Report and reaction
Rodgers' reaction
“We started the game very well but then for about 15-20 minutes the game became a little bit basketball. There was too much space and we didn’t quite press it well enough. We just needed to come together and reinforce a couple of items without the ball. I thought we were outstanding in the second half. much quicker with the ball and connected our play well. I thought we were the better team even when it was 11 v 11. ... We got a deserved goal and if we’d made the final pass a little cleaner, we could have gone on and won the game. But we’ll take a point, it could be a very important one.”
“I’m extremely proud of our team and the way we played against this type of opposition. How dominate we were. In the first half clearly we should have gone 3-0 or 4-0 up and kill the game... We have to learn that when we play agianst this type of opposition, you have to kill them.
Arteta also says that an unspecified Leicester player should have been sent off “for a challenge between the 40th and 45th minute.” I don’t know which one he’s talking about. he also notes that this “is the fourth time since I’ve been here that we’ve been down to 10 men.”
Sky have figured out the the tackle Arteta is referring to was by Vardy on Mustafi, when the pair challenged for the ball, after which Vardy flicked out a foot and appears to graze the grounded Mustafi’s face.
Tierney talks
“It was very tough. You’re playing against a team who is very good at keeping the ball and when you’re down to 10 men its even harder. But we dug in.... We’re just hungry for the team to do well. We’ve had a good run and we want to keep it going as long as we can.
With regard to Nektiah’s red card, he says: “I’ve not seen it back but for me it was accidental, and Eddie is not the type of player who would do anything like that.”
Vardy's reaction
“There’s pride at getting back into the game. We had to keep moving the ball and get them running when they went down to 10 We started the game well. Then when we went 1-0 down we started panicking a bit. Then in the second half we got back to showing what we can do ... Then it was about sticking to our plan and trying to get the win ... It was important to get a result. We got a win at the weekend and wanted to keep up that momentum. So we take this point and try to take this into next weekend.”
Full-time: Arsenal 1-1 Leicester
It’s a fair result from a gripping contest. Arsenal ran the first half, Leicester were the better side in the second, especially after Nketiah’s red card. The result keeps Leicester in the top four - having played a game more than Manchester United and Wolves - while Arsenal’s Champions league ambitions look even more far-fetched now. Vardy, meanwhile, still leads Aubameyang by two goals at the top of the Premier League scoring charts.
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90+9 min: Fuchs smashes over a dangerous cross from the left. Kolasinac leaps high to head it away before Perez can pounce.
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90+8 min: Gray darts in from the right and clips a left-footed cross into the area. But it’s too close to Martinez.
90+6 min: Arteta is pacing around nervously under the teeming rain on the sideline...
90+4 min: Arsenal are on the attack! but Soyuncu puts an end to that by stepping in to dispossess Willock.
90+2 min: Weakened Leicester deserve praise for the way they’ve come back into this game. But they don’t want praise, they want three points. Now here’s another indication of Arsenal’s priorities: Arteta has replaced Aubemeyang with Maitland-Niles.
90 min: Leicester are patient. They’re probing and probing around the Arsenal box. They won’t be happy to see that the fourth official has indicated there will be at least eight more minutes.
88 min: Leicester are going for the wing against the 10 men, who are erecting sandbags around their box...
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86 min: That strike puts Vardy two goals ahead of Aubameyang in the scoring charts again, but the bigger story is that this game is, to use a phrase beloved of Arsenal fans, up for grabs now! What a huge five minutes or so we have left...
GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Leicester (Vardy 85)
A lovely, De Bruyne-esque curled cross from the right by the substitute Gray finds Vardy, who turns it into the net from close range. But Perez made a movement to try to connect with it before it reached Vardy, and Perez may have been in an offside possession. It’s tight. Over to Var .... and the goal is given!
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82 min: Leicester substitution: Praet on, Ndidi off.
81 min: Aubameyang works back well to sabotage a Leicester attack. “Great call, hooray for VAR (this time),” yells Richard McGahey. “Studs up, feet off the ground, flying into opponent. Textbook red card.
80 min: Arsenal substitution: Torreira on, Ceballos off. Ceballos is another who was outstanding in the first period, less conspicuous in the second.
78 min: Tierney hoofs the ball into the empty Leicester half. That’s the official signal that Arsenal have entered the ‘clinging-on’ stage.
RED CARD! Nketiah
The referee changes his mind after watching the replay and shows a red instead of a yellow. It’s the correct decision under current guidance, and Nketiah doesn’t protest. He’s unlucky really, guilty just of mistiming a well-intentioned challenge before he’d got up to speed with the game. Now, can Leicester profit against 10 men?
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73 min: Nketiah lungs at a bouncing ball in the centre circle and catches Justin at the top of his left shin. It didn’t look malicious, just mistimed, but it was certainly dangerous. The ref opts for a yellow card but VAR has a gander and recommends he go over to the screen and have another look. Nketiah is in trouble ...
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72 min: Tielemas sends over a dangerous in-swinging freekick from the right. David Luiz nuts it away.
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70 min: Arsenal substitutions: Willock and Nketiah on, Lacazette and Saka off. That’s a testament to Leicester’s improvement in the second half, with the departed duo having had little impact since the break, whereas they were near rampant in the first half.
Drinks break
67 min: Arsenal get the ball up the other end for a bit! Better than that, they get it into the Leicester’s six-yard box thanks to a vicious cross by Tierney, which is put behind for a corner by a defender.
66 min: Saka and Aubameyang haven’t been anywhere near as dangerous in this half as they were in the first. And since shifting to 4-4-2, Leicester have been in control ... until they get to the Arsenal box. The home side are not exactly clinging on to their lead but they could do with getting the ball up the other end for a bit.
64 min: Justin does well down the right - his impression of Ricardo Pereira is coming on impressively -, and then he digs out a useful cross from the corner. Barnes jumps to meet it and guide a header goalward from 10 yards. But not with enough power to worry Martinez.
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63 min: Arsenal are in game management mode, which is something introduced by Arteta. They’re working diligently to keep Leicester at bay, while remaining primed to launch counters if they can.
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61 min: From a central position midway inside the Arsenal half, Tielemans attempts to drop a curling freekick on to the head of a teammate. But his delivery is fractionally too long, and Martinez was ready for it.
59 min: Leicester substitutions: Fuchs and Barnes on, Iheanacho and Albrighton off. That suggests n overdue switch back to a 4-4-2. Not sure why Iheanacho was withdrawn rather than Perez.
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57 min: Tierney goes down holding his nose after Bennett blocks him as he tries to play a give-and-go on the left. A freekick will suffice.
55 min: Ndidi pinches the ball off Xhaka on half way. Then he rattles a pass to the feet of Vardy on the left wing. Vardy floats over a delicious cross for Iheanacho, who unloads a volley from 15 yards. Martinez makes the save!
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53 min: When the corner is cleared to just outside the box, Ceballos wellies it towards goal. Perez sticks out a leg and deflects it behind for another corner.
52 min: David Luiz hits a knuckle ball that takes a nick off Saka at the end of the wall and flies towards the bottom corner. Schmeichel flings himself to his left to push it around the post!
51 min: Freekick to Arsenal about five yards outside the D, after Lacazette goes down under a tackle by Evans. David Luiz looks like he fancies a shot ...
48 min: Albrighton cuts in from the left and sends over a dangerous cross with his right foot. But Martinez strides off his line to clasp it out of the air.
47 min: Vardy speeds down the left and then fires over a low cross. Justin, of all people, runs on it about eight yards out and tries to flick it first time towards goals. But it’s blocked by David Luiz.
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46 min: Neither manager has made a change for the second period, which is surprising from a Leicester point of view.
Half-time: Arsenal 1-0 Leicester
Arteta’s team go into the beak with a deserved lead. Leicester had them flustered early on but once Arsenal opened the scoring with a lovely goal - featuring a brilliant pass by Ceballos, excellent work by Saka and a neat finish by Aubameyang - the home team took charge. Leicester, without some of their most creative players, have struggled to penetrate, while Arsenal have looked dangerous eery time they tear forward. Leicester’s back three look very uncomfortable when faced with the runs of Aubameyang and Saka, in particular. Change it, Brendan!
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44 min: More bright prompting by Ceballos. This time his pass releases Bellerin, who skips away down the right, taking advantage of a slip by Soyuncu. But Evans cuts out his low cross.
43 min: Ceballos spanks a fetching pass out to the left despite pressure from Tielemans. Tierney takes up the baton and races down the wing, then lashes over a low cross. But it misses the two Arsenal players waiting for it.
42 min: Ceballos reads a pass by Ndidi and makes a critical interception just outside the Arsenal box.
40 min: Bellerin carries the ball in-field from the right. he looks up and arrows an inviting cross towards Lacazette near the back post. The striker meets it with a firm header, but it’s close enough to Schmeichel to enable the keeper to make a decent save.
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38 min: There’s going to be more goals in this game, I fancy. Leicester look vulnerable every time Arsenal run at them - especially Aubameyang and Saka -, but they’ve also shown they carry a threat themselves, and there’s a whiff of brittleness about the Arsenal backline. It’s a pleasingly intense contest.
36 min: Leicester have the ball in the net as Iheanacho converts a cross from the left by Vardy. But it won’t count! Kolasinac fell dramatically at the edge of the Arsenal box in the buildup, and the officials reckoned he was pushed by Iheanacho. There’s little carping from Leicester, but the replay doesn’t reveal any foul play that I can see.
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35 min: A promising Leicester moves peters out when Tielemas leaves a pass too short for Perez.
34 min: There’s a good case for Rodgers making a substitution already: Perez has contributed little; Harvey Barnes would be a surer outlet for Leicester.
32 min: A midjudgement by Soyuncu at the edge of the area allows Saka to collects a backheel pass from Aubemayang. The youngster digs out a pass to Lacazette, who swivels swiftly and unloads a fierce low shot from 12 yards. Schmeichel reacts to make a terrific stop, showing sharp reflexes and a very strong right hand.
30 min: Arsenal are buoyant. They’re running at Arsenal from all angles now. Aubemeyang leads another charge, this time from a more central position. He feeds Lacazette at the edge of the box, and the Fnchman plays in Saka. Schmeichel spreads himself to make a decent save with his feet.
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29 min: Kolasinac does well to win the back back for Arsenal and initiate another attack. Aubemeyang races down the left again and has two men waiting in the middle. But he overhits his cross on the run.
27 min: Bellerin takes an eternity to deliver a throw-in, and then chucks it to a Leicester player.
25 min: Aubameyang flies don the left and tries to repay Saka’s assist with a well-aimed cross of his own. But Soyuncu slides in to prevent it from reaching the teenager.
Drinks break
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Leicester (Aubameyang 21)
Arsenal have the lead thanks to a deadly counter-attack! Ceballos split Leicester’s defence with a pass from deep to Saka, who laid out Evans with a deft shimmy and then delivered a perfect low cross for Aubameyang, who finished with customary efficiency from eight yards. Arsenal have the lead thanks to the Gabonese striker’s 20th league goal of the season!
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20 min: That’s more like it from Arsenal! Saka, who has beautiful balance, wrongfoots Albrighton on the left and then plays a lovely one-two with Bellerin. but his low cross is cleared at the near post for a corner. When the setpiece is cleared, it reaches Tierney, who decides to have a ping from nearly 30 yards. He catches the bouncing ball beautifully and keeps it down well. But Schmeichel saves comfortably.
20 min: Leicester are putting heavy pressure on any Arsenal player who gets the ball. The home side haven’t been able to put together a notable move for a while now.
18 min: Tierney doesn’t try to beat Justin: instead he fizzes an early low towards the near post. Evans has to strain to poke it out for a corner.
16 min: Arsenal flight a long freekick towards Lacazette in the box, but he can’t reach it.
14 min: After Arsenal’s positive start, Leicester have come back at them hard. They’re full of zest and enterprise. This is shaping up to be a cracking contest.
13 min: Leicester work a clever short cornier routine, Albrighton rolling it to Perez and taking the return pass before pulling the ball back from the byline to Iheancho. The Nigerian sweeps a low first-time shot goalward. Martinez makes a fine save with his feet.
12 min: Martinez sweeps up well, stepping out of his box to head the ball into touch and prevent Vardy from collecting a long pass from the back.
9 min: Perez nudges the ball towards Vardy at the edge of the box. David Luiz steps in front of the striker to intercept but somehow fails to do so, allowing Vardy to take possession, turn and crack off a fierce shot from 18 yards. Martinez gets down to make a solid save.
7 min: Leicester press high and hard as Arsenal try to play their way out from the back. Vardy charges down an attempted pass by Mustafi, but the ball ricochets out of play.
6 min: It’s been a bright start by Arsenal. They’ve had most of the ball, almost exclusively in the Leicester half.
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4 min: Tierney does well down the left and then hoiks over a high cross towards the back post. Saka takes it down and tries to shift the ball to the right and fire off a shot, but Soyuncu closes him down and clears.
3 min: Arsenal’s first attack takes them into the box. Aubemeyang chips over a strange cross from the left, and Soyuncu leaps to head it away.
2 min: Leicester appear to be playing with three centrebacks, as expected.
1 min: Leicester kick off. An interesting subplot here is the race of the golden boot, with the leagues top two scorers facing off. Vardy leads the way with 21 goals so far this season, and Aubemeyang is two goals behind on 19.
The teams have arrived. Somehow the stadium looks bigger without fans (insert joke here about it also being louder, if you must).
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If Leicester win here despite being deprived of Maddison, Chilwell and Pereira, it will be a humungous achievement. They will need a big game from Tielemans, who’s brilliant but has been off the boil for a while.
A word from the managers
Arteta on his team selection, specifically starting Bellerin and Lacazette: “We have to rotate players, we need fresh legs. Everyone is doing well. “
Rodgers when asked whether his team are playing with three or four at the back: “You’ll see! But whatever way we set up it will always be the same style. We’ll always be aggressive and try to score goals whatever the shape .... [After the Palace result] You can see the confidence and smiles back in the players. Hopefully that will continue.”
Chelsea’s 3-2 victory over Palace earlier today means Leicester have been shunted down to fourth in the table, with this match at the Emirates in hand.
“Yes, it’s all looking terrific for Arsenal,” booms Charles Antaki. “Even in the 2003-4 Invincible season, the team only managed 4 or more consecutive wins twice, so a victory here would put this lot right up there. The good times are certainly, unmistakably, definitely back. Surely?” I certainly can’t think of anything that could possibly go wrong now at Arsenal. Absolutely no reason to be nervous about Vardy v David Luiz ...
Leicester have not won away to Arsenal since 1973 and today’s team news makes for ominous reading for them. James Maddison and Ben Chilwell have not made the fitness cut, two key absentees. Ryan Bennet’s first start suggests they’re going to play with a back three, as they did in the second half of the win against Palace, with the supreme utility man Marc Albrighton likely to act as a left wingback. On the plus side, that could be a potent front three if the service is right.
As for Arsenal, it looks like they’re also going with a back three, and why not, it has served them well in recent weeks. It’s the formation in which David Luiz looks most secure: it’ll be fascinating to see how he deals with Jamie Vardy today, as the the striker has bedazzled him in the past. Up front, Alexandre Lacazette gets the nod at centre-forward, with young Nketiah on the bench, along with Nicolas Pepe, who’s available again.
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Teams:
Arsenal: Martinez; Mustafi, David Luiz, Kolasinac; Bellerin, Ceballos, Xhaka, Tierney; Saka, Lacazette, Aubemeyang
Subs: Macey, holding, Sokratis, Maitland-Niles, Torreira, Willock, Nelson, Pepe, Nketiah
Leicester: Schmiechel; Bennett, Evans, Soyuncu; Justin, Ndidi, Tielemans, Albrighton; Perez, Vardy, Iheanacho
Subs: Ward, Morgan, Fuchs, Barnes, Praet, Gray, James, Mendy, Choudhury
Referee: C Kavanagh
Preamble
Hello. What a doozy of a game we have in store here. The relegation brawl has its appeal, but the race for Champions League qualification is the most intriguing unresolved story in this Premier League season. Today’s duel will have a big say in how it plays out: given the quality of the other teams challenging for the top four, neither Leicester or Arsenal can afford to lose.
That Arsenal are even being mentioned as top four contenders is a tribute to media hype merchants the progress made in recent weeks under Mikel Arteta. Arsenal arrive at the King Power on the back of three straight Premier League wins and a victory over Sheffield United in the FA Cup. More than the results, it’s the manner that has impressed: they have shown steel, energy and structure; they have defended and pressed like … well, like nothing we’ve been used to seeing from Arsenal in recent years.
Once vilified players such as Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi suddenly look valuable and gifted youngsters such as Bukayo Sako and Eddie Nketiah have raised hopes of great things ahead. OK, it’s only four matches but it’s been enough to sow optimism in an Arsenal swamp of despond. Before the league resumed they were in ninth spot, eight points off the top four. Now they are seventh, seven off the top four. Small but tangible progress. Beat Leicester and belief would really swell.
The progress of Leicester, meanwhile, has been one of the feelgood stories of the season but, just as a top four finish started to look certain, their form has dipped. They got back on track with a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace last weekend but they have yet to truly sparkle in the way they did earlier in the campaign. Will that win over Palace help them get their back groove? Or will Arsenal make their nerves jangle even more? That is what we are here to find out. Humdinger ahoy!
