Arsenal sinks Ipswich to move into second spot
Kai Havertz scored the only goal as Arsenal climbed to second on the Premier League table with a narrow 1-0 victory over Ipswich Town.
The German's seventh strike of the season proved enough for the hosts at Emirates Stadium, while condemning their opponents to a fifth defeat in six matches.
Arsenal broke the deadlock midway through the first half with Havertz in the right place to turn in Leandro Trossard's inviting cross.
Gabriel Magalhaes saw a golden opportunity go begging when he headed wide from three yards out just after the hour mark, but the Gunners were untroubled as they eased to victory.
Mikel Arteta's side leapfrogged Chelsea and Nottingham Forest to move into second place, six points behind leader Liverpool, albeit having played an additional game.
Ipswich, meanwhile, remains 19th, three points adrift of 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Despite the defeat, Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna described the performance of his side as a "step in the right direction".
"We didn't hit our levels against Newcastle," he said. "We knew today we had to be resilient and we did that. It was important that we ended the game solidly and we feel we can be compact.
"We'll take confidence from that. The way we turned the momentum to put the game in a good position for us, I think is something to take confidence from.
"I think we can. Some of our defending was good and we'll need that on Monday against Chelsea."
Ipswich attempted just three shots in the match, the seventh time a team has managed three or fewer efforts in the Premier League this season.
Three of those instances have been against Arsenal, all of them coming in December, with Fulham and Everton limited to two shots apiece.
McKenna added: "The players worked really hard and we got the game to a good place in the second half after a good 20 minutes.
"Early on we were pinned in and couldn't get out, but to where we were after 89 minutes, I was really pleased.
"In the first half it was only the goal where I thought we needed to defend better.
"We were resilient and compact when we needed to be. Arsenal spent a lot of the first half in our defensive third but were unable to penetrate."
