced positions, with Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze and Mikel Merino contenders to start.
A 90th-minute Zian Flemming winner against Crystal Palace on Saturday helped Gary O’Neil’s Ipswich to their second win in four Premier League games, a feat they required 16 matches to achieve the last time they were in the top flight. Heavy investment into Ipswich’s squad has proved fruitful thus far, though in-form striker Emersonn is expected to sit out tonight having taken a knock at Selhurst Park.
Team news is expected imminently.
Source: “AOL Sports”
