Arsenal 3 Leicester City 1
Report by Colin Murrant
There cannot be many City fans that have seen their team win at Arsenal in the league, 45 years of hurt and counting. In the last four visits City have come away with nothing but deserved more but, on this occasion, they deserved nothing and that is precisely what they got.
Yet the first half an hour was all City who were more than matching Arsenal’s pace and guile. The Arsenal equaliser just before half time was a crucial moment but at the time there was the sense that if City still played with the same purpose then they could still get something out of the game.
Whatever happened at half time City went into a shell and, rather than continuing to take the game to The Gunners, sat back defending their lead. It was difficult to think that the Arsenal pressure was forcing City so far back as all the players retreated to the final third of the pitch. More likely is it was tactics, keep them at bay for 20 minutes and take the sting out of their game, who knows for sure but City just capitulated in the face of the pressure applied by the North Londoners.
Arsenal were so dominant after the break that it was only a matter of time before they finally took the lead, by the 66th minute they were 3-1 up and the rest of the match was a damage limitation exercise for the Foxes.
City started with the one change as the suspended Morgan was replaced by Evans. Before the match there had been much talk about Soyuncu making his debut but it was probably a blessing that he didn’t as the pace and intensity of the Arsenal football may well have set him back in his City career. Defending the end in front of their supporters, City got off to a promising start and as early as the third minute Iheanacho got the better of Holding and fired in a shot that took a deflection and away for a corner. Three minutes later and Maddison set up Iheanacho again who this time curled his shot only for Leno to push wide of the far post.
After 15 minutes Holding was booked for pulling Iheanacho back just inside the Arsenal half, from the resultant free kick the same player handled the ball and a penalty and second yellow card seemed imminent. Somehow referee Kavanagh, who has history with poor decisions against Leicester, bottled the decision whilst having the clearest of views. Absolutely no excuse for this lack of decision, just pure weakness of character.
City still pressed forward and Maguire probably should have done better on 23 minutes as he headed a Maddison free kick back across goal for Leno to save again. On the half hour City took the lead they deserved, Ozil was robbed by Maguire who set up Ndidi. Ndidi passed wide to Chilwell who broke into the area and his cross shot took a slight deflection off Bellerin to beat Leno.
The match was becoming more even now and Arsenal won a series of free kicks on the edge of the box, Kavanagh again justifying his ‘homer’ tag with one of them as he gave a decision against Ndidi on Lacazette with the latter producing a somersault worthy of winning any Olympic diving final.
In the 45th minute Arsenal equalised with a typical Arsenal goal, Ozil exchanged passes with Bellerin and tucked the ball into the net off the far post with Schmeichel stranded.
The second half was all Arsenal yet on the hour City could have taken the lead as Ndidi placed a thunderous header against the Arsenal crossbar following another Maddison corner; how more dangerous City are with Maddison taking the set pieces.
This was as good as it got for the Foxes though as a minute later Ozil played a ball inside Chilwell and Bellerin squared for Aubameyang to side foot in at the far post. The Gooner striker had been on the pitch only two minutes and three minutes later he was on hand again to score a wonderful goal following great work from Lacazette and Ozil yet again. Aubameyang as a striker’s knack of finding space in the box.
The Emirates then transformed from a library into a cauldron and 5 or 6 goals was a distinct possibility. Somehow City survived any further damage but their frailties were severely exposed. There was time for a bizarre incident when most fans suddenly realised that City were down to 10 men; Vardy had run down the tunnel apparently with a stomach problem.
One thing is for sure, City are a much better outfit on the front foot. Having spent nearly £60m on defenders during the summer they still look fragile defending; with Ricardo appearing as a wing back and neither of the young centre halves yet to play, it is to be hoped these are investments for the future but £20m paid for a player should be close to the finished article.
One area of concern is that Vardy does not seem to play with the same intensity these days, is it frustration that the tactics do not suit his style? Is it age catching up on him? Was it just that he was off colour with his stomach problem? The consensus is that it is the style of play that does not suit his game, he looks frustrated a problem that led to his sending off against Wolves in the first home game of the season.
The only certainty is that the conjecture on Puel’s future will not abate after this performance. If his lot was looking better during the first half, this feeling was blown away in the second half as City were punished for some strange tactics and substitutions. Again, many City fans were asking why no Iborra as city crave for a bit more presence and creativity in midfield plus the added height he utilises well in both boxes.
Some fans chat about the match against Arsenal being a free game for City which is not helpful; the cost in assembling this squad has been significant and it is sufficient to expect more output in performance. When Arsenal were on top on Monday night they were impressive, but If City are to make a genuine challenge for the 6th or 7th place in the League they need to go to places like the Emirates and compete: it will be a major achievement and require more consistency to finish in the top seven this season.
Arsenal: Leno; Bellerin, Holding, Mustafi, Lichtsteiner##; Xhaka, Torreira; Mkhitaryan#, Ozil###, Iwobi; Lacazette. Subs: Martinez, Medley, Guendouzi#, Ramsey###, Smith Rowe, Welbeck, Aubameyang##
Leicester City: Schmeichel; Pereira**, Evans, Maguire, Chilwell; Mendy, Ndidi, Amartey; Maddison***; Iheanacho*, Vardy. Subs: Ward, Soyuncu, Fuchs, Iborra, Albrighton*, Ghezzal**, Okazaki***
Referee: Kavanagh Attendance: 59,886
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation