Ipswich Town v Arsenal - as it happened!

Evening all: All Sky's eyes are on Blackpool v Liverpool, at least on the news channel but they will start coverage of this game at 7.30pm. Ipswich v Arsenal always conjures up memories of Roger Osborne, the 1978 FA Cup winner, and one of Sir Bobby Robson's favourite players, even naming his dog after the goalscorer. Sir Bobby said of him: "Roger was uncomplicated and dependable, and I'll never forget the night at Portman Road when he was asked to mark Johan Cruyff, who was with Barcelona at the time. Cruyff was the best in the world then, but Roger did such a good job that we saw very little of the Dutchman. Roger's game was about keeping it simple, but that didn't mean he wasn't effective. He was, because he was good at what he did." If only Town had someone today to do to Cesc Fábregas, or whoever starts in midfield for what Arsène Wenger promises will be a strong side, what Osborne did to Liam Brady nearly 33 years ago. The last game in this competition between the two was a third-round victory for Ipswich at Highbury in 2000. It wasn't exactly Arsenal's first team, with Rhys Weston, Paolo Vernazza, Graham Barrett and Moritz Volz all starting. Igor Stepanovs – known to my Gooner mate Liam as "Stepahorse" – scored the Gunners' goal while Jamie Clapham and James Scowcroft scored for Ipswich. The last game at Portman Road was a 2-0 victory for Arsenal, Freddie Ljungberg and Thierry Henry scoring. Ipswich have been pretty pish since I saw them beating Leeds in October, seeming to lack a coherent plan. Charlie McParland, in charge tonight with Jimmy Jewell in the stands, has gone for a 4-3-3 according to SSN. I'll let you have the teams as soon as they drop on the wires. Your teams: Ipswich Town: Fulop; Peters, McAuley, Delaney, Kennedy; Edwards, Healy, O'Dea; Norris, Wickham, Priskin. Subs: Lee-Barrett, Smith, Eastman, Civelli, Lambe, Murray, Hourihane. Arsenal: Szczesny; Eboué, Koscielny, Djourou, Gibbs; Denílson, Wilshere; Walcott, Fábregas, Arshavin; Bendtner. Subs: Shea, Vela, Ramsey, Song, Chamakh, Eastmond, Miquel. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) That's how PA have them lined up but maybe O'Dea will play at the back and Kennedy on the wing as he used to do at Millwall before his 57 transfers. Arshavin's an interesting selection. He looked absolutely knackered on Saturday, mentally, and struggling for form. 1978: They've just shown seven seconds of footage from the Cup final. That was a great kit Ipswich had. Must have been among the first Adidas strips in the Football League, them and Nottingham Forest. Let's have a look at that Ipswich formation again: Fulop; Peters, McAuley, Delaney, O'Dea; Norris, Kennedy, Healy; Edwards, Priskin, Wickham. That looks a little better. I think Arsenal's pace will be the key here. On another issue entirely, is Wayne Bridge and his wages what West Ham require with their limited budget? Left-back has been a problem area for them but is it the No1 priority and weren't there any cheaper options, their former one, George McCartney, for one? 1 min: I'm definitely not going to make a scale model of the Goldfinger DB5. Are you? Shooby Taylor asks: "Why is the pitch on fire? Is this an attempt to make the Carling Cup seem important?" Yes, you've never experienced League Cup football if you haven't experienced it with fireworks and parachutists. Ipswich kick off and Wilshere careers forward before Arsenal retain possession by going backwards and then playing it to Arshavin down the left, who plays in Wilshere but his cross goes straight into Fulop's hands. 3 min: "Are you sure that is Jimmy Jewell in the stands? :-) (He of Nearest and Dearest? He died in 1995.) And Arshavin: He did indeed look jaded last week. Perhaps the idea is to help him regain his zest with a match against 'weak' opposition?" writes Colum Farrelly. Yes, I was trying to see if anyone as old as me was reading this. It's all Arsenal, trademark possession and probing until Norris gets the ball and splits the left-back and Koscielny to get the ball to Edwards on the right. His cross goes out for a corner, which is overhit and goes out for a throw. 5 min: Portman Road is rocking but just as Ipswich get a chance to keep the ball, O'Dea absolutely blasts a chipped pass into touch. 7 min: Peters has just played another ball between Koscielny and Gibbs, again too strong, but it looks like a strategy. Bendtner executes neat control and a turn from the goalkick and wins a free kick 30 yards out. 8 min: Fabregas crossed from the free-kick to the far left side of the box and Arshavin hits it first time on the volley and slices wide. he had so much space he could have had a touch – just like Bendtner could v Leeds on Saturday. 10 min: "Bendtner is another interesting given that he's, well, not very good. Certainly talks a good game - as a Gunner, I just wish that he could head the ball like Alan Smith. Still, my pining for 90s Arsenal players doesn't stretch as far as Chris Kiwomya." Thanks Chris Langmead. Once saw Kiwomya have a very good game for Arsenal, on New Year's Day I think against Wimbledon. But neither he or Jason Dozzell flourished in north London. Good backheel from Gibbs on the left of Ipswich's box and a cross to Fabregas who rolled in Denilson to shoot from 20 yards and his shot is charged down. 12 min: Bendtner to me is as infuriuating as Senderos used to be. They have all the tools to be very good players but just don't get there. Denilson throws away possession with an errant pass but Edwards gives it straight back to Arsenal but their attack peters out when Eboue gets it on the right and Ipswich push out. 14 min: Wickham takes a Delapesque long throw, flicked on at the near post and although Arsenal clear it drops to Edwards on the edge of the area and he shoots. It's blocked but goes back to Ipswich who take one touch too many and Arsenal burst forward. They can't keep the ball, though, and Edwards gets free, this time on the left, and hits a fine curling shot from wide on the left past the far post. 16 min: Thanks for your West Ham emails, I'll try to answer them at half-time. Walcott's cross cum shot goes out and Arsenal resort to trying to pass their way through the middle after Ipswich waste the throw. Seven men behind the ball for Ipswich, though, and Arsenal are thwarted. Tom Twining-Ward says: "Give Bendtner a break Rob FFS. The bloke is a decent player, back from a long injury break and about to establish himself in the first XI." All I said was that he hadn't got there yet. It was your fellow Arsenal fan who wasn't impressed. 20 min: Here's Gary Naylor: "The received wisdom is that the fancy dan Londoners can't adapt to playing oop North, but there must be as many Northerners fail to flourish in London. To your two, I can add Chris Armstrong (except for the hat-trick I saw him score vs Everton). Any more?" Marco Gabbiadini? Brian Kidd at Arsenal? Ray Hankin at Arsenal? Any road Arsenal are doing well up their left but this time Gibbs' raid is almost undone when Arshavin just fails to fin Fabregas. The ball flies up the other end and Szcezsny has to boot it out in the left-back position. 22 min: Arsenal win a corner, taken by Wilshere, that goes beyond Bendtner to the far post but Fabregas then plays Gibbs back in and he wins a corner with a defelected cross. Djourou fouls in the area when trying to wina header and Ipswich get a free kick. 24 min: Ipswich are defending very well as Arsenal look for space by pulling players out of position with rapid passing. "Rob, the first thing that I happened to read here, after I'd absent-mindedly scrolled down the page a little, was that bit there in the preamble, where you speculate on just which were the first kits to be put-out by Adidas in the league. I immediately guessed that it was you writing the MBM tonight. I don't which of us should be the more worried." I am a little predictable, Tom, with my Trefoil obsessions. Check out Keith Wildman on Sabotage Times for someone who's far worse than me. 26 min: Eboue up the right chased by Wickham all the way. It may look like 4-3-3 on paper but the wide Ipswich players are tucking in when Arsenal have the ball and covering loads of ground. Doug, "cross cum shot", means I don't know which of the two he was trying to do. 28 min: And speaking of Sabotage Times, here's its editor James Brown. "Ipswich fans who fear a thrashing tonight might take some solace from this man - who went from fighting Muhammad Ali to fighting a bear - at least the they're only playing Arsenal tonight and not a Grizzly ." Short free kick from Arsenal, cleared. Am I dreaming or didn't Eboue make a very decent start as Arsenal right back before they bought Sagna? 30 min: Priskin gets in behind Djourou as the ball is swept to the left but Djourou closes him down then holds him up, making him cut back to Wickham who belts a shot from 20 yards that's defelected wide for a corner. They go again for a far-post corner and McAuley gets the second ball and loops a header over. 32 min: An Ipswich defender spins a header back to Fulop that he has to backpedal and catch on the line. He then kicks it straight up the other end to Szcezsny who punts it up and Walcott hits a low shot that Fulop saves low to his left. 34 min: "What's Gary Naylor on about?" asks Dennis Johns. "Chris Armstong was a goalscoring monster for Crystal Palace, which was why Spurs paid £4.5m for him when that was a vast amount of money (not half a Wayne Bridge). And then he went rubbish." Too true, Dennis. Ipswich press the ball in midfield and Arsenal zip it about, even getting the interceptions back straight away but the long pass to Walcott on the right touchline is overhit and spins out before the little speed merchant can get there. 37 min: Eboue goes down like the proverbial sack of spuds after being obstructed by Mark Kennedy while attempting to get on the end of a one-two. He made Kennedy do it by running straight into him. Fabregas takes 25 yards out to the right and he dollies it straight into the wall. 39 min: "What is this burgeoning fashion for players taking the throw-ins/free kicks/corners that they'd be better being on the end of?" writes Amir Arezoo. "Didier Drogba at Chelsea, and now man (boy?)-mountain Connor Wickham? Birmingham fans can only hope Big Eck doesn't ask Nicola Zigic to punt in the set pieces soon." It is a really puzzling development. Having said that he just puts in a fine cross from the left for Norris which would have been better the other way around and Norris stretches to reach with the top of his head and knocks wide. 42 min: Ipswich free kick after a deflection off the referee set the move off. Takes it with his left, Kennedy, though sending everyone to stand as if he was going to hit it with his right to the other side of the area. Delaney, unmarked, heads across goal but there's no one there. Briliant overhead kick in the back of Arsenal's net from Priskin, I think. He's yards offside, though. 44 min: Wickham's playing very well, a centre-forward working very hard in wide areas, neat touch, particularly adept at crossing. He may be better through the middle. Arsenal free-kick after Walcott is tripped but Ipswich deal with it very comforatably. Fabregas is trying to be too delicate with his delivery from set-pieces so far. He could just smash one for a bit of variety rather than chip it all the time. That's half time Playing very well Ipswich. They've had to defend with care and by throwing men behind the ball from midfield but after 20 minutes they started to take Arsenal on on the counter-attack and have caused them problems. People will say that Arsenal are over elaborating. I don't think they are but they could try the sort of shot that Denílson did in the closing stages against Leeds. Kennedy is dashing to close down Arsenal's central midfielders but I think they have had time to shoot a couple of times but still tried to slip a pass through the centre-backs. The joys of shooting: Here's the Romford Pelé , courtesy of my colleague George Chesterton, to remind Arsenal of something they're lacking tonight. The Gunners among you are not happy. Allan Castle writes: "What is the point of Denilson? Does anyone really believe that if Wenger's job was on the line he'd ever get near the starting XI? His presence in the side is shorthand for B-list fixture. I say this in an attempt to provoke from him an ironic 40 yard leathering of the ball into the top corner." And this from Aidan Gibson: "Looking disinterested, everything he tries not working. I'm not talking about Arshavin, I'm talking about Fabregas, but I'm betting my mortgage he won't get booed the way Arshavin does." From the Suffolk angle, Paul Neilan is feeling nostalgic: "Oh, for a Marcus Stewart, Jamie Scowcroft, David Johnson, Matt Holland, Kieron Dyer, (pre-injury days), Pablo Counago, either of the Benties, or even a Finidi George now …" And Matteo Sereni? Martijn Reuser? Richard Naylor? They are playing well tonight, Paul. 46 min: Ian Melven on the Wayne Bridge loan: "As a West Ham fan I have to say that yes, left back was without a doubt the top priority. So far we've had Gabbidon, the shockingly poor after his first season Ilunga (there are rumors about his age mostly based on the club being mystified at how long he takes to recover), Spector, and yesterday Upson. Although striker is the other problem position Piquionne chips in here and there, Cole is having a mini revival (maybe more of luck than finishing), Hines is back etc. It's definitely a problem just not as much of a problem as not having anyone who is actually a left back to play at left back." Thanks Ian. When you put it like that … Lovely curved pass from Walcott down the right for Bendtner to run on to but O'Dea gets the tackle in and Arsenal throw in. Comes across right to left then back again and Walcott runs into the box then falls over. No penalty. 48 min: Walcott runs along the line of the penalty area, hoodwinks Healy but he's helped out and Ipswich clear. The ball's coming back very quickly at Ipswich's defence, now and Arshavin has a ball to run on to and tries to hook a shot first-time with his left foot but it goes over. 50 min: Here's Sophie Bane to put cats among pigeons: "As a Birmingham fan, I'm rooting for Ipswich. At least then, if we overcome the deficit at St Andrews, we won't have to put up with six weeks of Wenger doing his Martin Taylor propaganda spiel as an excuse for his players diving all over the pitch. For a man obsessed with 'beautiful football', he has a strange attitude to cheating …" Hmmmmm. Koscielny brings down Edwards, the Frenchman the victim of Denilson's hospital pass. Free kick to the near post from Kennedy, headed away by Koscielny. 53 min: Wickham runs 50 yards up the left and leaves Eboue in his wake. He tries to find Priskin, gets another bite and shoots but it's blocked and out for a throw. 55 min: Wickham is what old professionals would call "a player". Seems to have very good control, pace, and good feet. Kennedy hits a 50-yard shot from halfway and Szcezsny scrambles back and catches. Dave Konopka says, inevitably: "I wasn't aware that Birmingham fans were such experts on beautiful football …" GG etc 56 min: Andrew Martin has a plan. David Penney says: "If you double mark all Arsenal players who enter your box, and make sure all your players are taller than them to stop the cross, do Arsenal have a plan C?" Andrew suggests: "What do you think of Arsenal going 4-4-2? Vela on the wing for Denilson. Arshavin tucked in behind Bendtner." As you say I think it's worth a try. Got to do something different. Or get Ramsey on as well for Arshavin and let him play in the hole. 58 min: Now Fabregas spurns an opportunity to shoot in the box and squares it to Bendtner and the ball is cleared. 60 min: I did warn you, Sophie. Allan Castle says: "Sadly for Sophie Bane, the presence of Lee Bowyer in any team automatically confers the moral low ground. Go on, admit it." The man formerly known as LeeBo. It doesn't help the argument. Arsenal caught on the break but Priskin takes the wrong option and shoots instead of finding Wickham who cleared the ball out of his own box then sprinted into the outside right position. 62 min: And now Priskin wastes another opportunity, racing on to a cleareance from Peters as Szcezsny advanced. The lob was on but he let the ball bounce and ended up being crowded out. 64 min: Ipswich are dominating the stats in terms of attempts on goal. Arsenal look too cautious, here, and easily frustrated. Bad pass from Djourou is intercepted and cleared to Priskin who's one v Koscielny and the keeper but Koscielny thwacks the ball into touch. 66 min: It's Bpool 1-1 Lpool if you're interested or on the moon. This move has summed Arsenal up. Denilson gets the ball on halfway, bursts away from Healy and passes to Fabregas who plays a slide rule pass into the box but there's no one there, or ever likely to get there given the weight he put on it. 68 min: Almost a comedy cock-up between Djourou and Szcezsny as the centre-half thought the keeper should come for it. Priskin could have nipped in as Dhourou tried to shepherd it back but pushed the defender's back. Song and Chamakh on for Wilshere and Bendtner. 70 min: Walcott turns and shoots tamely at the keeper. Fulop kicks it up the other end and Szcezsny comes out of the box to pick it up. The referee didn't see it. Then Walcott and Fabregas combine beautifully up the right and Walcott has to try to chip the keeper from quite a tight angle. Fulop stands tall. Corner. Wasted. 72 min: Long pause while Norris gets treatment for a head injury caused when Djourou headed the back of his bonce. Chamakh trips Delaney who chucks himself on the floor and rolls around Eboue fashion. 74 min: Andrew Martin! Very good. "Arshavin tracks back and makes a tackle??!! The invasion of the bodysnatchers has begun!" 75 min: Song now tries Arsenal's 115th attempted defence splitting pass. Strangely it doesn't come off and Ipswich bully it down the other end. Back it comes and Song this time goes wide to Gibbs on the left, brilliant cross that Fabregas can't quite decide whether to head or shoot so he thighs it instead, behind. GOAL!! Ipswich 1-0 Arsenal (Priskin) He's had this sort of chance before, the ball over the top down the middle and this time he takes the right option, throws off Koscielny with a feint and curls the ball inside Szcezsny's left post. Fine finish. 75 min: Well Arsenal were 1-12 to win this tie and they may well do, but they've been feeble tonight. Feeble. And Arshavin comes off to be replaced by Vela. 80 min: Gary Birkett informs me that it's more than 250 minutes since Arsenal scored from open play and goes on to make a joke about Wayne Rooney I'd better not publish for fear of the legal snippers. It would help if they actually had a go at goal every now and again. They've had three. Galahad Threepwood says: "Was that goal after 77 minutes? Same time as Roger Osborne's goal in 1978. Spooky..." 84 min: Blackpool have gone 2-1 up over Liverpool. Here Fulop saves when Walcott is played in behind the right back, having switched wings, by Fabregas's fine pass. He again tries to dink it over Fulop but he stands up and beats it away. 88 min: "Clearly Ipswich had a Plan B tonight," writes Ulto Ryan. "Albeit it he was in the stands. Jewell is Strickland Banks." Arsenal corner and Fabregas hits the first defender. Gibbs knocks it back in and Fulop whacks it straight up the field to Edwards onrushing on the right wing. He drives at the keeper, shoots from a tight angle as he had no other option and Ipswich win a corner. 90 min: Ipswich take off Priskin and replace him with Ronan Murray. Patrick Groden doesn't want the traditional phrases used in the Arsenal post mortem: "Ipswich getting an off-side goal in the first leg of a two-legged tie isn't going to trigger the usual flood of Arsenal cliches, I hope. They've played a mixture of reserves and first teamers while keeping their only two fit centre-backs intact. Not a bad result, especially given that the return leg was unavoidable. Fabregas was right about the intensity though. Arsenal could use a bit more." 90 min +2 : Come off it Patrick. This side lost 7-0 on Sunday. They have played very well tonight and denied Arsenal's "reserves" space. Incidentally Arsenal's real reserves lost 10-1 the other day. Arsene Wenger looks mad as hell because his side have played terribly. Full time: Ipswich 1-0 Arsenal Ipswich deserved the victory whether the goal was offside or not. I'm sure Arsenal will probably win the second leg but that was as poor as I've seen Arsenal play for some time. I think intensity is the key thing they lacked, as Patrick said. But it must be worrying when the best positions Arshavin and Walcott get themselves into demand exceptional skill to score from. You can't expect to flick the ball into the net every time you attempt to a few feet in from the goalline. Well Samir Nasri might, but not them. And try the odd Parlour special. Or Edu purler. Have a pop every now and again. As for Ipswich, well they look a far better side than Roy Keane's travails suggested. Wickham, though stuck out wide, looks very deft. Edwards and Norris run their nads off and Priskin, like Barkis, is willing. The centre-halves threw themselves in front of the ball with real determination, too. Thanks for your emails. Good night.