After Chelsea's surprise defeat in the final moments against Fulham on Thursday (1-2), Arsenal had a golden opportunity to seize Liverpool's runner-up place this Friday against Ipswich. And the Gunners did not miss it, despite the absence of Bukayo Saka (hamstring).
Dominant throughout the match against a relegated team which has suffered four defeats in its last five matches, Mikel Arteta's men still struggled to create real chances. But the resident of the Emirates Stadium was able to find the fault in the first half thanks to Kai Havertz. After excellent work and a delicious ball from Leandro Trossard, the German striker only had to put his foot in opposition to shoot Arijanet Muric in his last five meters (23rd, 1-0).
In search of confidence, Gabriel Jesus even thought of doubling the stake around ten minutes later after another caviar from Trossard. But the Brazilian striker left too early, forcing the assistant referee to raise his flag to signal offside (34th). The Londoners then pushed in the second half to make the break but lacked precision against the opposing goals, notably through Gabriel (63rd) and Declan Rice (74th). We will ultimately leave it there for both teams.
With this victory, Arsenal relegates Chelsea to one point and remains six points behind Liverpool, alone in the lead with one more match to play. Ipswich still occupies 19th place, three points from the first non-relegation place, Wolverhampton. Earlier in the evening, Brighton (10th) and Brentford (11th) neutralized each other in a mid-table duel, despite a clear domination of the hosts (24 shots to 8). Boxing Day will continue from Sunday with the 19th day of the Premier League, which will conclude the year of English football.
