Arsenal put on a show of force as a heavily rotated side breezed past Ipswich Town to qualify for the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
The Gunners’ dreams of a historic quadruple began to dissolve last season as they suffered a dismal 2-0 defeat in the final of this competition, but they have made a fine start to their latest run.
Mikel Arteta made nine changes to the side which won at Sunderland last time out, but they hardly skipped a beat at Portman Road.
Arsenal’s strength in depth is no secret, but with Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Cristian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie all missing through injury or management, the north London side were forced to name a makeshift back four. It featured 17-year-old Marli Salmon in the middle with two midfielders, Martin Zubimendi and Myles Lewis-Skelly, lining up as the full-backs.
But they slipped into their new roles with impressive ease. Ipswich enjoyed plenty of possession and found themselves in some threatening positions, but created little against a defence which was just as resolute as ever despite its new personnel.
At the opposite end of the park, Arsenal were ruthless. They scored with their second shot of the evening as the wonderkid Max Dowman reminded the world of his quality. Making his first senior appearance of the season, the 16-year-old danced through the middle of the park before slamming a finish beyond Christian Walton and wheeling away in celebration, netting his first of the evening with seven minutes on the clock.
"The hype will only continue to grow!"
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Max Dowman that is delightful! 👏 pic.twitter.com/UfFY1VSyXn
It was two soon after. The hosts attempted to play out from the back but were caught out by Bruno Guimaraes’ ferocious press. The loose ball fell for Mikel Merino, who lofted a delightful chipped pass for Noni Madueke to power home.
The Tractor Boys, already facing an uphill battle, finally began to come out of their shells, but ended the first half without a shot on target.
Arsenal delivered a hammer blow in the opening moments of the second half, as Dowman met a pass from Zubimendi and finished from a tight angle to make it 3-0. From that point on, it became a question of damage limitation for Ipswich.
They did a respectable job in that regard, with Anis Mehmeti and Chuba Akpom pulling back one each, but only after Mikel Merino had extended Arsenal’s tally to four.
