Arsenal have narrowed the gap at the top of the Premiership table to 13 points after they beat Ipswich 1-0 at Highbury. Thierry Henry was the hero for the Gunners after he came off the bench to fire them into the lead in the 68th minute, giving manager Arsene Wenger the best possible news ahead of this week's resumption of the Champions League.
Henry's strike condemned Ipswich to their fifth defeat in a row as they slip further down the Premiership table, currently lying in sixth spot. However, the visitors were somewhat unfortunate because until the Frenchman's introduction into the game, they were coping admirably with everything Arsenal could throw at them. In the first 25 minutes, Ipswich could have been 4-0 down but thanks to the wonderful acrobatic efforts of goalkeeper Richard Wright, they remained very much in the hunt. They even managed some chances of their own when the defensive pairing of Tony Adams and Latvian Igors Stepanovs showed some cracks as the game continued.
Ipswich's recent run of bad luck continued when Gary Croft was forced out of the game to join Hermann Hreidarrson and Fabian Wilnis on the club's injury list, and Wayne Brown was handed a surprising Premiership debut. Ipswich were beginning to believe they could earn at least a point from the encounter until Henry came on. After that deserved strike, Arsenal could and should have added to their tally. Pires was the most guilty as he squandered several opportunities to extend the Gunners' lead. And right at the death, Ray Parlour shot high over the bar from a mere eight yards out.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
