How’s that for starters!
Giroud seals amazing comeback on first night of Premier League season and says he is happy to be ‘super sub’
Remember va va voom? It feels like an eternity for Arsenal since a certain striker uttered those words, but two of Thierry Henry’s countrymen delivered here as the Premier League got off to another extraordinary start. A seven-goal thriller and a Friday fright night. And that was certainly true of Arsenal’s defending.
It was tough on Leicester City and, in particular, their own striker Jamie Vardy, who scored twice and was as sharp as a tack. Pop the corks, though, because the Premier League is back and just as it seemed that Vardy was again having a party, there was an intoxicating comeback from Arsenal who had until then, at times, stumbled drunkenly around the pitch.
Having lost by this scoreline at home to Liverpool in the opening game of last season, a campaign so traumatic it almost finally forced out manager Arsene Wenger, they got off to a rare winning start instead with headed goals from Alexandre Lacazette and the man the club’s record £54million signing has been brought in to replace, Olivier Giroud, to open and close the scoring.
Wenger used all three substitutes and abandoned his vaunted three-man defence to rescue this game, with his two French strikers in tandem as they eventually overwhelmed Leicester.
What to make of this Arsenal? They have awesome firepower. They have extraordinary depth. And that is with Alexis Sanchez injured and Mesut Ozil sleepwalking.
They were summed up by Granit Xhaka – the midfield enforcer who appeared set on damaging his own side more than the opposition – losing the ball, losing his man, but then delivering a sumptuous flighted pass to pick out another substitute, Aaron Ramsey, who struck the crisp cross-shot that drew Arsenal level and led to the late cavalry charge to victory.
Leicester called foul – pointing out that Ozil handled in the buildup – but Arsenal can counter that; maybe they should have had a firsthalf penalty when 2-1 down after Sead Kolasinac attempted to lift the ball over Wilfred Ndidi and it struck the midfielder’s outstretched arm.
But Arsenal cannot defend. At times they were thrilling – with Lacazette a fine addition who will score a bucketload of goals – but also shocking. Their defending was indefensible.
They were missing Per Mertesacker – confusingly, given that he was fit despite a nasty cut to the forehead – Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel, and Nacho Monreal was tasked with anchoring a three-man defence. Alongside him the new man, a cult figure in the making, Sead Kolasinac ended up doing Zidane flicks when he should have been finding row Z rather than trying to be Zizou. But hey, this is Arsenal.
It was some start for Lacazette. First attack. First goal. The ball was swung out to Hector Bellerin, who chested it down to tee up Mohamed Elneny for the cross that was met by Lacazette, stooping to steer his header powerfully beyond Kasper Schmeichel. Just 85 seconds had elapsed.
The Emirates erupted. A new hero had arrived? It looked like it, especially with the striker’s cool-cat celebration. Whisper it, but Ian Wright – whom Lacazette has been compared to – also scored on his debut. And also against Leicester.
It seemed the visitors would be overwhelmed, but not at all. Leicester hit back with a header of their own and another that probably should have been prevented, with Marc Albrighton crossing deep, goalkeeper Petr Cech caught out and Leicester’s own debutant Harry Maguire nodding it back across goal for Shinji Okazaki to beat Xhaka.
Less than five minutes had elapsed – there were just 160 seconds between the goals – and there was no let-up. This was the first time in the 129-history of football in this country that the top flight had kicked off on a Friday. It was as if people could not wait and it felt like that with the rapid start. Attacks were unleashed; defences were undone.
Arsenal threatened but it was Leicester, once more, who were incisive.
Again there were mistakes, with Xhaka’s lazy pass intercepted by Albrighton, who sped down the left and crossed for Vardy to swoop and guide the ball home. A signature Vardy, fox-in-the-box strike. “We’re going to win the league… again,” chanted the gleeful Leicester supporters.
The home discontent, inevitably, began to brew. It was knife-edge football already, and so it was a relief for Arsenal when Lacazette’s shot was smothered but the ball broke to Kolasinac (what was he doing up in the opposition penalty area?)’, and he calmly passed it back to Danny Welbeck to bundle it beyond Schmeichel.
Riyad Mahrez – quiet until then, maybe distracted by his transfer request – came to life. He forced a corner and took it. From it, Vardy was allowed to run free by Xhaka and with Monreal reacting late, Vardy glanced his header past Cech.
Now it became frantic. A question of whether Leicester could hold on, but when Ramsey struck there was still time, momentum and a wall of pressure from Arsenal.
Even so it took a brilliant header to win it, with Giroud finding accuracy and outstanding power to snap the ball past Schmeichel from a corner.
The ball cannoned off the bar and over the goalline before the goalkeeper clawed it out. Arsenal, too, were over the line. And the Premier League is back.