After a historic night at the Bernabeu, this win over Ipswich was a cruise for Arsenal and they showed no signs of a hangover.
Given Arsenal’s season is now all about the Champions League, it would be easy for their remaining Premier League games to be a series of flat affairs.
That was not the case at Portman Road, though, and the Gunners were worthy 4-0 winners.
Mikel Arteta went strong with his team, making just three changes from the side that beat Real Madrid 2-1 on Wednesday night, and it felt like this was a nod to what lies ahead.
Arsenal will be without Thomas Partey for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain because he is suspended.
Jorginho is a doubt for the game at Emirates Stadium a week on Tuesday due to a rib injury and it means, not for the first time this season, Arteta must get creative.
Mikel Merino had a deeper role on Sunday
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If this win over Ipswich is anything to go by, the solution will be for Declan Rice to play at the base of midfield.
Rice has played there before, of course, but more recently he has been used in a more advanced role. Indeed, this was the first time he had started as a No6 for Arsenal since January.
The knock-on impact was Mikel Merino dropped into midfield and Leandro Trossard was picked up front.
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The trio all had good games and it feels like Arteta may have the blueprint for how he lines his side up against PSG.
This was a successful dry run, although Ipswich hardly offered much of a test. The hosts did not have a shot on target and Arsenal finished the game with 75 per cent possession.
Nonetheless, there was an impressive fluidity about Arsenal’s play in attack. Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard looked sharp down the right, combining for Leandro Trossard’s opener, while the second goal was even better.
On that occasion, Trossard dropped deep on the right flank and he played in Saka. The winger’s cross found Merino, who had burst into the box, and his deft flick was turned home by Gabriel Martinelli at the back post.
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Merino may have been playing in midfield, but he was still keen to occupy advanced areas and Trossard’s willingness to drift wide allowed him to do so.
With 30 minutes gone, the game already felt dead and the only concern for Arsenal was Saka being on the receiving end of a nasty tackle from Leif Davis.
The Ipswich left-back caught Saka on the back of his Achilles and was shown a red card. Saka managed to come out for the second half, but he was off before the hour mark and sat with ice on his Achilles on the bench.
The second half followed the same pattern as the first as Arsenal struck twice. The third goal underlined why Rice has been playing further forward, as he set up Trossard’s second goal with a great reverse pass.
Rice now has 17 goals and assists combined this season, making it his best campaign when it comes to attacking output.
The fourth came with minutes to go. Ethan Nwaneri, on for Saka, struck with a deflected strike that led to Portman Road emptying.
