Sport

Arsenal must try to build on this

On the day that plans were published showing how Highbury will look when it is redeveloped as an upmarket housing estate in four…

By MARTIN THORPE
Mon Feb 12 2001 - 00:00

On the day that plans were published showing how Highbury will look when it is redeveloped as an upmarket housing estate in four years' time, Arsenal continued the rebuilding of their season.

After a shaky December and January, Arsene Wenger's players notched up their third win in a row to provide a boost in confidence before the resumption of Champions League duties in Lyon tomorrow.

The foundation of Arsenal's improvement has been the defence, which has kept four consecutive clean sheets, a run coinciding with the return of David Seaman in goal and Tony Adams to his injury-free best.

It has long been suggested that the Gunners' back line should be served with a preservation order similar to that which protects two other Highbury monuments, the east and west stands.

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But time is catching up on all three edifices and transformation is just around the corner. Thankfully for the traditionalists, the changes are being made with sympathy and intelligence.

When the club's proposed move to nearby Ashburton Grove goes through, the two listed stands at Highbury will be transformed into luxury flats overlooking flowers and conifers in a landscaped garden where once they afforded the Arsenal faithful a view of Dennis Bergkamp planting free-kicks past rooted goalkeepers.

Since scoring 13 league goals before Christmas, Thierry Henry has been dogged by an ankle injury and has struggled to find the net. But, on 67 minutes, he latched on to Bergkamp's pass and speared the ball coolly past Richard Wright for a goal that provided him with a timely pick-me-up and sweet-passing Arsenal with another timely win.

Ipswich avoided a heavier defeat only because of a string of stunning saves by Wright, no doubt noted by the watching Tord Grip.

Meanwhile, Arsenal's upcoming European ties, sandwiched between games against Chelsea and United, will test the strength of the rebuilding work to date.

ARSENAL: Seaman, Dixon, Cole, Adams, Stepanovs, Grimandi, Pires, Lauren (Henry 57), Parlour, Bergkamp, Wiltord (Ljungberg 70). Subs Not Used: Manninger, Vivas, Kanu. Booked: Grimandi, Ljungberg. Goal: Henry 67.

IPSWICH: Richard Wright, Clapham, Venus, Croft (Brown 38), Bramble, Holland, Jermaine Wright, Magilton, Reuser (Naylor 78), Scowcroft, Stewart. Subs Not Used: Branagan, Abidallah, Karic. Booked: Stewart.

Referee: R Harris (Oxford).