Two matches, two completely different faces of Arsenal, one conclusion: on we go. First came Sunderland, an away day that could not be won with pretty football but with character. Then Ipswich: wholesale changes, youngsters on the pitch and a game that looked comfortable until it reminded everyone that a rotated side always brings a little more chaos.
Sunderland: three points, no questions about how
At the Stadium of Light, Arsenal found exactly what they expected. Sunderland at home do not step aside; they make you pay for every duel, every second ball and every metre of ground. They wanted, as Shylock would put it, their pound of flesh. They were organised, hard and ready to turn the game into something Arsenal had not fully faced this season.
The first half was difficult to watch. Plenty of combat, little space and the sense that this was a place where bigger teams have fallen. Then, in the second half, came the moment that set the match alight. Sunderland's penalty after the Konsa-Ballard duel did not look like a simple decision. Both were holding each other, Arteta was furious and VAR changed nothing. The referee managed to create enough noise that day without much help from the players.
But Arsenal now have something that does not fit on a tactics board. They have Raya. Enzo Le Fee stepped up and the Spaniard dived left, turning the ball onto the post. It was not just a penalty save. It was the moment the whole team received another life.
Only 121 seconds later, Bruno Guimaraes scored his first Arsenal goal. And what a goal. Rice left him the ball, Bruno struck from distance beneath the crossbar and silenced the stands that had greeted every one of his touches as if he had personally brought defeat to Sunderland. He did not need to explain anything. The ball did it for him.
There was no relaxation after that. Sunderland kept sending long balls, making it physical and searching for an equaliser. Then came the final chaos: Saka was brought down on the counter, Reinildo received his second yellow and Saka calmly turned the stoppage-time penalty into 2-0. Three points. Nobody cared how.
Ipswich: when a kid breaks open a match
Portman Road brought a completely different story. Arteta changed nine players, gave the youngsters room, and then 16-year-old Max Dowman did something that should not look normal for someone his age. In the seventh minute he won the ball, drove at the defence, exchanged passes with Eze, sent his marker to the ground and scored. He did not look like a kid being given an opportunity. He looked like a player who knew the pitch belonged to him.
Noni Madueke made it 2-0, and Dowman scored again straight after the restart, this time from a Zubimendi assist. Merino then added a fourth. Four goals, a place in the next round and enough material for everyone to talk about Dowman for days. Deservedly so. Not because he should be turned into Messi after one game, but because he is 16 and breaks defensive lines without fear or any urge to hide.
Ipswich scored twice at the end and made the scoreboard look a little better. That showed what often happens when a side is mixed, when players take unfamiliar roles and when the rhythm breaks through substitutions. Zubimendi did full-back work, covered where he had to and was part of the move for Dowman's second. Perhaps not every defensive moment was clean, but it is hard to criticise a player for covering half the pitch so others can rest.
Gyokeres started, but he did not become a major part of the game here either. You can see it, and it hurts, because he has quality and Arsenal need him. At times he looks as if he no longer fully believes in the next pass or the next run. Still, the squad is deep, there are many matches and the minutes will come. He should not be buried because of a poor spell. He needs one real moment, one goal or one match to restore what disappears quickest for a striker: the belief that the ball will come to him again.
In the end: 2-0 at Sunderland, 4-2 against Ipswich and progress to the next round. Raya brought a cool head when the heat was highest. Bruno delivered his first strike in an Arsenal shirt. Dowman showed that the future does not wait its turn. And now, if nothing else, some players have been given the rest they needed.
Follow us. On we go.
Cover photo: Mackem16_CVB / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Author: B.