Arsenal defeated Ipswich 1-0 on Friday to take second place in the Premier League and cut Liverpool’s lead to six points, marking the start of their existence without Bukayo Saka.
Arsenal failed to convert their dominance into a more convincing scoreline, and Kai Havertz scored the lone goal.
Although Mikel Arteta’s team may not win a league title for the first time in over two decades due to their lack of a clinical goal scorer, they became Liverpool’s closest rival on Thursday after Chelsea’s shocking 2-1 loss to Fulham.
According to Gunners manager Arteta, Saka will be out for “several weeks.” There are concerns that the England international may not return until March as a result of a hamstring injury sustained during last weekend’s 5-1 triumph at Crystal Palace.
Arteta’s answer was to start Gabriel Jesus up front after he scored five goals in Arsenal’s last two games, with Gabriel Martinelli in Saka’s typical position wide right.
Although they dominated possession, the home team didn’t have many clear-cut opportunities until the last quarter.
There was relief when Havertz broke the stalemate on 23 minutes after Arsenal’s most recent league match at the Emirates ended in a 0-0 draw with Everton.
Leandro Trossard’s low cross found the German, who poked it high into the net for his 12th goal of the year.
Jesus was ruled offside, but he did hit the net again with a clever finish between Arijanet Muric’s legs from a nearly impossible angle.
Arsenal’s skill with set pieces is widely known, and this season they ought to have increased their number of goals from corners.
At a time when scoring seemed simpler, Gabriel Magalhaes headed point-blank from point-blank range against the outside of the post.
The chances at the other end started to come as Ipswich’s ambition increased as the second half went on.
Earlier in the season, Martin Odegaard had given the home audience a scare by going down with the left ankle that had kept him out for two months due to injury.
But with a frantic run and a strong strike that Muric turned over, the Arsenal captain was soon back on his feet and slicing through the Ipswich defense.
Dara O’Shea stopped Declan Rice’s strong shot from the next corner.
To guarantee a nerve-wracking conclusion, Havertz then squandered a fantastic opportunity for his second, and Muric made another save from Mikel Merino.
However, Arsenal persevered, moving ahead of Chelsea and Nottingham Forest to take second place.
Ipswich is still three points from safety and in second place.
Brighton’s bad run continued with a 0-0 draw at home against Brentford, missing the opportunity to close within one point of the top five.
Even though the Seagulls have lost their last six games, they are still two points ahead of their rivals.
Early on, Brentford’s Yoane Wissa put the ball in the net, but a VAR assessment declared the goal offside.
Brentford needs just two away points this season to move up to eleventh place, ahead of Tottenham.