28 September 2024
Arsenal 4 Leicester City 2
The Gunners welcomed Leicester City to The Emirates, looking to build upon the point they picked up against Man City last weekend. Fixtures had been kind to them with an EFL Cup tie during the week meaning that Trossard had served his suspension for his sending off. The visitors were hoping Vardy could continue his impressive scoring record against Arsenal as they still looked for their first win.
This was not good hunting ground for Leicester City, having only won once in thirty visits against The Gunners. Arsenal started on the front foot with Saka cutting inside from the right and trying to bend a left-footed shot into the far corner but Hermansen got down well to save. Moments later Martinelli had a sight of goal but blazed his effort over the crossbar.
Leicester City were playing very narrow defensively. This gave the hosts’ wingers acres of space out wide but they looked most dangerous when the full backs supported on the overlap. One such move saw Timber pick out Martinelli in the middle and the Brazilian’s first-time shot nestled into the bottom corner of the goal to give Arsenal the lead.
The visitors were struggling to get out of their own half at this stage and giving the ball away far too often. One such stray pass found Rice, who slotted it into the path of Martinelli. His shot at the near post was beaten away by Hermansen, The Gunners’ winger could and maybe should have already scored a hat-trick this early in the game.
At this point The Foxes were just looking to get to half-time only a goal down. Martinelli was causing Steve Cooper’s side all sorts of problems and it was his pass that picked out Trossard for the second goal. The Belgian opened his body up and side-footed the ball into the far corner as The Emirates erupted once again. This was looking like it was going to be easy work for the hosts.
After the break, whatever Cooper had said to his players seemed to work. As Buonanotte swung a free kick into the box, Justin’s header ended up in the back of the net. Although the Leicester man was credited with the goal, it took a huge deflection off the shoulder of Havertz which wrong-footed Raya in the Arsenal goal.
The Gunners looked to restore their two-goal lead when Gabriel met a Saka corner with a firm header. Hermansen reacted well to claw it out but the visitors could not clear their lines and the loose ball was eventually lifted over the bar by Timber. It was proving to be a busy day for the Leicester keeper, not that he would have expected any different from this trip.
They almost got their third when Saka’s attempt at a shot deflected out to Trossard. His instinctive first-time shot struck the outside of the post and went wide. Arteta’s side were carving out plenty of chances but their wastefulness in front of goal was keeping the visitors in this game. This is where they lack a natural goalscorer up top, the elephant in the room to this Arsenal squad.
Arsenal paid the ultimate price when Ndidi whipped a cross into the box and it was met on the volley by Justin. His sublime effort, from the outside of his boot, curled into the far corner striking the post on its way into the goal. The away end erupted as The Foxes had got themselves on level terms in a game that the hosts had dominated.
While Arteta’s side are lauded for their solid defence, as an outsider looking in, you can start to question that. Very few teams high press The Gunners, but when they do it looks far from impenetrable. It is almost like looking at an impressive medieval castle and admiring its defences until someone suggests launching fifteen foot boulders at them to see how it holds.
As the hosts continued to press, another attempted shot by Saka was blocked and once again the ball broke to an Arsenal player. Havertz controlled the ball before spinning towards goal and shooting. From just three yards out, the reaction save from Hermansen was unbelievable. The Foxes’ keeper was proving to be a real thorn in the side of The Gunners.
Cooper’s side felt Arsenal should have been reduced to ten men when Calafiori brought down Buonanotte. Having already been booked, the Italian was lucky to get away with that one. Instead, the referee chose to show a yellow card to the Leicester player for waving an imaginary card in the air. Poor discipline is haunting Arteta’s side already in this campaign.
A terrible ball out from the visitors’ keeper gifted the ball to Rice on the edge of the box. He played it into the path of Trossard but Hermansen made up for his error with a brilliant save to deny the Belgian. If Leicester were going to get anything from this game, any man of the match award was destined to go to their goalkeeper. He had put in a superb performance in North London.
He was called into action once again when getting down well to save a Nwaneri effort. From the resulting corner the Danish keeper clawed a Calafiori header over the bar. Deep into added time a Saka corner picked out Trossard at the back post. His volley ended up in the back of the net to break Leicester hearts. The replay showed it in fact was put into his own net by Ndidi.
Moments later, Justin went from hero to zero as he poked the ball into Havertz after Hermansen made yet another save. The German knew nothing about it as the ball struck him and ended in the back of the net. Arsenal took all three points but the nature of the late defeat will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of everyone associated with The Foxes.
Did you enjoy this article? Please share to your social media. With one click you can help spread the word and make Solid at the Back the one-stop shop for all Premier League fans.