Ipswich Town 0 - 2 Arsenal

	Henry takes the plaudits in Suffolk (CliveMason/Allsport)

Ljungberg, a Swede, will relish the chance to play against England in Group F of the World Cup in Japan next summer. Henry, the Frenchman who is presently the most prolific goalscorer in the Premiership, is burning with desire to make a niche for himself in the reigning champions' team.

And should England escape the chains of the most difficult group created by the World Cup draw, second place would almost certainly guarantee them a confrontation with France.

Worse news for Eriksson is that Robert Pires, another Frenchman, is in irresistible form for Arsenal.

Pires is assured on the ball, has vision, a deft touch and the capacity to unlock defences with one measured pass. He will occupy a pivotal role when Juventus, as tradition and instinct demands, erect a wall of defenders at Highbury in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Ipswich also had problems with Nwankwo Kanu, never quite managing to cope with his deep-lying role. The player is another England will come up against in Japan, when they face Nigeria.

Ipswich, lest we forget because of their position manacled to the floor of the Premiership, also meet Italian opposition in Europe this week.

To protect a slender 1-0 lead over Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup, George Burley's men cannot afford to repeat the acts of charity that presented Arsenal victory.

Titus Bramble undid all Burley's preparation as early as the fifth minute. Deep in his own half, but with no-one threatening, Bramble inexplicably passed the ball a few yards to the feet of Henry.

The Frenchman gleefully jinked into the Ipswich penalty area, before rewarding Ljungberg's run with a pass that was a gold-embossed invitation to score.

The Swede slid the ball into the left-hand corner of the net to remind Eriksson of the menace of his compatriot. After defeating Manchester United last weekend, there has been a renewed sense of purpose around Highbury in the past few days.

And news that United had taken another terrible beating by Chelsea yesterday morning simply reinforced the view within Arsene Wenger's squad that the Premiership championship is an open race.

For the opening quarter of the game, they proceeded to torture Ipswich with the quality of their passing, prompted by the orchestration of Pires. Yet there was no end product - other than Ljungberg's goal - and Arsenal almost paid for lacking the desire to press possession into goals.

When Jermaine Wright skipped past Ashley Cole - and it would prove to be not the only time the England fullback looked fragile in his defensive duties - Jamie Clapham arrived unmarked at the far post to meet his cross.

For reasons Clapham will have to explain to Burley, the Ipswich midfield player cushioned his header, enabling Arsenal's novice goalkeeper Stuart Taylor to make a comfortable catch.

Taylor looked nervy and uncertain under high crosses throughout the afternoon, and his kicking was not the best.

Yet, he did his job without undue crisis and will grow in stature with each week in his role as understudy to David Seaman and former Portman Road goalkeeper Richard Wright.

When Taylor was beaten by a Hermann Hreidarsson header from Mark Venus's 53rd-minute corner, Ljungberg saved Arsenal by chesting the ball off the line from his station on the far post.

Having offered Arsenal the first goal, Ipswich extended their hospitality in the 56th minute when Venus bundled over Ljungberg inside the penalty area as the Swede ran on to a Pires pass.

Henry exacted full pain for Ipswich from the spot.

Venus was booked for disputing the decision in the belief that the Swede had run into him. Ljungberg was jeered thereafter.