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Arsenal rallied from a goal against to beat Leicester City 3-1 with an impressive performance at King Power Stadium.
Youri Tielemans gave Leicester the lead after just six minutes, but the visitors recovered well and took control of the game.
David Luiz set the Gunners’ level when he headed in a Willian free kick before Alexandre Lacazette put them ahead. He converted from the penalty spot after the VAR ruled that Wilfred Ndidi had blocked Nicolas Pepe’s shot with his arm.
Pepe himself then secured the win when he hit home from close range after Willian’s pass went off his way.
The victory sees Arsenal climb the table to ninth and they now have West Ham United in their sights in fourth place, while Leicester are in third.
Positive
Once again, Mikel Arteta’s men showed great determination. Like midweek against Benfica in the Europa League, Arsenal showed good character and recovered well after falling behind. The Gunners have often been criticized for having a soft belly, but not only did they survive this early scare, they got through it to dominate.
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Negative
Emile Smith Rowe’s injury will be cause for concern. Arteta let several players rest in this game, but not Smith Rowe, who recently sported long legs. It is unclear how long he will be out. Furthermore, Arsenal’s start was lousy, with Tielemans having all the time and space in the world to open the scoring.
Manager rating out of 10
MIKEL ARTETA 8 – Arteta rotated his players and rested Bukayo Saka, Arsenal’s key player in recent weeks, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The risk seemed to have failed in the early stages, but his team did well and he will be delighted with the response of his team. Not only that, but his attacking game was sublime at times.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players submitted after 70 minutes are not rated)
GK Bernd Leno, 6 years old – Surely you had a much more comfortable afternoon start. The seasoned goalkeeper has been Arsenal’s saving grace at times, but nearly presented Jamie Vardy with a tap-in just seconds after his side had lagged behind, while he will have been relieved to have parried Harvey Barnes’ spinning strike. forward and not towards the net.
DF Cedric Soares, 7 years old – Produced a timely inning to stop Marc Albrighton in his tracks as Leicester looked to punch at 3-1 down. He also looked to unleash Pepe a couple of times with Arsenal well and truly on the rise.
DF David Luiz, 7 years old – He brought Arsenal back into the game with a header from Willian’s free kick and made another important contribution when he frustrated Jamie Vardy at the expense of a corner kick, which he headed clear.
DF Pablo Mari, 6 – The defender was all over the place when Leicester started the game with a bang. However, the response was excellent and did enough to push Vardy as the striker looked to run towards goal. That may have been a dire moment, but referee Paul Tierney deemed the challenge fair.
DF Kieran Tierney, 6 years old – He has truly become a vital cog within this Arsenal team and was once again at the heart of some of his team’s best attacking plays with some electric blasts forward from the left.
MF Mohamed Elneny, 6 years old – He almost found himself caught in a moment of madness when his punt attempt slammed into Kelechi Iheanacho and he spun into the side net with Leno fighting. Other than that, he held firm until his retirement in the 68th minute.
MF Xhaka Granite, 6 – Found himself chasing Tielemans heels in vain when the Dutchman got the Foxes to fly. However, from then on he could only get better, choosing Willian, who dragged himself away before playing his part in a remarkable third Arsenal goal.
MF Nicolas Pepe, 8 – The Ivory Coast international has been criticized at times, but this was a positive display from the winger and his quick feet frequently tormented Luke Thomas. He won the free throw that saw his team on a level playing field and finished off an exquisite, fluid move as the Gunners put the game to bed.
MF Emile Smith Rowe, 7 years old – Arsenal could have lost 2-0 in seven minutes, but that did little to dissuade the youngster who always opened the hosts with a brilliant run of his own charge, but Lacazette failed to make it to the end. However, big concerns for Arteta as Smith Rowe limped off just before the break.
MF Willian, 8 – Possibly his best display with the Arsenal shirt. At 32, the winger still covered the entire lawn in a tireless outing. His precise delivery was completely spot on as Luiz pushed the Gunners’ level up and played a major role in the two goals that followed.
FW Alexandre Lacazette, 7 – The forward didn’t really see too much in the way of clear opportunities. However, the best forwards just need one chance and while he always seems easier from 12 yards, he showed cool composure to send Schmeichel down the wrong path from the penalty spot.
Substitutes
MF Martin Odegaard, 8 years old – He forced his way shortly before the break and made an immediate impact, feeding Pepe down the right whose shot resulted in a penalty that Lacazette duly converted. He also had a great hand in the third, keeping the ball alive with extraordinary feet to somehow find Willian.
MF Thomas Partey, 6 years old – Replaced Elneny in the 68th minute. He tried his luck with an ambitious effort from 35 meters, but the ball hit Ndidi and he swung back for a corner.
FW Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, NR – He replaced Lacazette in the 83rd minute but his participation was little more than a cameo, although he was inches from adding a quarter when he fired wide from outside the area.
