Arsenal 4-3 Leicester City: Olivier Giroud late header saves day for gunners
If he had known it was going to end successfully, Arsene Wenger would probably have taken victory in this remarkable fashion.
Better than a comfortable 2-0 coast at home any day. More inspiring than three points taken in the conventional fashion, certainly. Here is something on which to build. A fightback, a show of strength and spirit. Arsenal won with courage and gusto. They can take that to the bank.
A word of warning, though. In doing so, they also papered over more than a few, long-standing cracks. Three crosses, three goals. Wasn’t three at the back supposed to guard against that? MATCH FACTS, PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE & PLAYER RATINGS
ARSENAL (3-4-3): Cech 5.5; Holding 5.5 (Giroud 67, 7), Monreal 6, Kolasinac 7.5; Bellerin 6, Xhaka 6, Elneny 6.5 (Ramsey 67, 7), Oxlade-Chamberlain 7; Ozil 6, Welbeck 7 (Walcott 75); Lacazette 8
SUBS NOT USED: Ospina, Iwobi, Mustafi, Coquelin
MANAGER: Wenger: 8
GOALS: Lacazette 2, Welbeck 45, Ramsey 83, Giroud 85
LEICESTER (4-2-3-1): Schmeichel 7.5; Simpson 6.5, Morgan 6.5, Maguire 7, Fuchs 6.5; Ndidi 7, James 7.5 (Iheanacho 82, 6); Mahrez 7, Okazaki 7 (Amartey 70, 6), Albrighton 7; Vardy 8.5
SUBS NOT USED: Chilwell, Gray, King, Hamer, Slimani
MANAGER: Shakespeare: 7.5
GOALS: Okazaki 5, Vardy 29, 56
BOOKED: Morgan
REFEREE: Mike Dean 7
ATTENDANCE: 59,387
MAN OF THE MATCH: Vardy
Ratings by Sami Mokbel
Season at glance