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Arsenal secured a 1-0 win over Ipswich Town at the Emirates, but Mikel Arteta knows it should have been more.
Arsenal managed a 1-0 win over Ipswich Town at the Emirates Stadium in a game where the Gunners had total control for the majority of the contest.
Kai Havertz scored the game's only goal after just 23 minutes, as the German got on the end of a Leandro Trossard cross. Given Mikel Arteta's side's domination, the game had a feeling of a romping in north London, but it didn't eventuate—although it wasn't from a lack of trying.
Gabriel Jesus was ruled offside after he tucked away a neat finish from a tight angle and then Gabriel's header from one yard out somehow missed the target. So, there were ample chances for the Gunners to hammer home their advantage, but they couldn't kill the game off.
In total, 13 shots (five on target) to just three (zero on target) tell the story of Arsenal's dominant performance, but manager Mikel wanted his team to score more—a lot more.
"More, more," Arteta said via arsenal.com. "And we had some big openings as well in the second half when we were a little bit more stretched, they were a little bit more aggressive. The big header of Gabi as well, one yard. So we should have scored more, but, it's the consistency. The team conceded nothing, again. Their defensive behaviour was, again, outstanding. So that’s something that’s always going to give us always the chance to win games."
Missed chances have been a theme this season and had the visitors managed to steal a goal, the post-game narrative wouldn't have been too favorable for the Gunners.
On another day, Arsenal would have hammered three or four home, but at this stage of the season, with a condensed fixture list, it is all about stacking wins, and it doesn't matter how it looks.
Over the last few weeks, the Gunners seem to have found their steel defensively, only conceding three goals in five games. Ipswich didn't even get a sniff at goal, with the Arsenal backline repelling anything and everything the visitors attempted to throw at them.
With Chelsea slipping up against Fulham, the Gunners took full advantage to leapfrog them into second and finished off the year in style.