Arsenal's League Cup Challenge at Ipswich Town

Arsenal’s long wait for League Cup glory resumes in Suffolk on Tuesday night, with the Premier League champions walking into a Portman Road brimming with noise, optimism and a newly promoted side that has forgotten how to be overawed.

Mikel Arteta’s team arrive on a surge. Six wins from six in all competitions, five clean sheets, and a control of matches that feels ominously familiar. Yet this is the Carabao Cup, a competition that has repeatedly slipped through Arsenal’s fingers since Paul Merson and Steve Morrow dragged them to the trophy in 1993. Four finals lost since then, the latest against Manchester City last season, still sting.

The drought hangs over them. So does the sense that this year, with a deep, expensively assembled squad, they have fewer excuses than ever.

Portman Road under the lights

Ipswich Town vs Arsenal

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)

Portman Road has waited a long time for nights like this. Ipswich are back in the top flight, back in the conversation, and Gary O’Neil has them playing with the swagger of a side that doesn’t care for reputations.

They’ve taken three wins from their first three games in all competitions this season: an opening Premier League victory over Sunderland, a cup success against Leicester City, and a wild, late comeback against Crystal Palace that felt like a statement. Zian Flemming’s 90th-minute winner in that Palace game detonated the home crowd, coming after Axel Disasi’s first-half red card had turned the contest on its head.

Defensively, though, Ipswich remain open. Nine goals conceded in their last three matches tells its own story. Against this Arsenal, that is a dangerous habit.

There is also a personal subplot. Chuba Akpom, once the bright hope of Arsenal’s academy, could face his boyhood club for the first time. If he starts, every touch will carry a little extra charge.

Team news: rotation and risk

O’Neil’s selection issues are manageable rather than crippling. Jack Taylor (knee) and Azor Matusiwa (thigh) are out, but neither has featured this season. Emersonn came off against Crystal Palace with quad tightness, yet his manager hinted he would probably have been rested anyway. That opens the door for Flemming to lead the line, and he is available despite having already played in this season’s competition for Burnley.

Arsenal’s picture is more complicated. William Saliba’s back problem keeps him out for a couple more months, and Ben White’s groin injury, suffered in the win over Sunderland, adds another concern to Arteta’s defensive puzzle. Cristhian Mosquera is a doubt too.

Arteta is still expected to swing the rotation axe heavily, close to nine changes from the weekend. Kepa Arrizabalaga is set to continue as the designated cup goalkeeper, while Viktor Gyokeres, restless and relentless, is in line to start up front.

This is where Arsenal’s depth should tell. Or expose them, if the rhythm breaks.

Form lines: one side watertight, the other wide open

Ipswich have settled into Premier League life quicker than many expected. They’ve shown they can punch back when rocked, as Palace discovered. But the numbers at the back are stark: no clean sheet yet, and a steady drip of goals conceded that better sides will punish.

Arsenal, by contrast, have tightened the screws. Their 2-0 win at Sunderland on Saturday extended a perfect start that includes the Community Shield. Bruno Guimaraes and Bukayo Saka delivered the second-half goals, while David Raya’s save from a contentious penalty preserved another clean sheet.

Victory at Portman Road would make it seven straight wins to open the campaign, something Arsenal haven’t managed since the 2004-05 season. That team knew how to turn early-season form into fear. This one is trying to do the same.

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

Timber’s return, Hincapie’s left-footed balance, and the possible pairing of Zubimendi and Guimaraes at the base of midfield give Arsenal a very different feel from their usual Premier League XI. It still looks powerful. It also looks like a test of how well-drilled the wider squad really is.

Where to watch

In the United Kingdom, the game will be shown live on Sky Sports+.

Arsenal come chasing a trophy that has taunted them for more than three decades. Ipswich come chasing another scalp, another surge of belief that this return to the elite is no temporary visit. One club wants to end a nagging chapter of its modern history. The other wants to start writing a new one.