Here’s Paul Wilson’s take on the match, hot off the press. Click, enjoy ... and thanks for reading this MBM.
Two glorious finishes, by Jamie Vardy and James Maddison, propel the Foxes to second place in the Premier League, as more pressure is heaped on Unai Emery
Updated
Sat 9 Nov 2019 14.59 EST
First published on Sat 9 Nov 2019 11.30 EST
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Key events
Here’s Unai. “Good evening. Our priority was being consistent ... we created some chances ... I thought in the first half we played well, and had opportunities to score and win the match ... the players worked and had very good attitude ... if we scored the first goal we could control, but we didn’t do, and they did ... our priority is to win the next match at home ... we are behind Leicester and Chelsea, but we must take confidence ... in 38 matches, little by little, we will get better ... we need time, we changed a lot of players ... we are ambitious but we need time.” Is the club behind him? “Yes.” And that’s it.
Jamie Vardy, this season’s leading Premier League scorer with 11 goals, speaks to Sky. “We knew it was going to be tough. There were chances for both teams. The boss said it was going to be about patience, keep working it, getting it out wide. And we managed to get two goals. There’s a long way to go. We look forward to the international break and a few days off. Then we’ll come back, ready to go for the next one. We’ve got to take each game as it comes, it’s a long slog. We’ll keep working hard.”
Unai Emery trudges off down the tunnel, a desolate and lonely figure. Perhaps he’s off to light up a Strand. It’s another miserable performance from his Arsenal team, who slip to sixth position, leapfrogged by Sheffield United, who drew at Tottenham. Leicester by contrast are cock-a-hoop, full of bounce despite the rain that continues to flatten their hair. They leapfrog Chelsea and Manchester City, moving into second place on goal difference. They’ll end up third tomorrow evening, should the champions Manchester City get at least a point at Anfield, but whatever happens there, they go into the international break in very good nick indeed.
FULL TIME: Leicester City 2-0 Arsenal
The 2015-16 champions go second, after a fully deserved victory over Arsenal!
90 min: Vardy looks to have hurt his wrist, or maybe his shoulder, upon falling. He winces in pain, a blotch on Leicester’s otherwise perfect day. But he insists on playing on, so hopefully it’s not too serious. There’s an international break coming up, so he’ll have time to recover. There will be three minutes of added time.
88 min: Bellerin is booked for a cynical shove on Vardy as Leicester pile forward. “I feel like Arsenal are improving. At least we haven’t thrown away the lead in this match.” Graham Fulcher there, despite all the rain remaining tinder-dry.
86 min: Pepe rather rashly shoves Chilwell in the throat as the pair attempt to iron out their differences over a garden variety free kick in the midfield. The referee shows leniency, telling the pair to stop playing silly buggers, grown men and all. We play on.
84 min: It gets worse for Arsenal and Emery. The home support are giving it the old olés now, as their heroes play keep-ball.
82 min: The home side are utterly dominant now, coming at Arsenal from all angles. A third goal wouldn’t flatter them; they’ve been magnificent in this second half. The Leicester fans chime up a chorus of You’re Getting Sacked In The Morning. Poor Unai. At least I assume it’s the Leicester fans.
80 min: From the third corner, Johnny Evans briefly contemplates an overhead kick, but thinks twice. Shame. Then Unai Emery makes another attacking change: Joe Willock comes on for Lucas Torreira.
79 min: Leicester win a corner out on the right. One leads to another. Then from the second, the ball smacks Guendouzi flush in the coupon, and nearly sails into the top right. He’s very fortunate to see the ball fly millimetres wide.
77 min: Make no mistake, Leicester are in this title race. They’re very easy on the eye. Tielemans tries to make it three with a whack from distance, but it’s always going wide. Meanwhile Arsenal are forced into an attacking roll of the dice, taking off Rob Holding and sending on Nicolas Pepe.
GOAL! Leicester City 2-0 Arsenal (Maddison 75)
What a finish this is! Vardy chases Praet’s right-to-left pass into the Arsenal box. He pulls back for Maddison, who shifts his feet with a super-fast shuffle and immediately fires a low heatseeker into the bottom left! Leno had no chance whatsoever! That was sensational improvisation!
74 min: Luiz has a little nibble at Vardy in the centre circle. A cheeky clip on the ankle. Vardy lets the sting subside and he’s fine to continue, but he’s not happy.
73 min: Leicester make their second change of the evening, and it’s a defensive one, taking off Harvey Barnes and sending on the more defensively minded Dennis Praet.
72 min: Leicester go up the other end and nearly seal the deal, Gray feeding Vardy down the inside-right channel. It’s a perfectly weighted pass, allowing Vardy to run onto it and give it the full belt with extreme prejudice. His fierce shot is well parried by Leno, who keeps Arsenal in this match.
71 min: Arsenal have picked up the pace since conceding. Some space for Bellerin down the right, found by Lacazette. His low ball into the centre is smothered by Schmeichel.
70 min: As things stand, Leicester City are going second, and Arsenal are staying in sixth spot, without a win in five. Great news for Arsenal Fan TV ... and for Jamie Vardy, who is one clear of Tammy Abraham in the Premier League scoring charts, with 11 already this season.
GOAL! Leicester City 1-0 Arsenal (Vardy 68)
This is a lovely goal. Pereira makes ground down the right and finds Barnes, just inside the box. Barnes flicks the ball to Tielemans, who rolls a first-time pass across the face of goal, teeing up Vardy. He slams into the bottom left, giving Leno no chance!
65 min: Ndidi dinks a pass down the inside-right channel that hits Guendouzi on the arm. Leicester want a penalty kick, but we’ve already ascertained that the VAR guy is kipping under the desk. Then Gray has a skedaddle down the right, but can’t find anyone with his cross.
63 min: Nothing comes from the resulting set piece. And hey, while we’re on the subject of tipped cigarettes that cost just three and tuppence for 20, here’s our very own Richard Williams: “Well done for finding the ‘You’re never alone with a Strand’ ad, Scott. It was, of course, a famously disastrous campaign: instead of making men feel that a packet of Strands would imbue them with the existential allure of, say, Albert Camus or Alain Delon, it sent out the message that if you smoked Strands, you’d be doing so strictly by yourself. There may be an Özil-related message there, too.”
62 min: Leicester are opened up with great ease, Luiz caressing a long pass down the centre to find Aubameyang all alone on the penalty spot. Perhaps the striker’s cadged a Strand from Ozil. But he’s uncharacteristically slow to react, chesting down and allowing Pereira to toe-poke out for a corner before he can shoot.
60 min: Leicester make the first change of the evening, replacing Ayoze Perez with Demarai Gray.
58 min: That was all a bit wild. Leicester try to establish some control with some patient passing in the middle of the park. They don’t go anywhere, but that’s not really the point.
56 min: Evans is booked for an earlier slide on Ozil. He can have no complaints.
55 min: Aubameyang has the ball in Leicester’s net, but the flag goes up for offside. Ozil is sent scampering down the left. He whips low for the striker, who sidefoots powerfully into the bottom right. But no goal, and that’s the correct decision; Aubameyang was clearly ahead of the last man.
53 min: Barnes skedaddles down the left and tees up Tielemans, who can’t get a shot away from the edge of the box. Maddison tries to flick Perez clear on the right, but Holding isn’t giving him room. Maddison falls and wants a free kick. He’s not getting it, rightly so, and Arsenal go up the other end, Bellerin nearly finding the top right with a rising heatseeker from 25 yards. It’s fun, this.
51 min: Arsenal haven’t done much since the restart. Luiz takes matters into his own hands, barging down the middle of the park and attempting a curler towards the bottom left. It’s always sailing wide of the post, but that was entertainingly rambunctious.
49 min: Barnes dances down the left into space, a fine run. But his cross is too strong. Perez recycles possession, and Pereira is sent skittering down the right. He reaches the byline and pulls one back for Ndidi, who has to score, on the penalty spot. He leans back and sidefoots towards the top left ... but the ball twangs off the crossbar and away! That’s a poor miss. Leicester should be leading.
47 min: A garden variety free kick in the midfield as Ozil tugs at Maddison’s shoulder. A useful counterpoint to Guendouzi’s earlier yank on Soyuncu, and the VAR dude’s reluctance to award a penalty.
46 min: Leicester are almost immediately on the attack, stripping a snoozing Guendouzi of the ball. Perez dribbles at speed down the right and very nearly feeds Vardy down the inside-right channel. Not quite.
Two sets of freshly laundered players return to the pitch ... and Arsenal get the ball rolling for the second half. No changes.
Half-time advertisement. Stephen Carr suggests that “Mesut Özil’s heat map resembles a lonely sheep farmer roaming the moors at midnight smoking a cigarette.” Yes, that pretty much nails it. A performance of verve and energy not wholly dissimilar to this:
HALF TIME: Leicester City 0-0 Arsenal
The whistle goes. Everyone looks happy enough, given the driving rain. Warm towels! Fresh kit!
45 min: A very strange header by Barnes, who attempts to flick Chilwell’s left-wing cross towards the top right ... only for the ball to slap him on the side of his face as he’s making the movement. The mistimed header costs Leicester the half-time lead, because that was a golden chance, six yards out.
44 min: Lacazette falls onto the ball and shields it. Ndidi tries to kick it away from under him, but accidentally toe-punts the striker on the nip. Ooyah, ow, oof. That’ll sting. The ref takes no action, and Lacazette springs back up quickly enough.
42 min: Maddison whips one towards the top left. Leno is nowhere near it, so he’s fortunate to see the ball ripple the side netting, missing the corner by inches.
40 min: Maddison nearly springs Barnes into the box down the inside-left channel. Barnes is forced to check back. Another go for Maddison, who is quickly upended by Torreira, who slides in hysterically across the greasy turf. He’s fortunate not to go in the book. A free kick in a dangerous position, though, just to the left of the D.
38 min: Bellerin scoops a ball into the Leicester box, forcing a back-pedalling Schmeichel to tip over the bar. Nothing comes of the resulting corner. Not entirely sure how this is still goalless. It can’t stay this way for long. Surely.
37 min: Barnes and Chilwell combine down the left. Chilwell crosses. Chambers slides in to deflect out for a corner with the box brimming with team-mates. From the set piece, Maddison and Tielemans try to replicate the famous Beckham-Scholes combo against Bradford City back in the day. Full marks for ambition, but Tielemans snatches at the volley and it flies well wide.