10-MAN GUNNERS FOILED BY VARDY
PREMIER LEAGUE Leicester deny Gunners after Nketiah’s crazy red card
IT seemed rather fanciful, during lockdown, when Arsenal’s directors offered a bonus for Champions League qualification in return for wage cuts. And there is a reason no Arsenal player should be adding to his Ferrari collection just yet.
It came here, in a game Arsenal should have won, but contrived to give away in the final 20 minutes. They were leading, not cruising, but certainly on top. Mikel Arteta made a double substitution and, three minutes later, Arsenal went down to ten men.
Still, they led. All they had to do was shore up, defend in banks, close the game out. So, obviously, it was soon 1-1. Demarai Gray whipped in a low cross, Ayoze Perez stretched for it but couldn’t get there. Jamie Vardy, however, could. He prodded the ball home at the far post as Shkodran Mustafi failed to cover his run.
It was a big point for Leicester, given they had surrendered third place to Chelsea earlier. This was not even to retake it but it keeps their noses in front of Manchester United, who will stay fifth even if they win at Aston Villa tomorrow.
As for Arsenal, the big pay-out is closer than it looked several months ago.
This was a genuine chance to reel in ailing Leicester. For long spells the most likely outcome — three points for the home side — showed the differing directions of these teams.
Arsenal were in the ascendancy, Leicester fighting a losing battle to hold what they had before football went into mothballs.
It was not to be. Arsenal failed to hold on for what would have been their fourth clean sheet in the league and the scoreline that used to be celebrated in these parts will always be a tall order for this defence.
Yes, playing with ten men for the last 16 minutes plus additional time, was not the fault of the back line. But the dismal late cameo of substitute Eddie Nketiah did not necessarily have to change the game.
He is young and will learn, but it was a harsh lesson. Introduced for Bukayo Saka after 71 minutes, Nketiah was shown a red card after 74, with most of the interim period spent deliberating over whether he should be on the field at all.
The ball ran loose in the centre of the pitch and Nketiah went after it, and Leicester defender Justin James.
He was high, late and studs up, a red card all day long. Referee Chris Kavanagh, however, brandished only yellow; at which point VAR rightly intervened. It was a sensible interruption, too, advising Kavanagh to consult the pitchside monitor to see if he wished to upgrade his initial call.
Kavanagh trotted across, saw what the rest of the stadium had already witnessed on their little screens, and came to the correct decision. Nketiah was gone.
He probably didn’t even get a touch of the ball.
After a sluggish start, Arsenal dominated for 30 minutes before half-time, took a deserved lead and could have scored several times.
They looked like a team capable of being shaped by Arteta, if funds are provided for improvements in key areas.
The first evidence of growing confidence came from a 30-yard shot from Kieran Tierney that required Kasper Schmeichel to get his body behind the ball to save. A minute later, however, Leicester’s goalkeeper was powerless as Arsenal went ahead.
The excellent Bukaya Saka was the architect here. He has been a revelation this season and left the normally reliable Caglar Soyuncu on his backside, as he sped towards goal.
The cross was simplicity, as was Pierre Emerick Aubameyang’s finish, a tap-in with Leicester’s defensive line stretched to breaking point. Arsenal had a spell running riot from that point.
With better finishing they could have been done. In the 29th minute, Alexandre Lacazette found Saka, whose low shot produced a good Schmeichel save. Just three minutes later the roles reversed, Saka playing a lovely pass inside to Lacazette who forced the save of the half from Schmeichel.
The ball was cleared but soon returned: this time Hector Bellerin breaking down the right and striking a shot high, which Schmeichel tipped over the bar.
Arsenal were not done and in the 39th minute a neat chip by Bellerin found Lacazette, who really should have done more with his diving header, delivering it neatly into the arms of the goalkeeper.
The second half continued in similar vein, a free-kick by David Luiz forcing Schmeichel to tip it round the far post for a corner after 52 minutes.
For Brendan Rodgers, standing drenched on the sidelines as summer drizzle turned to something considerably damper, it must have come as something of a surprise to see his team forced back. They had begun brightly with three decent chances in a three-minute spell early on.
The game was nine minutes old when Ayoze Perez picked out Vardy, fresh from passing the milestone of his 100th Premier League goal, the striker turning Luiz easily before unleashing a shot saved by stand-in goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
A long ball from Youri Tielemans forced Martinez off his line to make a headed clearance under pressure from Vardy soon after — he was forced into similar sweeper action later in the game when Schmeichel took a swift kick out of his hands after making a save — before Leicester spurned their best early chance.
The ball was cut back by Marc Albrighton and fell to Kelechi Iheanacho. His shot was low and fierce but was kept out by Martinez’s feet and his brilliant reactions.
After half-time a close-range shot from Justin James struck Luiz, producing a hearty shout for handball and a penalty, but referee Chris Kavanagh was having none of it. He was right, too.
Replays showed it had struck the defender flush in the face.
ARSENAL (3-4-3): Martinez; Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac; Bellerin, Ceballos (Torreira 81), Xhaka, Tierney; Saka (Willock 71), Lacazette (Nketiah 71), Aubameyang (Maitland-Niles 90). Subs not used: Macey, Sokratis, Holding, Pepe, Nelson. Booked: Mustafi. Sent off: Nketiah.
LEICESTER (3-4-1-2): Schmeichel; Bennett (Gray 76), Evans, Soyuncu; Justin, Ndidi (Praet 82), Tielemans, Albrighton (Fuchs 59); Ayoze; Iheanacho (Barnes 59), Vardy. Subs not used: Ward, Morgan, Mendy, Choudhury, James.
Booked: None.
Man of the match: Bukayo Saka. Referee: Chris Kavanagh.