After the start of the second half, Martinelli scored a goal which helped Arsenal increase their lead in the Premier League to five points. The Gunners were dominant throughout the game.
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Arsenal managed to secure a crucial 1-0 victory against Leicester, despite facing late pressure from the opposition. In contrast to Manchester City’s recent loss of a 1-0 lead, Arsenal held on to theirs, which helped to extend their lead over Manchester City by five points, albeit momentarily. Although Arsenal didn’t have their usual quick start, they dominated the possession in the beginning of the game. They thought they had scored when Leandro Trossard hit the back of the net, but VAR disallowed the goal due to a foul on Danny Ward during the build-up.
This decision seemed to dampen the first-half’s excitement, although Arsenal believed they should have been awarded a penalty soon after. In the second-half, Gabriel Martinelli scored a goal but also sustained an injury when Wilfred Ndidi accidentally stepped on his knee-cap during the scoring process. However, he seemed fine and played the entire game. Arsenal slowed down the tempo in the second half as they were mainly interested in protecting their 1-0 lead and had to absorb some late pressure from Leicester City in the late stages of the game.
Only a few weeks after expressing his frustration over Brentford’s equalizer being allowed to stand, the Arsenal manager may once again feel aggrieved. The first contentious moment occurred when Trossard believed he had scored a magnificent goal from outside the area, but the referee was advised by VAR to review the footage. Upon inspection, the referee noticed that Ben White, Arsenal’s right-back, had restrained Leicester City’s goalkeeper Danny Ward’s arm, preventing him from catching the ball. Just a few minutes later, Saka was knocked over in the penalty area by Harry Souttar as he was about to leap for a header. However, VAR decided not to intervene, concluding that the incident was not significant enough to award a penalty to Arsenal. Arteta appeared perplexed on the side-lines.
After winning 1-0, Arsenal has momentarily extended their lead at the top of the Premier League by five points. As Manchester City isn’t playing until later today against Bournemouth, Arteta can watch his team’s title rivals without much stress now that his team has completed their task. The Gunners are now preparing for two consecutive home games, with the first being against Everton, which will be their second meeting in four weeks, followed by a visit from Bournemouth next weekend. Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers, Leicester’s manager, should be worried about his team’s lack of attacking prowess for a prolonged period, as they currently sit in 14th place in the league.
