Head down and with purposeful stride, Mikel Arteta marched off the pitch as more than 3,000 jubilant Arsenal fans belted out his name. One more goal, one more win, one step closer to a prize that has eluded them for nearly two decades.
Not even VAR could stop the Gunners in their tracks this time as they briefly moved five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
A contentious call from Stockley Park saw Leandro Trossard’s first-half strike ruled out, and then Leicester defender Harry Souttar’s shove on Bukayo Saka was somehow missed by those in the video bunker.
But Arsenal kept their nerve and claimed their 10th away win of the campaign thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s goal right at the start of the second half.
No wonder Arteta was grinning broadly as he applauded the 3,284-strong contingent and hugged everyone in sight as he headed for the tunnel. The Spaniard had been like a cat on hot bricks throughout, frequently straying on to the pitch and berating the fourth official.
Mikel Arteta was delighted after watching side move five points clear at the top of the table
Gabriel Martinelli’s second half goal was enough for Arsenal to beat Leicester on Saturday
Martinelli celebrates with Bukayo Saka after scoring the match-winning goal for the visitors
But his players kept their nerve, without Jorginho, Martin Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Trossard catching the eye.
Leicester suffered badly in attack without James Maddison, who has knee trouble though the club said he was missing due to illness, and never tested Aaron Ramsdale. The Foxes remain in relegation trouble and have a huge game at Southampton next weekend.
‘We were not quick enough or technically fast enough when we had opportunities,’ reflected Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers.
‘We were disappointed with the goal. We were in a good position to build but we got rid of it, Martinelli scored and that was the defining moment of the game. We stayed in the game throughout but they’re top for a reason and they showed that.’
Zinchenko was handed the captaincy by regular skipper Odegaard as a mark of respect on the first anniversary of the start of Ukraine, Zinchenko’s homeland.
Energised by their late victory at Aston Villa Park last weekend, Arsenal began positively. Uncertain defending from the home side presented Odegaard with a difficult chance in the first minute, which he volleyed over.
Zinchenko was finding space throughout the first half and he sent Trossard through in the 12th minute, forcing Wout Faes to make a timely block.
Moments later, Jorginho put Saka clear with an excellent pass from deep, taking Victor Kristiansen out of the game. This time it was Harry Souttar who came to Leicester’s rescue with a covering challenge.
The Gunners also had two goals ruled out in the game, but still managed to get all three points
Martinelli received a knock upon scoring his goal but was fine to continue playing
Arsenal thought they had taken the lead in the 26th minute when Danny Ward’s punch at a corner fell to Granit Xhaka. The Swiss midfielder set up Trossard, who was given too much space on the edge of the box and found the top corner brilliantly.
Yet their joy was curtailed when VAR Michael Salisbury called referee Craig Pawson to the monitor. Pawson agreed that Ben White had impeded Ward unfairly at the corner by grabbing his forearm, and the goal was ruled out.
Though Arsenal were in control, Leicester might have punished them on the break with better decisions. Kelechi Iheanacho had the ball in the net but was offside, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall delayed his pass when the home side were three-on-two after an Arsenal corner.
MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS
LEICESTER CITY (4-2-3-1): Ward 6; Castagne 5 (Pereira 85), Souttar 6, Faes 6.5, Kristiansen 6; Ndidi 6 (Soumare 76, 6), Dewsbury-Hall 6.5; Tete 4 (Tielemans 62, 6), Praet 5 (Daka 76, 6), Barnes 6.5; Iheanacho 6 (Vardy 62, 6).
Subs (not used): Iversen, Amartey, Mendy, Thomas.
ARSENAL (4-3-3): Ramsdale 6.5; White 6, Saliba 7, Gabriel 7, Zinchenko 8 (Tomiyasu 90); Odegaard 8 (Partey 84), Jorginho 7.5, Xhaka 6.5; Saka 6.5, Trossard 7.5 (Nketiah 70, 6), Martinelli 7.
Subs (not used): Turner, Tierney, Smith-Rowe, Kiwior, Holding, Vieira.
Booked: Martinelli.
Referee: C Pawson (South Yorkshire) 6.
Attendance: 32,227.
At the other end, Saka was frustrated not to win a penalty for Souttar’s clumsy challenge and Martinelli fired over from a tight angle to round off a clever move involving Zinchenko, Saka and Odegaard.
All Arsenal’s irritation vanished in the first minute of the second half when they finally surged in front. Trossard played a clever pass through the legs of Souttar and Martinelli provided a finish to match, though there was an immediate cost.
The Brazilian took a whack on the knee from Wilfred Ndidi as he tried to block the shot but was able to continue.
He continued as Arsenal had two hairy moments, first when Trossard gave the ball away Harvey Barnes and then when Tete – who had struggled to find the pace of the game – was inches away from turning in Barnes’ cross.
Defender Oleksandr Zinchenko wore the captain’s armband as a mark of respect for the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Yet with Zinchenko, Odegaard and Jorginho pulling the strings, Arsenal were always dangerous.
Saka had the ball in the net from Martinelli’s cut-back and the excellent Trossard won a free-kick close to the ‘D’ which Odegaard drilled into the wall. Moments earlier Ward had looked uncertain in parrying Zinchenko’s angled effort.
Arteta brought off Trossard for Eddie Nketiah with 20 minutes to go and by then Jamie Vardy was on for Leicester. The home side were still in the game and Dewsbury-Hall was just off target from 20 yards.
Though he and Barnes found many promising positions, they lacked quality at the decisive moments and it cost Leicester in the end. Arteta, meanwhile, was already looking ahead. ‘On to the next one – Everton,’ he said. His team have certainly found their stride again.
source: dailymail.co.uk
