Mikel Arteta learns Arsenal's true capabilities and key talking points from Ipswich win | OneFootball

Gunners can dream of ending Carabao Cup drought after statement win

Three away matches in a row, three different competitions, and three wins for Arsenal.

If Napoli was a night for patience and Sunderland required the Gunners to roll their sleeves up and fight, this Carabao Cup trip to Ipswich was one to enjoy.

A 4-2 scoreline showcased that. Arsenal were more relaxed in their defending than usual, but those two Ipswich goals came with the match already wrapped up.

Mikel Arteta made nine changes and still his side were dominant. Max Dowman scored a brace and floated around the pitch, while Bruno Guimaraes and Mikel Merino dominated the midfield.

Beat Brighton on Saturday and Arsenal will go into a three-week international break on the back of seven straight wins to start the season.

Dowman responds to Arteta challenge

Arteta sent a clear message to Dowman in his pre-match press conference.

"Max will have his chance," Arteta said. "He will have his minutes and he will have to earn them like anybody else."

This was an emphatic response, a performance that demanded Dowman be given more opportunities in the weeks and months ahead.

Always improving: Max Dowman

PA

His first appearance of the season brought a first goal inside seven minutes. It was a special finish, all composure and class. A slight shimmy was enough to sit Cedric Kipre down and create the space for the finish.

There were similarities to that goal against Everton last season. The close control Dowman possesses is remarkable.

Just after half-time, Dowman controlled the bouncing ball and rolled a calm finish into the far corner to double his tally.

He has been playing U21 football so far this season but Dowman is too good for that. He deserves to be getting Premier League minutes.

As one prodigious talent in JJ Gabriel pushes to leave Manchester United, disillusioned with his place at the club, Dowman continues to look right at home in the Arsenal first team.

Arsenal should be eyeing Carabao Cup glory

No grand predictions should be made based solely on a win over Ipswich, but it is already clear that Arsenal should be eyeing another very deep run in this competition.

The Gunners reached the final of the Carabao Cup last season and there is no reason why they cannot go one better this time.

Arteta made nine changes and still this was a very strong lineup.

Arsenal’s depth options showed their quality against Ipswich

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To rotate that much and still name a midfield of Bruno Guimaraes, Mikel Merino and Dowman, with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Martin Zubimendi inverting, is remarkable depth.

The defence was more of an improvised job, but it was still strong enough even with Jurrien Timber, Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White, Piero Hincapie and William Saliba all unavailable.

Success in the Carabao Cup often comes down to motivation and resources. A stacked Arsenal squad looking to embark on a period of domination in English football has both.

Gyokeres looks lost

Well, he had a shot.

That fact alone represented progress for Viktor Gyokeres on his performance last week when starting against Napoli.

A tame effort rolled at the Ipswich goalkeeper, though, was never going to mask what was a worryingly bad display.

When Gyokeres struggled to settle in this side for large periods of last season, the generous argument in his favour was that Arsenal were not playing to his strengths.

On current evidence, it is hard to make a case for what those strengths would be.

Viktor Gyokeres endured another long night at Portman Road

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His touch is regularly incredibly poor and he cannot combine with team-mates in tight areas. Nor is he finding space in the box and providing those selfish striker qualities that would make up for other shortcomings.

When crosses came into the box, Gyokeres was either wrestling with a defender elsewhere or just not moving. That left Noni Madueke shaking his head more than once.

Even when he was not scoring last season, Gyokeres was working relentlessly off the ball. There were also significant improvements towards the end of the campaign, particularly when it came to using his body.

There is now no sign of those promising signs. Gyokeres looks devoid of confidence and is offering nothing in attack. Arsenal need to desperately hope that Kai Havertz stays fit.