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. Max Dowman turned on the style for Arsenal in the win at Ipswich Credit: Getty He scored twice and also grabbed an assist Credit: Getty 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. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! 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. Arteta wants to be patient with the 16-year-old, yet that will prove difficult if the teenager keeps turning in performances like this one. Dowman scored twice and had a hand in both other goals, scored by Noni Madueke and Mikel Merino. All of that came before the hour mark, and it was only shortly after when Ipswich had some joy themselves thanks to Anis Memheti and Chuba Akpom’s goals. Those moments were footnotes, though, on Dowman’s stunning display – which was perfectly timed. Most read in Football BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK 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. Arsenal ratings vs Ipswich: Dowman draws Messi comparisons as Merino shows why Gyokeres has been frozen out ARSENAL cruised into the fourth round of the League Cup as they brushed Ipswich Town aside in a 4-2 win. Mikel Arteta made nine changes to his side that beat Sunderland at the weekend, but his heavily-rotated squad still looked like the business at Portman Road. The Gunners were in control from the off as teen sensation Max Dowman opened the scoring after seven minutes with a terrific solo goal. The teen sensation bagged a second later in the game alongside goals from Mikel Merino and Noni Madueke. Arteta will have been chuffed with his team’s showing as they barely had to get out of second gear to find the result. Here SunSport Arsenal reporter Joshua Hall rates each individual Arsenal performance… 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. Dowman got things going after six minutes Credit: Getty Noni Madueke flashed in the second Credit: Reuters Mikel Merino turned in No4 to put the game to bed Credit: Getty Anis Mehmeti pulled one back for the Tractor Boys Credit: Getty The night belonged to Dowman – just days after being left out of the trip to Sunderland Credit: Getty Mikel Arteta watched his side ship two goals late on Credit: Reuters 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. By that point, however, the damage had already been done by Dowman and Arsenal’s ‘cup team’. On the evidence of this performance, they will take some stopping. Comment now