Arsenal hammered Ipswich at Portman Road to keep the Premier League title race going for at least a little while longer but there was a scare for the Gunners involving star man Bukayo Saka
Mikel Arteta admitted his heart skipped a beat after the “dangerous” red card tackle which left Arsenal star Bukayo Saka limping.
But the Gunners boss breathed a sigh of relief and revealed the damage is “not too serious” – with Saka hopeful of being cleared to face Paris Saint-Germain in next week’s Champions League semi-final first leg. Ipswich full-back Leif Davis was given a straight red card by referee Chris Kavanagh for the late, stomping challenge after 32 minutes which left Arsenal fans fearing Saka was crocked.
The England winger, who has only just returned from a three-month injury lay-off, was able to continue until 12 minutes after the interval. And after Arsenal’s thumping win nominally kept the title race alive, Arteta said: “He was sore but it’s nothing serious, so that’s positive.
“The referee’s made a decision that it is clear. I haven’t seen the slow-motion replay, I’ve just seen the normal pace image and, yeah, he cuts him from the back. I don’t think it’s intentional at all, but it’s dangerous because he cannot really react to anything and you cannot see him coming.”
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Asked if he was worried when his key forward was writhing on the ground, the Gunners manager admitted: “I do (worry), especially with the numbers that we have right now, because normally it’s the moment when the foot is planted, your weight is there, and you cannot really react to it.”
Arteta was thrilled with the Gunners’ utter domination of the doomed Tractor Boys, with an overwhelming 71-5 count of touches in the opposition box. He said: ”The first 35 minutes were exceptional. We scored two and could have scored three or four. We rotated players and rested players so overall it’s a good afternoon.”
Gabriel Martinelli followed his winner against Real Madrid in midweek with his 50th goal for the Gunners and Arteta added: “He’s in very good form at the moment – full of confidence, looks really sharp and he’s arriving in very dangerous situations with very good timing, which is good to see.”
Two-goal Leandro Trossard led the Gunners rout at Portman Road, which kept Arsenal’s gossamer-thin title challenge alive, and he said: “We are there for a reason and we have been doing very well in the Champions League. It is important for us to keep the momentum going. We have to keep believing.”
Newcastle fan Davis now misses his biggest game of the season – at St James’ Park on Saturday – through suspension. Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna, whose side have now lost 20 of their 33 games after a 22-year wait for Premier League football to return to Portman Road, admitted: “At the time, I didn’t think it was a red card.
“Leif hasn’t got a malicious bone in his body and there was certainly no intent to cause an injury, but when you see it on the replay, it is a high challenge and I can see why the referee gave it, so I can’t really have any complaints. We were at full stretch trying to compete with 11 v 11, but the red card made it almost an impossible task.”
Ipswich will be relegated if they lose at Newcastle or West Ham take a point at Brighton on Saturday, and McKenna reflected: “We could have had more points at this stage, but in too many games where it was tight we have come out the wrong side of fine margins.”
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