By Marc Jones
LONDON (Reuters) – Arsenal moved up to second in the Premier League and within six points of Liverpool after a largely trouble-free, if slightly pedestrian, 1-0 win at home to struggling Ipswich Town on a chilly night in North London on Friday.
A first-half goal from Kai Havertz, who pounced on a smart pull-back from Leandro Trossard, proved the winner although the hosts should have scored more goals as the Gunners’ performance failed to provide many pre-New Year fireworks.
Lacking the creativity of the injured Bukayo Saka, it took 19 minutes before Arsenal mustered their first shot although four minutes after that Havertz netted his sixth of the season in all competitions by tapping in Trossard’s whipped cross.
Ipswich had a spell of pressure after 10 minutes of the second half but it proved fleeting and Arsenal should have comfortably put the game to bed after that.
Defender Gabriel Magalhaes missed a golden opportunity to extend his run of scoring from corners when he headed just wide when completely unmarked. Captain Martin Odegaard then blazed over after he danced from midfield into the visitors box.
(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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