Arsenal 2-0 Leicester: 4 big positives from important win

With 12 matches to go in this Premier League season Arsenal find themselves in the top four positions, one point clear of Manchester United ahead of facing Liverpool on Wednesday.

Retaking their hold on fourth with a 2-0 victory over Leicester, it was the unlikely source of Thomas Partey who got the ball rolling for Mikel Arteta’s side.

His near post header after 11 minutes was just rewards for a positive start to the game. A bright opening was finally supplemented with a second goal courtesy of an Alexandre Lacazette penalty with an hour on the clock, in what was overall a fairly comfortable three points.

Heading into this game there was a strange feeling in the air. One of confidence. How far back must one cast the mind to remember a time where as a supporter you truly felt that Arsenal were going to win, especially against a side who had claimed four points from their previous two visits to the Emirates Stadium?

Arsenal 2-0 Leicester: 4 big positives from important win as Gunners move back into Premier League top four ahead of facing Liverpool

That alone is a big positive. Genuine belief that Arsenal would win a game of football. It’s been an emotion fans have been starved of for some time.

Given the difficulty of the task ahead, starting with title chasing Liverpool and ending with a trip to Villa Park just 64 hours later, a win on Sunday night was utterly paramount.

It’s a result that hands Arsenal breathing space over Manchester United, who won’t be back in Premier League action until after the international break, as well as Tottenham who slumped to defeat at Old Trafford last time out.

Everything about this team is positive. Individually there are some outstanding performances on show from the likes of Martin Odegaard and Thomas Partey, while the decision to stick with Mikel Arteta after the horror of last season is paying dividends. It would be nit-picking to find fault in this performance, since the vast majority was undeniably positive.

1. Arsenal Show Maturity and Professionalism

The overriding description of this display was one of professionalism. Three games in six days would take it out of even the fittest teams in the country, so to have got through the 90 minutes without needing to overextend constitutes a near perfect outcome.

Arsenal played some mesmerising football in the first half, making them well worthy of their lead, with the doubt starting to creep in around the 30 minute mark. Leicester grew confident, controlled possession of the ball and would have grabbed their equaliser were it not for another flying Aaron Ramsdale save.

Coming out of the break there needed to be an improvement: more control and more territory in the opposition half.

Arteta instructed Arsenal to build from the back and through the thirds more, keeping the Foxes at arm’s length and starving them of the ball. When the second goal went in it was all about this young team showing maturity in the game state, which is precisely what Arteta demanded after the Watford game.

The manager wanted his team to complete “300,000” passes in the opposition. One particular passage in the 83rd minute was a perfect example of the team taking his words on board, with Leicester left chasing shadows as Arsenal bided their time in possession before waiting for the right moment to attack. It was calm and collected football with a pace dictated by the Gunners.

It was excellent game management. Arsenal found the right gears to score the goals before shifting down to an appropriate gear to see them game out and conserve energy.

Continued on next page…