Arsenal thrashes Ipswich to delay Liverpool title
A Leandro Trossard brace either side of the break helped Arsenal canter to a dominant 4-0 win over 10-man Ipswich Town at Portman Road, ensuring Liverpool wouldn't celebrate the title for at least another game.
Trossard put the Gunners ahead early on, slipping the ball past Alex Palmer, while Mikel Merino's clever backheel set Gabriel Martinelli up to extend the lead just before the half-hour mark.
Ipswich's day went from bad to worse shortly after when Leif Davis was sent off for a late challenge on Bukayo Saka, leaving the hosts with a mountain to climb and the England star injured.
Saka then saw a flurry of excellent chances go begging at the end of the first half, including a sublime curling effort from the right wing.
The England international was eventually substituted and required strapping to his ankle once taken off.
The Tractor Boys showed little spark beyond a few enthusiastic runs from Julio Enciso and George Hirst as they slumped to their seventh straight home Premier League loss of the year, matching their combined total from 2023 and 2024.
Trossard capped a very one-sided affair with a fine finish in the 69th minute, while Ethan Nwaneri's heavily deflected strike off Dara O'Shea rolled past a helpless Palmer late on.
It is a result that leaves Ipswich 18th, 15 points adrift of safety with five games left to play.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said Saka's injury didn't look to be anything serious.
With the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain just nine days away, Arteta played down the severity of knock.
"He is in a bit of pain, but thankfully it doesn't look anything too serious," Arteta said.
"I didn't see the tackle – it was quite fast. You have to watch it, but it's a good decision from the referee."
Arteta added: "I'm really happy with that performance, especially the way we started the game with 11 against 11.
"The first 35 minutes were exceptional. We scored two and could have scored three or four. After the sending off, the game changed.
"We controlled the game well. We lacked a bit of threat but scored two good goals. We rotated players and rested players, so a good afternoon."
Ipswich, meanwhile, has taken just 21 points from 33 games this term and is 15 points from safety with five matches left to play.
"It was a tough afternoon," Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna said. "The first half an hour was really difficult.
"The game was almost done [at half-time] and we had to show the right values, and we did that. They scored two goals off short corners.
"The opponent was too strong for us today when 11 versus 11, and with 10 men it was almost impossible."
