Arsenal 3-1 Leicester City
After losing their first two games of the 2018-19 Premier League campaign, Arsenal have now won seven straight matches following their come-from-behind victory over Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium.
There were plenty of questions for Arsenal as they ushered into a post-Arsene Wenger era. With former Paris Saint-Germain boss Unai Emery taking the reins, fans and pundits alike were left wondering if the Gunners can compete for the top four.
It didn’t help them that they lost their opening games against powerhouse teams Manchester City and Chelsea—a seemingly ominous message for the club’s fans that they shouldn’t have high hopes this year.
However, Emery and his men changed the narrative quickly and are now establishing themselves as contenders, not only for the Champions League spots but also for the English top-flight title.
Claude Puel’s Foxes provided a stern test to the home team this Matchday 9, but Arsenal proved their depth and quality with Mesut Ozil—captain for the game—leading the charge.
Highlights of the game
Leicester would rue their failure to even grab a point in a match they dominated for the most part. They controlled proceedings in the opening 30 minutes of the game, but they were pretty wasteful with the opportunities they had during that stretch.
The Foxes deservingly went ahead a few moments after the half-hour mark, but the goal only appeared to serve as a wake-up call for the Gunners who hit back with three goals—one before halftime and two in the second half.
Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno came up big for the hosts with two big saves in the early stages of the match. Kelechi Iheanacho had the first real chance for Leicester on five minutes following a nice assist from James Maddison, but Leno palmed away his curling effort.
The 26-year-old shot-stopper then denied Harry Maguire on 21 minutes, tipping the defender’s headed effort wide to keep the match on a deadlock.
Nonetheless, Leno couldn’t stop a Ben Chilwell shot 10 minutes later, after the ball deflected off Hector Bellerin and left him with no chance at all to save the ball.
While Leicester thought they finally have things going their way, Arsenal stepped up and equalised just before the break. Ozil made sure the Gunners stayed in the game, linking up with Bellerin for a one-two leading to a stunning finish off the far-left post.
It was all Arsenal in the second half, and Ozil showed why he was chosen to captain the team for the game.
The German star produced what could be described as one of the best midfield performances in the league so far this season, and it soon led to goals for Arsenal.
Ozil used some slick passing to open up the Leicester defence. He caught Leicester sleeping on the defensive end midway through the second half, and he used the opportunity to pass the ball to Bellerin who was left unmarked inside the box.
Bellerin then played the ball to substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the Gabon international to tap it in from close range.
On 66 minutes, Ozil and Aubameyang rounded things up for Arsenal to deny the visitors any chance of a comeback. Ozil’s pace and speed were unmatched in the game as he soon found himself inside the box again, and he teed up the wide-open Aubameyang for a simple finish into an empty net.
Leicester may feel that the result was unfair, having seen the match officials fail to call a penalty for a Rob Holding handball on 18 minutes; however, they simply lacked clinical finishing in the game. In fact, midfielder Wilfred Ndidi had a chance to retake the lead for the Foxes on 59 minutes, but he crashed his shot against the crossbar after a Maddison corner.
Puel’s men could also say they were lucky as it could have been 4-1 had Alexandre Lacazette converted his point-blank shot from another fine Ozil delivery in the closing stages.
Key statistics
Arsenal ended up with 69.1 percent possession and a total of six shots on target (out of 19 shot attempts). Meanwhile, Leicester had only eight shots and two clear-cut chances to score.
The victory now makes it 10 wins in a row in all competitions for the Gunners and, as mentioned, seven straight in the EPL.
With his goal, Ozil made it the headlines of the latest Premier League 2018 news. He is now the highest-scoring German player in league history with 30 goals, surpassing the 29-goal mark of Jurgen Klinsmann and Uwe Rosler.
Aubameyang had a record of his own as well following his superb substitute performance. He is now the fastest Arsenal player to reach 15-plus goals, hitting 16 in just 22 appearances. Club legend Thierry Henry was the previous record-holder with 15 markers in 30 appearances.
What’s next?
Arsenal’s next league game is against Crystal Palace, and the Premier League 2018 odds at SBOBET are favouring them to extend their winning streak when they visit the 16th-placed squad at Selhurst Park this weekend.
Before that away fixture though, the Gunners first make a trip to Portugal to play Sporting CP in the Europa League.
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