5 winners (and 3 undeniable losers) from Arsenal's routine win over Ipswich

Arsenal successfully made it through to the next round of the Carabao Cup after beating Ipswich Town 2-4 at Portman Road. It was a routine affair between the two sides, and in the end, Arsenal cruised home with a dominant display on the road.

Going into the game, Mikel Arteta fielded a rotated lineup. Several key players were either missing from the squad entirely or were placed on the bench to begin with. This was intended from Arteta, with the Premier League fixture against Brighton before the international break in mind.

Here is a rundown of the five winners and three losers on the night for Arsenal.

Winner #1 - Max Dowman

Without a shadow of a doubt, Arsenal's best player tonight.

He scored a brace, featuring a magnificent goal in the first half, winning back possession and playing a one-two with Eberechi Eze. He could have easily left it for the more experienced Viktor Gyokeres, but he didn't; he continued his stride and finished with great aplomb.

On his first start of the season, Dowman stole the show with a plethora of great touches. Every time he dons the Arsenal jersey, you could quite easily mistake him for Santi Cazorla.

Loser #1 - Viktor Gyokeres

Listen, it's not the end of the world that Gyokeres didn't bring his A-game in the Carabao Cup. Arsenal fans have already forgiven him for tonight's performance.

However, he was Arsenal's worst player. In quite a flurry of attacks, particularly in the first half, Gyokeres hardly got a sniff of the ball.

Tonight's start could have kickstarted something special for him in what has been an otherwise slow start to the season; however, he only solidified his place as Arsenal's second-choice striker.

Winner #2 - Bruno Guimaraes

A special, special performance from Bruno Guimaraes, where he showed a completely different element to the screamer he scored at the Stadium of Light.

Against Ipswich, Bruno controlled the game. In just 64 minutes, he completed 82 passes for the Gunners and proved that he is capable of filling pretty much any midfield role he's tasked with filling. That is, quite literally, music to Arteta's ears.

Loser #2 - Eberechi Eze

You could see that he was trying, which is at least more than we can say for Gyokeres. He also wasn't dreadful, which again, is more than we can for Gyokeres.

However, Eze's performance was stale. He did little to harm Arsenal, but he also did nothing to help them. The assist that he got was essentially a gift to him from Dowman.

Winner #3 - Noni Madueke

Noni Madueke's main criticism is that he lacks an end product. He proved that he is capable of doing so tonight with an excellent finish from a tough angle.

Madueke rarely gets a start for Arsenal, but he didn't waste this one. Of course, Arteta won't rush to rotate Bukayo Saka out, but it's always a nice reminder that Madueke, who would start for most Premier League clubs, is there for Arsenal to call on.

Loser #3 - Kepa Arrizabalaga

Nobody expects him to take David Raya's throne anytime soon, but Mikel Arteta very quickly learned what he should have learned last season: Kepa is not good enough to play for Arsenal, at any level.

His attempts at saving were not disastrous, but he conceded twice to a team that only produced 0.72 xG. That's not a great showing, and unfortunately, one that puts his place as Arsenal's second-choice in jeopardy. Some would even argue Illan Meslier is a better choice to play backup to Raya.

Winner #4 - Marli Salmon

He's been on the cusp of the first team for a while, and he did absolutely nothing to harm his reputation tonight.

An assured performance, both on and off the ball, proved that Salmon is capable of being drafted in whenever he's required. He played at centre-back and protected Kepa well, but he was more than capable of drifting out to the right to help Martin Zubimendi.

Winner #5 - Martin Zubimendi

Martin Zubimendi was tasked with replacing Ben White, whose injury is being assessed as we speak.

As everybody expected, Zubimendi put in a comfortable display. He was often the outlet to receive the ball in defence, which led to much of Arsenal's play being out on the right.

Jurrien Timber is available to face Brighton at the weekend, so Zubimendi shouldn't make two appearances at right-back in a row, but hey, Arteta loves defensive depth, and he's got even more of that now.

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