please log in to view this image Venue: King Power Stadium Date: Saturday 15th February 2025 KO time: 12:30 GMT Overall Record Wins: 73 Losses: 33 Draws: 45 Last six meetings Arsenal 4-2 Leicester City Leicester City 0-1 Arsenal Arsenal 4-2 Leicester City Arsenal 2-0 Leicester City Leicester City 0-2 Arsenal Leicester City 1-3 Arsenal please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Whilst I'm happy we found a way to win, I can't ignore how pedestrian and laborious that performance was for most of the game. Leicester City are in the bottom three for a reason, they're not a good side - and we looked very ordinary. We didn't create much at all until Jorginho and Calafiori came on, to be honest. I get that results are the most important thing, and performances are secondary (especially in the business end of the season). But we really struggled to break them down because we weren't shifting the ball fast enough and kept messing up the last ball when we entered the final 3rd. This isn't a new thing, it's been an issue for most of the season. We don't maximise all areas of the pitch when we attack. The Merino sub was huge, and he made an incredible impact. However, I don't see us winning enough games by playing this way. For now, we can be delighted with the 3 points and the gap being closed to 4 points (albeit Liverpool have a game in hand against Wolves at home). But in the context of the rest of the season, there's still big question marks over the current squad's capabilities. Let me end it on a positive though - Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly. Both of them absolutely sublime. Nwaneri especially. He was the only attacker that was consistently dangerous for the entire game. It's scary that he's only 17 and looks this good. He'll no doubt have dips in form, as is normal with a player of that age - but he's got an incredible amount of potential. I'm so glad he's ours. Likewise with Lewis-Skelly, who made a crucial interception when he put that dangerous Ayew cross out for a corner because it looked like Decordova-Reid was going to tap it home. He locked down that right hand side as well. Superb showing from the pair of them. I look forward to seeing more of MLS in midfield because I think he could be a proper bulldozer in the middle of the park.
To be fair, Arteta said the first half performance was under par and they weren't pressing or playing with the right intensity (paraphrasing) The second half was much better. It's going to be difficult but we can win our remaining fixtures. Interestingly it feels like we hav'nt been great lately but it's 15 league games unbeaten now.
