Arsenal delivered a commanding 4-0 victory over a beleaguered Ipswich Town side in the Premier League on Easter Sunday, delaying Liverpool’s title celebrations and pushing the Tractor Boys closer to relegation. The Gunners, buoyed by their midweek Champions League triumph over Real Madrid, showcased their attacking prowess and defensive solidity at Portman Road, with Leandro Trossard stealing the show with a brace.
From the opening whistle, Arsenal asserted their dominance, with Mikel Arteta’s side displaying the intensity and precision that has kept them in the Premier League’s top tier. The breakthrough came in the 13th minute when Trossard latched onto a pinpoint pass from Martin Ødegaard, drilling a low shot past Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmer to open the scoring. The Gunners’ relentless pressure paid off again in the 27th minute, as Gabriel Martinelli doubled the lead with a clinical finish, courtesy of a brilliant backheeled assist from Mikel Merino.
The game tilted decisively in Arsenal’s favor just past the half-hour mark when Ipswich’s Leif Davis was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Bukayo Saka, reducing the hosts to 10 men. The away fans taunted the Ipswich faithful with chants of “We’ll never play you again!” as the Tractor Boys’ survival hopes dwindled.
In the second half, Arsenal continued their onslaught. Trossard added his second in the 68th minute, capitalizing on a swift counter-attack to make it 3-0. The rout was completed in the 87th minute when young star Ethan Nwaneri, introduced as a substitute, scored his first Premier League goal of the season, slotting home under pressure from Dara O’Shea to seal a comprehensive victory.
Arsenal’s attacking fluidity was on full display, with Ødegaard and Merino dictating play in midfield. Merino’s audacious backheel for Martinelli’s goal was a highlight, underlining his growing importance to Arteta’s system. Trossard, leading the line in the absence of injured strikers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, was a constant menace, earning praise from Arteta post-match: “Our first 35 minutes were exceptional, we scored two and could have scored more.”
Despite the scoreline, Ipswich showed brief moments of resilience. George Hirst came close to pulling one back early in the second half, but his effort narrowly missed the target. However, with only one home league win all season and a club-record seventh consecutive home defeat, Kieran McKenna’s side face an almost insurmountable 14-point gap to safety with just six games remaining.
Arteta took the opportunity to blood young talent, with Nathan Butler-Oyedeji making his Premier League debut and Kieran Tierney marking his 100th top-flight appearance off the bench. The substitutions allowed Arsenal to maintain their intensity while giving valuable minutes to fringe players ahead of their upcoming Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
For Arsenal, the win strengthens their grip on second place, extending their lead over third-placed Newcastle to seven points. While the Premier League title appears destined for Liverpool, who lead by 13 points, Arsenal’s focus remains on securing Champions League qualification and building momentum for their European campaign. Arteta emphasized the need for consistency: “We need to start to win football matches in the Premier League to at least maintain the position that we are in.”
Ipswich, meanwhile, are staring down the barrel of an immediate return to the Championship. Their solitary Premier League home win this season—against Chelsea in December—feels like a distant memory, and with key players like Liam Delap starting on the bench, their attacking threat was limited. The Tractor Boys now need a miracle to avoid relegation, with their next five matches critical to their faint survival hopes.