‘Hungry’ Foxes out to make things tough for Emery and Gunners
>> LONDON: High-flying Leicester City will be hoping to continue their good run in the Premier League when they host struggling Arsenal today.
Third-placed Leicester have won their last four home matches this season and have beaten Arsenal in their last two home games.
A win over Unai Emery’s Gunners will see the Foxes, who have 21 points, move up to second ahead of champions Manchester City, who have 23 points and travel to leaders Liverpool tomorrow.
Leicester striker Jamie Vardy leads the league’s goal scoring charts with 10 goals and has scored five in his last three matches including one in the team’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace last week.
Brendan Rodgers’ men have scored 27 league goals, two more than Liverpool’s tally. “We’re 11 games in and we’ve made a really good start,” Rodgers said recently.
“And the players will get better. That’s the nice aspect. They are hungry to learn and they have an ambition to be the best and that’s a magic formula for any coach. We are not getting carried away though, it’s a long season, but we’ve made a good start.
“I have great pride with the team today,” he said. “You need to be strong mentally when you come to teams like this.
Arsenal have kept only two clean sheets in their last 24 away games in the Premier League. They have won only two of their last nine league matches.
Today’s game will be Emery’s 50th Premier League match with a record of 25 wins, 12 draws and 12 losses.
It could be his last game at Arsenal as reports claim former Chelsea and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho could replace the Spaniard.
Meanwhile, Granit Xhaka has been stripped of Arsenal’s captaincy after an emotional outburst towards fans, Emery said. AGENCIES