Arsenal are back to fourth place on the EPL table after a convincing 2-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium.
Thomas Partey scored his first league goal for the Gunners with a near-post header in the first half and Alexander Lacazette converted from the penalty spot to double the home side’s lead in the second.
This was a fourth consecutive league win for Mikel Arteta’s men since their last league defeat on New Year’s Day and puts them in a good position for one of the Champions League slots at the end of the season.
Arteta started the same 11 players that defeated Watford seven days ago but Brendan Rodgers made changes to his side after their exertions in the Conference League on Thursday.
Rested were Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemans, and Patson Daka, and in came Nampalys Mendy, for his first league start of the season, and Kelechi Iheanacho, who came on as a substitute against Rennes and scored. The loss was their first in five and they remain in 12th place.
Arsenal were always dangerous down the two flanks where Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka operated. Martinelli had a penalty shout in the seventh minute and he supplied the perfect cross for Partey to open the scoring with a free header in the 11th minute. The Ghanaian almost doubled his tally for the season seven minutes later but his glorious curler came off the post with Kasper Schmeichel beaten.
Harvey Barnes forced Aaron Ramsdale into a smart save in the 24th minute after he gathered into his path a great pass from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall as the Foxes grew into the game. Ramsdale then produced a reflex save from a goal-bound header from Barnes in the 36th minute. The Foxes were on top by the end of the half but Ramsdale has been superb, as he has been all season.
✈️ Flying for the opener
🙌 @Thomaspartey22 pic.twitter.com/KDZpyOebYd
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 13, 2022
Schmeichel had to tip away a Saka volley in the second half as the Gunners got back on top. There was a lengthy stop in the 54th minute after VAR intervened in an incident in which Caglar Soyuncu got his fingers on a goal-bound header from Partey.
Referee Anthony Taylor consulted the monitor and awarded the penalty, which Lacazette converted. Ramsdale made another save in the 65th minute from Marc Albrighton. Iheanacho forced the Arsenal goalkeeper into another save in the 72nd minute as Leicester piled forward. Patson Daka soon replaced Iheanacho. Schmeichel had to be sharp to deny Emile Smith Rowe with the clock winding down.
With two games in hand, Arsenal are breathing down the neck of Chelsea in third and they welcome league title chasers, Liverpool, on Wednesday in what will be a tough test as they seek to maintain their top-four position.
In other games of the day, Chelsea fought hard to beat Newcastle 1-0 at Stamford Bridge. It was the first home match after former Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, was sanctioned by the UK government. Newcastle fans were aggrieved Kai Havertz was allowed to stay on the pitch after his flailing elbow caught Dan Burn in the first half.
The in-form Chelsea striker produced an exquisite touch and finish in the 89th minute to condemn the Magpies to their first league defeat in 2022.
Everton were plunged deeper into relegation worries with a 1-0 home defeat to Wolves while Leeds United handed their new manager Jesse Marsch, a first-ever win with a 2-1 win over Norwich City.
Joe Gelhardt gave them the win in the fourth minute of added time. Watford also won away at Southampton courtesy of a first-half brace from Juan Hernandez. The win takes them to 22 points, the same as 17th-placed Everton though the Toffees have played three matches less than the Hornets.
Support PREMIUM TIMES’ journalism of integrity and credibility
Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
For continued free access to the best investigative journalism in the country we ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.
By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you are helping to sustain a journalism of relevance and ensuring it remains free and available to all.
Donate
TEXT AD: *100% Natural Herbs to finally End Premature Ejaculation & Weak Erection . Click Here for details
(function() {
var _fbq = window._fbq || (window._fbq = []);
if (!_fbq.loaded) {
var fbds = document.createElement(‘script’);
fbds.async = true;
fbds.src = “http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbds.js”;
var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(fbds, s);
_fbq.loaded = true;
}
_fbq.push([‘addPixelId’, ‘756614861070731’]);
})();
window._fbq = window._fbq || [];
window._fbq.push([‘track’, ‘PixelInitialized’, {}]);
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = ‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=249643311490&version=v2.3’; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
