Arsenal made it harder than it should have perhaps been against Ipswich Town in their final match of 2024. A single goal from Kai Havertz was enough to grab all three points and bring second place up once again, clawing themselves above Chelsea and looking up only at Liverpool.
It was a game that lacked the spice that was maybe what Arsenal might indeed be like without Bukayo Saka. The Gunners lost their star man at Crystal Palace and there is an expectation that he will be out for a significant period of time too.
It was Gabriel Martinelli that was given the task of filling the right wing position on the night and the Gunners goal did come from an initial cross from the Brazilian, eventually reversed back by Leandro Trossard for Havertz to finish gratefully. Yet there was a longing for Martinelli to take the game that one step further, beat his man more and drive – to be fair to him that was present in the first half but faded as the game went on.
What was most telling before a ball was even kicked however was the lack of depth for the front line. As line-ups were announced, Mikel Arteta did not name a single forward player on the bench with both the aforementioned Saka and Raheem Sterling out injured.
Ethan Nwaneri offered the only real attacking change but he is more naturally a central player than a forward. Add to that the fact he sat as an unused substitute with only Mikel Merino and Thomas Partey coming on to help close out the clash and it paints a bleak picture in terms of options.
The hope was that the 17-year-old might be exposed to even more minutes with Saka absent, yet this appears to indicate that might not be the case. However, after Arteta confirmed post-match that Saka is expected to miss more than two months, there is plenty of time for the Spaniard to lean into Nwaneri getting time.
