Arsenal fans could have been forgiven for approaching their Premier League clash against Leicester City with pessimism, despite seeing their side secure an impressive win against Benfica to progress in the Europa League.

The spirits of unexpectant supporters, ready for a rollicking from a well-oiled Leicester machine, were not eased upon the release of the team sheets. A midfield pivot of Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny looked to be too cautious, whilst the decision by Mikel Arteta to start Willian on the wing over Gabriel Martinelli further raised eyebrows.

When Youri Tielemans drove an effort into the far corner to put the Foxes ahead after seven minutes, a sense of inevitability hung in the air. It has been symptomatic of Arsenal this season that they splutter to a stop on the back of achieving a solid win, particularly against sides from the Midlands.

Yet on Sunday, something strange happened.

Coming from behind, Arsenal rallied, with the performances of much-maligned senior players proving crucial as they steered the Gunners to victory at the King Power.

After setting up Kieran Tierney’s winner in the week, Willian was influential again, producing his best performance for the club since his opening day debut at Fulham. It was his

well-executed free kick, whipped flat in front of the Leicester defence, that allowed David Luiz to head home. After Alexandre Lacazette’s penalty gave Arsenal a half-time lead, Willian was again involved for the third goal, having the presence of mind to keep ball alive and in play for Nicolas Pepe to tap into an empty net.

Pepe himself has struggled to nail down a starting spot under Arteta, the emergence of Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith-Rowe and Martin Odegaard pushing Arsenal’s record signing down the pecking order. However, with rotation of those youngsters necessary amidst a gruelling schedule, the Ivorian played a prominent role. Challenged by his manager to contribute more consistently, Pepe has delivered, scoring four times in his last seven league matches. He also benefitted from consistent service in the first half, touching the ball 25 times in the first half alone, drawing five fouls in the process.

Having struggled to get out of first gear in the early part of the season, Arsenal’s attack is accelerating not just in the player’s speed of movement, such as Cedric’s lung-busting run that created space on the other flank for Pepe’s goal, but also in terms of their efficiency. Arteta has repeatedly hammered home the importance of being clinical to his players, who have sharpened their previously blunt attacking instincts.

In their last two matches, Arsenal have scored six goals from nine shots on target. Although goals came from the penalty spot and an unmissable chance versus Leicester, 22 shots in two outings for the Gunners highlights that a rapport is being developed when it comes to precise patterns of play in the final third.

Granit Xhaka was key to this, electing to play a pass that would help progress a move forward. The Swiss international often chooses to go for the safer option of passing laterally or backwards but he demonstrated distribution of great quality to set Arsenal on their way. In the same way Dani Ceballos did in both legs against Benfica, purposeful forward passing from Xhaka allowed Arsenal to exploit spaces in attacking areas more frequently. Although there is a perception that Xhaka stifles attacks, the Swiss showed he is an important initiator in getting Arsenal to advance.

Experience also played its part in keeping Jamie Vardy as quiet as a mute mouse, with David Luiz closely marshalling the Foxes marksman throughout. His defensive partner Pablo Mari was also able to keep Vardy quiet. The Spaniard’s fleetness of foot to beat the striker in a one-on-sprint marked the best of several good moments for Mari in what was an impressive display.

Victory against high-flying Leicester also marked a small milestone for Arsenal as it was their first away win against a team starting a day in the top three of the Premier League since that 2-0 win at Manchester City in January 2015. But the reality is that does not earn any extra points.

What matters most is that Arteta uses this win, which he achieved after naming a

much changed lineup, as a springboard for a set of consecutive victories in the league, something that he has struggled to do since taking charge.

It won’t be straightforward, with West Ham, Tottenham and Liverpool to face in the coming weeks, but the performance against Leicester serves as an example that it can be done without a dependence upon youth, the old heads showing that they are useful too.

Zac Campbell

Leicester City (1) 1 Arsenal (2) 3

Premier League

King Power Stadium, Filbert Way, Leicester LE2 7FL

Sunday, 28th February 2021. Kick-off time: 12 noon

(4-2-3-1) Bernd Leno; Cédric Soares, David Luiz, Pablo Marí, Kieran Tierney; Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka; Nicolas Pépé, Emile Smith-Rowe, Willian Borges da Silva; Alexandre Lacazette.

Substitutes: Hector Bellerin, Bukayo Saka, Dani Ceballos, Martin Ødegaard, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Rob Holding, Thomas Partey, Mat Ryan, Gabriel Martinelli.

Scorers: David Luiz (39 mins), Alexandre Lacazette (45+2 mins), Nicolas Pépé (52 mins)

Yellow Cards: Kieran Tierney

Arsenal Possession Percentage: 56%

Referee: Paul Tierney

Assistant Referees: Dan Cook, Harry Lennard

Fourth Official: Michael Oliver

VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR David Coote; AVAR Nick Hopton

Attendance: A maximum of 300 attendees due to UK government coronavirus restrictions

After Thursday’s glorious victory against Benfica, we are back to our bread-and-butter matches in the Premiership, and with it comes the usual team formation merry-go-round that we have come to accept as part of a Mikel Arteta era at the club, which in many ways, is a good thing, especially when it comes down to possible player fatigue. Rob Holding and Thomas Partey are back on the substitute’s bench, along with two of our outstanding players from the Benfica match, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka. However, the proof of the Arsenal pudding could be in the Leicester City eating today, as there is everything to play for in the East Midlands. An important match, in which no team can afford to lose. Let’s go!

Within six minutes, after starting so well, we were a goal down, when Youri Tielemans picked up a ball on the right after a mix-up, ran thirty yards and slotted it past the outstretched arm of Bernd Leno into the Arsenal goal. But why did Pablo Marí decline to tackle Youri Tielemans when he could have prevented the goal? Unbelievable. Almost immediately, we nearly equalised when Emile Smith-Rowe ran through on the right and was unlucky not to be able to cross the ball for Alexandre Lacazette to tap it into the net. On the twelfth minute, Youri Tielemans and Wilfried Ndidi brought down Nicolas Pépé just outside the Foxes’ penalty area; after a lengthy VAR check, in which Paul Tierney initially gave a penalty to us, the subsequent free-kick bounced off the head of Luke Thomas for an Arsenal corner. Early dramas! Kieran Tierney came close to equalising when an excellent Willian ball fell to him, and his shot (or was it a cross?) came off Jonny Evans and went back into open play; despite pressure from the home side, we were managing to break out when we could and attempt to redress the balance. Despite some good play, Arsenal were unable to penetrate the Foxes’ defence at this time in the match. It is to be noted that Nicolas Pépé is having a tough time out there today, having been the target of several Leicester City defenders time and time again, which led to a few Arsenal free-kicks this half. Six minutes before half-time (after yet another foul on Nicolas Pépé), a Willian free-kick, which was taken perfectly, found the head of David Luiz, who wasted no time in levelling up the scores. A couple of minutes later, an injured Emile Smith-Rowe was replaced by Martin Ødegaard, and literally on the stroke of half-time, we were awarded a penalty when a Nicolas Pépé shot struck the arm of Wilfried Ndidi (which was in an unnatural position); Alexandre Lacazette made no mistake from the spot, and so we went into the break in the affirmative.

The second half started quite strongly with both sides feeling the urgency of the outcome of the game today. Seven minutes after the restart, we scored our third of the day, when Nicolas Pépé started a passing movement in the Leicester City penalty area, and after some superb intricate play between Alexandre Lacazette and Willian, the man who started the process, Nicolas Pépé simply tapped the ball into the empty Foxes’ net. A couple of minutes’ later, David Luiz left the pitch for a while after a header that appeared to go wrong, but thankfully he returned to the field of play to take up his important position in the centre of our defence. Speaking of our defenders, the second half performance of all of them had been exemplary in keeping out the Leicester City strikers, when danger appears to be imminent. A case in point was when just after the hour, Jamie Vardy was brushed off the ball by Pablo Marí just outside the Arsenal penalty area with only Bernd Leno standing between the Leicester City striker and the goal; a good strong professional tackle by a superb defender that prevented a goal. Thomas Partey replaced Mohamed Elneny with twenty-five minutes of the match remaining, and the substitution just served to make us stronger and more alert in the midfield area. Granit Xhaka went down following an arm in the face by Kelechi Iheanacho but he carried on with no apparent issue, and with ten minutes of the match remaining, we were in full control of the outcome of the game. With eight minutes of the match left, a superb Kieran Tierney shot brushed the outside of Kaspar Schmeichel’s post, and shortly afterwards, Alexandre Laczette was replaced by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the final few minutes of the game. He almost scored shortly afterwards with a strong shot from outside of the penalty area that went narrowly past the post, and as the minutes ticked away, the match started to get more physical with both Kieran Tierney and Nicolas Pépé being the recipients of such behaviour. In the seven minutes injury time, we were put under pressure by the home side, but in the end, we stayed firm to get the three points.

An excellent win despite starting off rather badly. We were dogged, determined and took our chances well, and overall, we were by far the better side at the King Power Stadium today. Willian was superb, as was Nicolas Pépé, despite getting some rough treatment at the hands of the Leicester City defenders. At the time of writing, we are tenth in the Premiership, and out next match is against Burnley next Saturday, which should give the lads a good opportunity to recharge their batteries in the meantime.

Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday, 6th March at 12.30pm (Premier League). Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon.