Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs Leicester City: 5 things we learned – Positives despite disappointment

By Andrew Dowdeswell

Arsenal, Bukayo Saka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Arsenal, Bukayo Saka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 07: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates with teammates Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Leicester City at Emirates Stadium on July 07, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 07: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates with teammates Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Leicester City at Emirates Stadium on July 07, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

On Tuesday evening, Arsenal hosted Leicester City in another must-win match to keep their Champions League hopes alive. Here are five things we learned from the 1-1 draw.

Needing a victory, Arsenal produced one of their best 45-minute performances under Mikel Arteta against Leicester City on Tuesday evening. They went 1-0 up, created several other opportunities on top of that, and looked largely dominant. Then the second half came, Leicester grew into the game, and Eddie Nketiah overstretched for a loose ball and was sent off, 90 seconds after being brought on. Jamie Vardy converted a late cross and that was that.

Here are five things we learned from the 1-1 draw.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 07: Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal leaves the pitch following being shown a red card after a VAR decision during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Leicester City at Emirates Stadium on July 07, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 07: Eddie Nketiah of Arsenal leaves the pitch following being shown a red card after a VAR decision during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Leicester City at Emirates Stadium on July 07, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

5. Don’t blame Nketiah

Eddie Nketiah came on for Alexandre Lacazette in the 71st minute. 90 seconds later, he was stretching for a loose ball and strikes the inside of James Justin’s leg with his studs. By the 75th minute, he was trudging back down the tunnel following VAR overturning the initial yellow card decision.

The red card changed the game, and as soon as Nketiah left the pitch it left Arsenal scrambling to defend their lead. Leicester moved the ball well, eventually found Jamie Vardy in the penalty area, and snatched the equaliser. It left the Gunners ruing what could have been had Nketiah just controlled himself that little bit more.

Any blame for Nketiah, though, is utterly misplaced. He was brought on to chase loose balls and harass the Leicester defenders. He very nearly nicked the ball away from Justin and would have burst into space. Arteta would be more upset with Nketiah had he not challenged for the ball. It was a bad tackle that deserved a red card, but Nketiah is not to blame for these dropped points.