Ipswich 2 Arsenal 4: Max Dowman bags two sublime goals as Gunners breeze past Tractor Boys

IF this is Arsenal’s ‘cup team’, no wonder people have them nailed on to retain their Premier League crown.

Mikel Arteta made nine changes for this trip to Ipswich, but you would have never known it.

The starting XI was still worth around £375million and there was also £225m of firepower on the bench, too.

Not that the Gunners needed it as they cruised to a 4-2 win that booked them a spot in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

It was a brutal demonstration of how strong Arsenal’s squad is this season and why Arteta has no reason not to rotate.

That is especially the case when he has a talent like Max Dowman on his hands.

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In the build-up to this clash, Arteta had stressed the youngster would have to “earn” his place after a breakout campaign last season.

The Spaniard has been true to his word in that sense, and this was Dowman’s first start of the term.

He seized the opportunity and will surely get plenty more chances, especially if Arsenal go deep in the domestic cups.

Arsenal reached the final of the Carabao Cup last season before losing to Manchester City, and you’d be a brave man to bet against them doing so again.

This was a ‘cup team’ that had a midfield pair of Bruno Guimaraes and Mikel Merino sitting behind Dowman.

The teenager was flanked by Eberechi Eze and Madueke, while Viktor Gyokeres led the line ahead of him.

If there was one area of weakness it was, perhaps, in defence – where Arsenal’s yearly injury curse has already struck.

Ben White and Piero Hincapie missed out on this squad due to injury, while Jurrien Timber was absent as he is being eased back in after groin surgery this summer.

It meant the back-four picked by Arteta had midfielders Martin Zubimendi and Myles Lewis-Skelly as the full-backs.

The relief for them is that this was at least a much-changed Ipswich side, too, with boss Gary O’Neil swapping out ten of the team that won at Crystal Palace last weekend.

Premier League safety is, of course, the Tractor Boys’ priority and so there was always going to be mass rotation from the hosts.

The omens were not good for Ipswich anyway, as they had lost 14 of their previous clashes with Arsenal – including six of their last seven without scoring.

In fact the last time Ipswich beat Arsenal was January 2011, less than a fortnight after Dowman had celebrated his first birthday.

And it was Dowman that sparkled during a fast start from Arsenal, which put them in control.

The teenager was on the scoresheet within seven minutes thanks to a moment of brilliance.

Dowman won the ball in midfield, left defender Cedric Kipre on the floor with a devastating dummy and then found the net by sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.

The teenager was involved in Arsenal’s second goal, showing that he is happy to do the grunt work.

Dowman pressed Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton and it forced him to play a loose pass, which Guimaraes pounced on.

Merino’s dinked pass then found Madueke, who coolly finished into the bottom corner after taking a touch.

Arsenal threatened to run riot from there, but Ipswich deserve credit for battling back.

Zian Flemming was a handful up top and Marli Salmon, 17, enjoyed a great battle with him on a night when the teenager would have learned a lot.

He kept things locked down at the back and, at the other end, his good friend Dowman weaved his magic.

Two minutes into the second half, Dowman had his second as he coolly finished off a slick move inside the box.

Not content with that, the teen ace grabbed an assist before the hour mark as his flick ended with Merino firing home from the edge of the box.

By that point it felt like there was nothing Ipswich could do to stop Dowman, who seemed so at ease for someone who did their GCSEs this summer.

But the hosts, at least, had something to cheer about as ex-Gunners man Akpom’s deflected effort found the net in injury time after Mehmeti had pulled a goal back in the 62nd minute.