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Football London
Football London
Sport
Andy Ha

Wesley Fofana sends message to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after Leicester's win over Arsenal

Leicester defender Wesley Fofana took to social media after helping his team beat Arsenal 1-0 at the Emirates.

A late goal from substitute Jamie Vardy was enough to seal three points for Brendan Rodgers' side, with Arsenal made to pay for missing a series of chances in the first half.

Alexandre Lacazette saw a first half header ruled out for offside, and the Gunners forward also missed a gilt-edged chance after good work from Kieran Tierney on the left.

Vardy, who was only fit enough for the bench, came on in the second half and duly punished the Gunners by stooping low to head Cengiz Under's cross past a helpless Bernd Leno.

Fofana started the match in a back three alongside Jonny Evans and Christian Fuchs, with Leicester missing Caglar Soyuncu through injury.

The 19-year-old, who joined Leicester in the summer from Saint-Etienne on a five-year deal, was outstanding for the visitors as they limited Arsenal's attack to barely any shots on goal in the second period.

After the match, the Frenchman took to social media with a message for Arsenal striker and childhood hero Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, to denote his own personal progress.

Fofafa tweeted : "How it’s started/How It’s going. Very proud of the road travelled. @Aubameyang7," with a picture of himself as a child standing with Aubameyang, during the striker's time at Saint-Etienne - and of Sunday evening's clash.

Speaking after the game, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers admitted Arsenal's system allowed his side to exploit the Gunners' weaknesses.

"No, I think it was obviously a different set-up [from Arsenal] but how our organisation was it was able to cope," Rodgers responded, after being asked if he changed Leicester’s tactics to counter Arsenal.

"It was just a few little changes, Xhaka coming out to the side meant that Dennis [Praet] could then press him instead of having to go on to the full-back, so that was just about detail.

"But apart from that it was about closing the lines, making sure our concentration was good, and then when we had the ball looking to play through.

"It’s the first time they have lost [at home] this calendar this year, it tells you how strong they’ve been.

"The game was always about denying space. In lots of games we’ll always put pressure high up the pitch and look to win the ball back.

"When you’re playing against the quality of Arsenal and the speed of Arsenal then we decided to press from the static goal kick where we could. Then if not, recover into that medium, resting phase of pressure and making sure your lines are tight.

"They actually played in a slightly different structure to what we anticipated but our set-up still allowed us to cope with that.

"When you come away to the big teams you’ve got to have high-level concentration. You’ve got to defend well, you’ve got to be concentrated, everyone has to do their job, and then you know with your quality you’ll be able to play yourself into the game.

"Play through the pressure well, deal with it, then know our quality will get us opportunities and thankfully it worked out well for us."

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