Arsenal 2-0 Leicester: 4 talking points as Gunners go fourth

A thoroughly professional Arsenal performance pushed aside Leicester City 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. A goal in each half from Thomas Partey and Alexandre Lacazette was enough to see the Gunners cruise back into the top four.

Mikel Arteta went with the same side that defeated Watford 3-2 last time out in the Premier League, with consistency in results matched by consistency in selections. The team looks extremely settled. Emile Smith Rowe returned to the squad after a bout of Covid, but there was still no place for Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Both teams started well, but it was Arsenal who grew into the game more and they were duly rewarded soon after.

It took Arsenal just 11 minutes to grab the lead. A corner fizzed in from Martinelli was met by the head of Thomas Partey who gave the Gunners a deserved early goal. With the lead in hand, the Gunners continued to pressure the visitors but couldn’t double their advantage.

Arsenal 2-0 Leicester: 4 talking points as Gunners go fourth with goals from Thomas Partey and Alexandre Lacazette sealing crucial Premier League win

Leicester grew into the game and towards the end of the first half were dominant, with Harvey Barnes forcing a superb save from Aaron Ramsdale with a close-range header. Despite its good work, the Foxes went into the sheds at half-time 1-0 down, although still very much in the game.

With just over ten minutes gone in the second half, Arsenal was awarded a penalty after Caglar Soyuncu was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box with an outstretched hand.

Alexandre Lacazette thundered home his penalty to give Arsenal a 2-0 lead with 30 minutes remaining. Mikel Arteta’s side was able to see out the rest of the game with the utmost of ease as it was yet another three points for the impressive Gunners.

The game provided plenty of talking points, here they are.

1. Martin Odegaard the Conductor of the Orchestra

It’s regular occurrence for the Norwegian. There is no end to his brilliance. On Sunday, he was on another level. Again.

While Arsenal was supposedly in for James Maddison last summer as their creative dynamo on an astronomical fee, today Odegaard was levels above the Englishman – and for half the price.

His body feints, neat flicks, vision to pick out passes no one else would even envisage, and superb build-up with Bukayo Saka were a sight to behold. At times he was nearly unplayable, doing as he pleased in the right half-spaces.

Constantly assuming possession and gliding past defenders before threading passes at will, this level of technical accomplishment is now eerily reminiscent of a certain German No.10 that called Arsenal home for years.

Odegaard is playing with a supreme confidence he’s never had previously in his career and it is showing. No Leicester player could get near him as he dished up a masterclass in how to control games from a technical standpoint. With each passing week, the Norwegian is proving to be one of Arteta’s best ever signings.

How can you not talk about him?

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2. Arsenal Remain Ridiculously Consistent

The 2-0 win over Leicester was Arsenal’s ninth win in 11 games as Arteta’s side remain the most in form team, not only in the division, but across Europe. That’s now 28 points from the last 33 available.

With their top-four destiny in their own hands, a win was paramount, and especially at home where they’ve been imperious this season.

The game was never in doubt and now we are seeing levels of consistency that were unheard of over the last two to three years. Credit where it is due for Arteta. The knives were out mere months ago and now he has transformed Arsenal into the model of consistency that most of the league needs to follow.

What was most pleasing about the win was the professionalism shown. Arsenal slowed the game down when they needed to, conserved energy at the right times, never overexerted themselves and kept the ball well.

There were some more sluggish moments, such as the final 15 or so minutes of the first half, but this game was all about finding the right gear at the right moments. There was no unnecessary drama.

With the win, the Gunners move back into the top four on the back of five consecutive wins. You have to go back to January 1 for Arsenal’s last defeat in the league, a 2-1 loss to Manchester City, and this is only the second time in Arteta’s tenure that they’ve notched five straight wins in the league.

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3. Another Thomas Partey Masterclass

The Ghanaian midfielder put his team into the lead with just over 11 minutes played and his goal was just reward for weeks of outstanding midfield play.

Truthfully, he could have got himself a hat-trick. Shortly after his goal he struck the upright with a bending shot, and then it was his goalbound header that prompted Soyuncu to give away the second half penalty.

From a defensive perspective he screened the back four majestically on Sunday, winning 100% of his duels, making the most tackles (4), recovering the ball six times and making two interceptions. It was a defensive midfield masterclass with all the additional flair he offers.

His ability to break up Leicester’s attacking forays with a well-timed leg will surely give Brendan Rodgers fits in the review of the game. He killed everything. And then on the other side of his display there were body feints and neat touches galore that got him out of potential trouble.

Partey was, and is, the midfield general. He does the dirty work that allows Granit Xhaka to push further forward and he keeps breaking lines with passes into Martin Odegaard that facilitate him to do what he does best: dazzle. Being this defensively sound grants others the confidence to push forward knowing he is back protecting Benjamin White and Gabriel, meaning Arsenal can dominate advanced territories.

He’s fundamental to everything this team does.

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4. Champions League Boost Pre-Liverpool

With Manchester United and West Ham both winning, the pressure was on Arsenal to maintain their form against a side who’d claimed four points from their previous two visits to the Emirates Stadium. They did so with ease as Leicester was barely given a sniff at goal.

The win sees the Gunners move back into the top four with three games in hand over Manchester United and West Ham in fifth and sixth, while Arsenal moved also six points clear of Tottenham with a solitary game in hand.

The chase for the coveted top-four spot is racing up and what this result does for Arsenal is it widens the margin for error in the midweek clash against Liverpool. No game will be viewed as a free hit in Arteta and the team’s mind, but they can at least not feel pressured into having to get a result.

It is Liverpool, after all.

To be in this position after the horrible start to the season is a credit to all involved. The dream of having Champions League football back at the Emirates is edging ever closer and the fans’ positive vibes are palpable. The connection is strong and the belief is there.

Watching the likes of Odegaard and Saka, it would be a huge disappointment for them not to be playing Champions League football next season. That’s undoubtedly their level.

Arsenal are well placed to grant them that honour.