Arsenal player ratings vs Leicester: Pepe and Willian star in comeback win

Goals from David Luiz, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe saw Arsenal come from behind to beat Leicester 3-1 in the Premier League on Sunday. Here are the player ratings.

This match started like so many others: Arsenal down early and praying for a comeback. And for the first 25 minutes, it looked like so many games we’ve played this season: another incumbent 1-0 loss.

A poor turnover and even worse defending had me rubbing my head and bemoaning individual errors, a trend that’s starting to score itself into the hearts of most Arsenal fans.

Thankfully, I think some of our comeback mojo rubbed off on this side from Benfica at the midweek. All we needed was a single goal to ignite some momentum, and Luiz provided that with a lovely stooping header off a disguised delivery from Willian.

Arsenal player ratings vs Leicester: Nicolas Pepe and Willian star in comeback Premier League win

And Arsenal looked nothing short of rampaging from there, scoring two more in quick succession, albeit split by halftime.

The second half developed a more recognizable pattern after Pepe’s goal, as Arsenal looked to protect their lead, and Leicester looked to claw one back. An ugly injury to Harvey Barnes and the introduction of Thomas Partey locked the game at it’s 3-1 scoreline, although the introduction of Aubameyang did threaten that parity. Things you love to see.

Arsenal Goalkeeper & Defenders Ratings

GK: Bernd Leno – 6.0

Nothing he could do about the Tielemans goal, which was unfortunately reminiscent of the ‘Leno Island’ days of the Unai Emery reign. He really is a cool cucumber on the ball these days, although sometimes a bit too much for my liking. Did all the easy things right, and was relatively untroubled throughout.

RB: Cedric Soares – 6.9

Leicester were so right-side dominant that he wasn’t often called upon defensively, but did a great job dealing with the Foxes’ high press. Had a number of lovely dribbles. Really developing a good partnership with Pepe, which is lovely to see.

CB: David Luiz – 6.0

Hit a few too many aimless balls for my liking. Grew into the game along with the team, and was the better of the two centre-backs. Never looked fully secure marking Jamie Vardy, but then, who would be. Absolutely lovely header to draw level.

CB: Pablo Mari – 5.5

Almost completely at fault for the early goal. The turnover was poor, but backing off there is unacceptable. Looked relatively comfortable for the rest of the first half, and his lack of pace wasn’t particularly exposed. Progressed the ball quite well throughout, and had a couple of key blocks too. His rating would be much higher if not for the early lapse of judgement.

LB: Kieran Tierney – 6.0

Looked like more of a left winger than Willian. The true danger man for most of the first half, as he so often is, but he did well to nullify the threat of Ricardo Pereira as well. It’s funny, I’m almost becoming numb to his brilliance because he just does it every game, regardless of the opponent. Unsurprisingly, very solid today, albeit with very little end product.