Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Ipswich Town: Gunners Overwhelm Tractor Boys in Carabao Cup

Arsenal are hunting for more trophies this season and took no time staking their claim in the Carabao Cup.

They opened play in round three with a 4–2 victory over fellow Premier League team Ipswich Town on Tuesday night, although the scoreline doesn’t depict how much Arsenal overwhelmed the now-eliminated hosts.

The heavily-rotated Gunners were led by 16-year-old Max Dowman, who danced around Portman Road and scored a brace. Noni Madueke also got on the board, a creative force all evening in a compelling bid for more minutes this season. Mikel Merino scored Arsenal’s fourth of the night, as the Spaniard blasted a left-footed shot from the top of the box.

It was an emphatic thrashing until around the hour mark, when perhaps Arsenal got bored and bit careless on defense. Ipswich managed to score two late consolation goals that manager Mikel Arteta will not be happy about.

One Thing We Can’t Ignore

shaking hands — Noni Madueke (left) and Mikel Merino (right) are two depth players that starred for Arsenal on Tuesday. | David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

No matter which team Arteta fields, this Arsenal side is dominant, meticulously disciplined in its defensive shape (until boredom) and clinical in moments to attack. More than anything else, it’s the Gunners’ depth and ability to maintain these standards no matter who is on the pitch that yield promise for another silverware-laden year.

Arteta made several wholesale changes to his starting lineup from Saturday’s outing at Sunderland, fielding nine new players with 10 positional changes, accounting for Myles Lewis-Skelly’s move from midfield back to left back for the first time since the spring.

It cannot be ignored that perhaps Ipswich Town is not the strongest of sides to test Arsenal’s depth, yet the newly-promoted team has held its own in the Premier League thus far, dishing a 3–2 upset to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park over the weekend. Ipswich also thumped Leicester City of League One 3–1 in route to this round of the Carabao Cup.

Arteta will walk away from Portman Road with even greater confidence in his bench and with a promise of longevity, even if the team’s ability to keep its foot on the gas must be squared away.

Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1)

zubimendi dribbling — Martín Zubimendi got his first start of the season at an unusual right back position. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga—6.5: Wholly untested in his first start of the regular season.

RB: Martín Zubimendi—8.0: Solid outing, especially in his one-vs-one defending, despite his first start in an unusual position. Assisted Dowman’s second. Was burned for Ipswich’s first goal of the night.

CB: Marli Salmon—7.2: The 17-year-old proved Arteta right for giving him a bit more responsibility. Wasn’t panicked under pressure.

CB: Gabriel—7.0: Confident mentor and partner for Salmon on the backline. Had a nice sweeping tackle in the box in the 32nd minute.

LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly—6.6: First appearance at left back since April. Drifted inside on occasion to ignite passing sequences. His versatility will continue to be relied upon in the pursuit of multiple pieces of hardware.

CM: Bruno Guimarães—7.4: Struggled to turn and generate forward movement with the ball at times. When he did, his services were lackluster.

CM: Mikel Merino—8.3: Strong midfield anchor in his second start of the season. Had more success than Guimarães at breaking lines. Assisted Madueke’s finish and scored one himself before the hour mark.

RW: Noni Madueke—8.3: So patient and composed on the right wing. Knew he wouldn’t have to wait long to find the back of the net, scoring his first of the season.

AM: Max Dowman—9.1: The 16-year-old made his first senior start of the season. Needed just six minutes to open his account for 2026–27. Brilliant services into the final third.

LW: Eberechi Eze—7.8: Spent a lot of time defending. Couldn’t generate as many chances as his attacking counterparts; however, it was his quick exchange that led to Dowman’s first of the night.

ST: Viktor Gyökeres—6.8: Underwhelming on the front line, beat to the ball and aerially on multiple occasions. Didn’t get a shot off until the stroke of halftime, and it proved to be his only one.

SUB: Ezri Konsa (46’ for Gabriel)—6.3: Was at the scene of both of Ipswich’s goals.

SUB: Theo Julienne (64’ for Guimarães)—6.5: The 18-year-old struggled to make his mark.

SUB: Martin Ødegaard (76’ for Madueke)—6.2: Wasn’t really needed, but always fun for Arsenal to have on the pitch.

SUB: Christos Tzolis (76’ for Eze)—6.2: Took the opportunity to shake out his legs after a disappointing outing against Sunderland.

SUB: Ife Ibrahim (85’ for Zubimendi)—N/A

Subs not used: Illan Meslier (GK), Riccardo Calafiori, Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz

What the Ratings Tell Us

dowman celebrating goal — Max Dowman dazzled on Tuesday. | David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

“Max will have his chance,” Arteta said this week. “He will have his minutes and he will have to earn them like anybody else.” Max Dowman did exactly that on Tuesday, walking away with a two-goal performance. The 16-year-old was a creative force throughout the center of the park in his first minutes of the new season. He jumbled Ipswich’s lines with his quick, dynamic movements, while combining brilliantly with Madueke on the right wing to penetrate the final third. He needed just six minutes to get on the board, using two quick touches to dance past Ipswich center back Cédric Kipré and blast a right-footed shot. He added his second of the night early into the second half, a skillful left-footed stroke. Dowman is just the second 16-year-old to have a two-goal performance for a Premier League team in any competition,

per Opta Joe, following in the footsteps of a young Wayne Rooney, who scored in a League Cup match in 2002 for Everton against Wrexham.

Fellow Arsenal U21 star, Marli Salmon, also made the most of his opportunity. The 17-year-old center back was calm in transition and under pressure with the ball at his feet. He connected brilliantly with both Zubimendi and Gabriel. As Arsenal continue to define themselves by their stellar defensive capabilities, Salmon will soon play a key part in what that means.
World Cup-winning midfielder Martín Zubimendi lined up in an unusual right back position, indicative of the depth Arteta already has in the center of the park. Zubimendi handled himself well on the right side—his defensive strengths translated well; however, he was burned in the second half to gift Ipswich a consolation goal. The future remains uncertain as ever for Zubimendi.

The Numbers That Explain Arsenal’s Emphatic Win

Arsenal were clinical in their attempts, well-exceeding their 0.95 xG. Dowman in particular was clinical, capitalizing twice on just three total shots—the joint-most taken by any Arsenal player.
The Gunners ended the match with four big chances, having made the most of every single one of them.
On the flip side, though, Arsenal handed Ipswich, who walked away with just a 0.72 xG, two free goals.
Arsenal may have been ruthless, but they did it in the nicest way possible, not shown a single yellow card.

Statistic	Ipswich	Arsenal
Possession	41%	59%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.72	0.95
Total Shots	8	12
Shots on Target	3	6
Big Chances	1	4
Pass Accuracy	85%	89%
Fouls Committed	11	13
Corners	3	2

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