Gameweek seven is upon us and this weekend Arsenal take on Leicester City away from home. Coming off the back of their Capital One Cup victory over Tottenham, the Gunners will be in high spirits coming into the game. However, Leicester have been hugely impressive so far this season and so it will take something special from Arsenal to overcome the Foxes.
Leicester are currently fourth in the Premier League, one spot above the Gunners and are only three points off league leaders Manchester City. Nobody expected that Claudio Ranieri’s side would perform the way that they have thus far and as such makes them especially dangerous for Arsene Wenger’s men.
The two main reasons why Leicester have performed so well is the number of goals that they have scored. Riyad Mahrez is joint top goal-scorer in the league and Jamie Vardy is joint-second highest. As such it comes as no surprise that these two players are the ones to watch for Leicester.
Mahrez has been a surprise star for Leicester this season and it looks as though he will keep his goal scoring record going. The 24-year-old Algerian winger has everything that you could ask for in a winger: pacey, tricky on the ball and an eye for goal. As such he poses a very serious threat for Arsenal. Although not the focal point of Leicester’s attack, he is definitely one of the men that their side will be looking to get the ball to. You only have to look at the way he eliminated three of West Ham’s defenders last game with a single turn. This player is something special and must be dealt with in a special way. Arsene Wenger must play both Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal at the full back positions. After Mathieu Debuchy’s recent performances, there is no question that Bellerin is Arsenal’s best right-back. The young Spaniard has more than enough pace to match Mahrez, he just needs to make sure that he keeps his positioning well enough so as not to allow the Algerian any space. Monreal will also be crucial for Arsenal in defence, he has been one of Arsenal’s shining players this season and has stood out as one of the Premier League’s better defenders so far. His positioning and decision-making is much better than last year and so with his experience, should prove to be more than a match for Riyad Mahrez.
The other player that Arsenal must be wary of is Jamie Vardy. The 29-year-old has scored four goals in his last six league games for the Foxes and will prove to be a handful for the Gunners this weekend. Vardy is not ranked as one of the world’s greatest forwards, but he is one of the most difficult to deal with. The erratic runs that he makes, coupled with his pace will make him a nightmare for the Arsenal centre-backs. Vardy excels at bursting past defenders to latch onto through balls and slotting past exposed ‘keepers. It will be imperative that Laurent Koscielny and whoever partners him sit a little deeper so as not to allow space for through balls. If there is limited space then it will be very difficult for the England international to run anywhere. As such he will be limited to passing to other teammates, hoping that they can conjure up something.
In attack, Arsenal must go all out. They must not dither on the ball like they have in recent games. Too often players like Aaron Ramsey or Mesut Ozil have taken too long playing passes and so opposition defenders have had the time to catch up and break down the attack. Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott will be key for this game. Their pace out wide will cause real problems for the Leicester defenders and so the Gunners’ faithful will be hoping that these two players, especially Sanchez, can find their finishing boots once again.
All in all, this game is very much up for grabs for Arsenal. They must be decisive in attack and make the most of their chances, but they must also be resolute in defence, choking out attackers and forcing passes out wide or backwards. If the Gunners can manage the basics, then their technical prowess should shine through and carry them to victory.
