Arsenal beat Leicester 4-2 after stoppage-time goals from Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz completed an enthralling match.
Mikel Arteta’s team looked to be dropping points after a spirited fightback from Leicester and a brace of goals from James Justin cancelled out a Gabriel Martinelli strike and Trossard’s first of the game just before the break.
However, the Gunners continued to push for the winner and were rewarded when Trossard bundled the ball home from a corner and Havertz put the icing on the cake with a tap in.
Arsenal go second in the Premier League, on goal difference to Manchester City, with the champions held to a 1-1 draw in Newcastle earlier in the day. If Liverpool beat Wolves later they will return to the summit.
Here, our Arsenal writer Art de Roché breaks down the big talking points from the game.
Nwaneri sparks late surge
Leicester’s last two visits to the Emirates have coincided with major moments involving the Emirates crowd. Two seasons ago they lifted William Saliba by applauding him after scoring an own goal. This afternoon, they reacted in similar fashion to lift the side after Leicester’s equaliser.
The real difference-maker this time was the introduction of Ethan Nwaneri. Fresh from his two goals in the week against Bolton, the 17-year-old entered the pitch with no fear. While star players like Saka and Rice were deliberating over their actions, Nwaneri’s first showed intent.
(Warren Little/Getty Images)
Receiving the ball in midfield, he drove forward and unleashed a shot that required another strong save from Mads Hermansen. The Emirates crowd was energised, and that energy flowed onto the pitch.
Nwaneri continued to be the spark, bringing the ball down effortlessly inside a packed box and winning corner after corner for Arsenal. Thankfully for Arteta, it was from one of these corners that they retook the lead with Saka finding Trossard at the back post.
Is Martinelli back?
Martinelli’s goal was his first since the 6-0 win away to Sheffield United in March — a 20-game spell. That, and his assist for Trossard, were essential in settling Arsenal down but the 23-year-old may have more work to do to look like his best self.
(Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
The Brazilian was Arsenal’s outlet due to his pace and there were moments when his decision-making was the focus of the 60,000 in attendance at the Emirates. The forward should have tested Hermansen in goal with his first effort but his first touch led to a rushed finish.
Later in the game, when Havertz and Trossard sped the play up with their quick passes around the corner, he still had moments of indecision that slowed attacks back down.
Martinelli’s performance was not a return to his impressive form of two seasons ago. Even so, the calm he showed to pick out Trossard for his goal, as well as his own finish, is a promising sign.
Lapses nearly cost Arsenal
Arsenal were held back by defensive lapses last season, and they cannot afford for that to be a recurring theme for this campaign. Saliba catching Vardy as the striker did not appear intentional, but how the free kick was dealt with needed to be better.
Havertz’s reaction of dropping back when Leicester initially faked their free kick was only natural. Once the ball was flying to his area, however, he must make a better attempt to push forward. Organisationally, he was also left to defend both James and Wilfried Ndidi on his own.
Arsenal have generated 3.79 xG vs Leicester City today – already the highest xG total by any team in a Premier League game this season.
Leicester are clinging on for dear life at the Emirates.
Can they escape with a point? #ARSLEI pic.twitter.com/WoYHTBISwQ
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 28, 2024
Not much could be done about James’ excellent volley, but the lapse on the first goal puts Arsenal on the edge. With so much stress put on finer details by Mikel Arteta, this will be a reminder of why they are so important.
That would have especially been the case had Leicester held on for the point all Hermansen’s saves seemed to have earned.
Saliba starts the car
After a few minutes of sparring, the pattern of the game seemed to be set. Leicester would camp their team in the box and wait for Arsenal to break them down. As a result, space was hard to come by in the opening 15 minutes but two moments helped open the game.
Both started with William Saliba.
The first came from him stepping up in midfield, when Leicester were primed for an attack, and led to a Martinelli chance flashing wide from the left. The second, minutes later, resulted in Arsenal’s opener.
The Frenchman outmuscled Jamie Vardy in the centre circle and gave Arsenal even more space to attack — and they took full advantage. Timber’s overlapping run was found by Saka and the right-back picked out Martinelli for his 50th Arsenal goal.
Arsenal looked freer from that moment, with Trossard and Havertz heavily involved afterwards. In a match where space is a luxury, capitalising when they did was key.
What did Mikel Arteta say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Arsenal?
Tuesday, October 1: Paris Saint-Germain (H), Champions League, 8pm BST, 3pm ET
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(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images))
