Arsenal's Pursuit of the League Cup Resumes at Ipswich

Arsenal’s long wait for a League Cup feels strange now. Premier League champions, serial contenders in Europe, yet still chasing a trophy they last lifted when Paul Merson and Steve Morrow were running the show in 1993.

On Tuesday night, that pursuit resumes at Portman Road.

A champions’ test in a rising ground

Mikel Arteta takes his side to Ipswich Town on the back of six straight wins in all competitions, a start that has echoed the ruthless edge of Arsenal’s best modern seasons. They have five clean sheets from six, the Community Shield included, and a 2-0 win at Sunderland at the weekend that barely flickered their pulse, even with a contentious penalty decision that David Raya turned away.

But Portman Road is no soft landing.

Gary O’Neil’s Ipswich are back in the Premier League and back with a bit of bite. Promotion has not blunted them. They’ve beaten Sunderland in the league, knocked Leicester City out of this competition, and then staged a wild, late comeback against Crystal Palace, Zian Flemming slamming home a 90th‑minute winner after Axel Disasi’s first-half red card turned the game.

Confidence is rising. The defending is not. Ipswich have yet to keep a clean sheet this season and have conceded nine goals in their last three games. Against this Arsenal, that is a dangerous habit.

Old scars, old ties

Arsenal’s relationship with this trophy is a story of near-misses. Four finals lost since that 1993 win, the most recent defeat coming against Manchester City last season. For a club that has learned how to win again, the Carabao Cup remains an itch they haven’t quite scratched.

Ipswich know what it feels like to bloody Arsenal’s nose in this competition. The clubs have met only once before in the League Cup, a 2010-11 semi-final. The Tractor Boys grabbed a famous 1-0 win in the first leg at Portman Road, only for a 3-0 defeat at the Emirates to end the dream.

There is also a personal twist. Chuba Akpom, the Ipswich striker and former Arsenal academy product, could line up against his boyhood club for the first time. For him, this tie is more than a checkpoint in a busy schedule.

Team news: rotation and risk

The details:

• Date: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
• Kick-off: 20:00 BST
• Venue: Portman Road
• Referee: Peter Bankes (no VAR)
• Last meeting: Arsenal 4-0 Ipswich Town (Premier League, April 2025)

O’Neil’s selection picture is relatively clear. Jack Taylor (knee) and Azor Matusiwa (thigh) remain out and have yet to feature this season. Emersonn came off with quad tightness against Crystal Palace, but his manager indicated he would likely have been rested for this one anyway.

That opens the door for Zian Flemming to start through the middle. Crucially, he is eligible for Ipswich in this competition despite appearing earlier in the tournament for Burnley.

Arteta’s options are more complicated. William Saliba is still sidelined with a back problem and is not expected back for a couple of months. Ben White is a fresh concern after limping off with a groin issue against Sunderland, while Cristhian Mosquera is a doubt of his own.

The plan is rotation. Heavy rotation. Arteta is expected to make close to nine changes, leaning on the depth that underpins Arsenal’s title defence. Kepa Arrizabalaga is set to continue as the designated cup goalkeeper, while Viktor Gyokeres is in line to lead the attack, offering a different kind of threat at centre-forward.

Form lines and fault lines

Ipswich’s return to the top flight has been breathless. An opening win over Sunderland, a cup victory over Leicester, then that dramatic late show against Palace. They have shown resilience and ambition, and O’Neil has his side playing on the front foot.

The problem is at the other end. Nine goals conceded in three games tells its own story. Against an Arsenal side that has rediscovered defensive control, any lapse is likely to be punished.

Arsenal arrive with a perfect record this season. At Sunderland, they absorbed the controversy of a debatable penalty, watched Raya save it, then let Bruno Guimaraes and Bukayo Saka settle the contest with second-half goals. It was clinical, almost cold.

Win at Portman Road and Arsenal will stretch their winning start to seven games in all competitions for the first time since 2004-05. That statistic alone hints at the standards they are chasing.

Predicted lineups

Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1, predicted):

• Walton; O’Shea, Diop, Greaves, Davis; Palacios, Nunez; Philogene, Enciso, Maeda; Flemming

Arsenal (4-2-3-1, predicted):

• Kepa; Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Guimaraes; Madueke, Merino, Eze; Gyokeres

Under the lights

The cameras will be there. The match is live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports+, a reminder that this is no quiet early-round tie tucked away in the shadows.

For Ipswich, it is a chance to test their Premier League rebirth against the champions in a cup that still carries memories of giant-killings and long nights. For Arsenal, it is another step in a season that could echo the club’s great eras – if they can finally turn this competition from a curiosity into a habit.

They have waited 33 years to lift this trophy again. How much longer can a team this strong afford to wait?