Foxes at the double
Maddison and Vardy lift Leicester to second as Gunners crash
It said plenty about the current state of these two teams that one of the biggest surprises on another invigorating night for Leicester City was that it took nearly 70 minutes to find a way past this Arsenal defence. Times have changed in the Premier League and there was no better example of these sides’ respective paths than the way Leicester dominated an Arsenal team who came with the primary objective of keeping their opponents at bay.
There were moments when it looked as if Unai Emery’s side, all nerves and defensive hiccups in recent weeks, might have rediscovered some of their long-lost solidity. Calum Chambers was flying into tackles, David Luiz was marshalling a three-man defence. They should have known, though, that Jamie Vardy would have his say. He always does against Arsenal, the club who once tried to secure his services. Emery’s side are ripe for terrorising right now and there is no one more adept at exposing their weaknesses than Vardy, whose goal was his ninth in his nine league starts against Arsenal.
Having scored one, Vardy then created a quick-fire second for James Maddison, as Brendan Rodgers and his side jumped into second place. “I came here to make an impact and hopefully create something we can sustain over a period of years,” Rodgers said afterwards.
Could they even sustain a title challenge? Rodgers was not taking the bait, although he did say that Leicester have thrown a “hand grenade” into the bigsix party. The effects will be felt from Old Trafford to Stamford Bridge and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. And that is before we even come to Arsenal, where Emery is appearing ever more forlorn on the touchline. The “sacked in the morning” chants from the home crowd were almost certainly premature – as of this week there had been no indication to Emery that his job was under immediate threat – but Arsenal cannot continue like this for much longer. Change is needed, and Emery believes he needs time to deliver it.
“I am speaking with the club to stay calm and to stay patient,” he said. “We have young players who are improving and growing up with us. We are receiving criticism, but I know that is my job. I accept the applause and I accept it when they criticise us. I know when we win, they [the fans] are going to be happy and when we lose, they are going to be sad. It’s normal.”
In terms of the performance itself, there were genuine moments of promise for Arsenal. They were certainly better organised than in recent weeks, with Emery saying the players had largely followed the “game plan” he had devised for them. That game plan, which often featured a five-man defence, was more reactive than proactive, though, and the defensive approach felt like an admission that Leicester were simply a better side. Which they are, of course. Arsenal have now won just one of their past seven matches. Leicester have won eight of their past nine, and their tally of 26 points from their 12 league games this season is their highest ever, including their title-winning season in 2015/16.
“The beauty of these players is that we have a style and identity to how we want to play,” Rodgers said. “It is a huge credit to the players because of how they have adapted to how I have asked them to work and everything they have put in has been very good. They are playing with confidence, they are playing with a steel.”
With Vardy in attack, they are also playing with arguably the league’s most dangerous striker. The Premier League’s top scorer was kept quiet for large spells here, but once again he did the damage to Arsenal in the key moments of the game. To score one and create another was proof of his matchwinning quality and his finishing made for a telling contrast with the struggles of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette at the other end. “I have to say, he has been a dream to work with,” Rodgers said. “He is tactically brilliant in the game and he trains every day to be the best he can be.”
The worrying truth for Arsenal is that Leicester should really have been in front before Vardy’s interventions towards the end. Wilfred Ndidi had crashed an effort against the bar at the start of the second half, and there were a series of wasted half-chances in the first as Chambers and Luiz defended resolutely for the visitors.
Arsenal did have opportunities of their own, particularly on the counterattack. Lacazette and Hector Bellerin fired off target and Mesut Ozil – tackling and pressing in uncharacteristic style – caused problems on the few occasions he was provided with decent service.
But Vardy’s goal felt inevitable. It was a team effort, with Harvey Barnes and Youri Tielemans proving too sharp as they allowed Vardy to sweep his low finish into the corner after finding space inside the penalty area.
The second came just minutes later, with Vardy again proving to be the primary mischief-maker. His lay-off found Maddison, whose drilled effort scorched inside Bernd Leno’s near post and confirmed what few are questioning: Leicester are on the up, while Arsenal are scrambling for a foothold.