Leicester City vs. Arsenal: Final score 1-1, hardworking Foxes hold Gunners

Arsenal had managed to earn three points through late goals so far in this young season, but there was no late escape for them against Leicester in the King Power Stadium. Although Alexis Sánchez handed the Gunners an early lead, the Foxes fought back bravely and gave as good as they got, securing a 1-1 draw and leaving Arsenal four points adrift from the top just three games in.

The opening minutes were relatively quiet, but the match got going in a hurry following a clash of heads between Arsenal centre half Laurent Koscielny Jefferey Schlupp on the Leicester right. Koscielny came off by far the worse, and although he eventually re-emerged after lengthy treatment (and wearing what appeared to be a swimming cap) the clash had an undeniable impact on the game.

Initially, the Gunners were galvanised by the injury -- despite going down to ten men they stepped up through the gears and swiftly scored the opening goal. Santi Cazorla did brilliantly, scooping the ball over the Foxes’ back line for Yaya Sanogo to run onto, and although the young striker’s attempted square ball for Alexis Sánchez was sloppy, he got enough on it for the star signing to sneak between Leicester’s centre backs and poke beyond Kasper Schmeichel.

But Leicester, who stole a point from Everton in the opener and gave Chelsea several scares at Stamford Bridge in week two, were hardly going to give up, and were back on equal terms just two minutes later. Schlupp burst once more down the left, and his high cross to the back post was horrendously misjudged by Koscielny and nodded in by Leonardo Ulloa.

That turned out to be the last straw for Koscielny, who trudged off to be replaced by Calum Chambers. The substitute had plenty of problems in containing the hosts, who worked very hard through both David Nugent and Riyad Mahrez to keep Wojciech Szczesny’s goal under pressure.

Ulloa should have made it 2-1 Leicester early the second half. Played through with a clever diagonal from Mahrez, the striker set Chambers down, shifted the ball to his right foot, and fired into the side netting when it looked easier to score. Then, on the hour mark, the hosts worked the ball into position for Nugent to take a pop only for Chambers to pop up with a vital block.

There were chances at the other end of the pitch as well. Sanogo, played one-on-one by Nacho Monreal, saw his angle shot well saved by Schmeichel, and Cazorla nearly saw a deflected long-ranger drop onto the roof of the net with the goalkeeper well beaten.

Arsenal were doing their best to fight for the points, but were dealt another blow with 11 minutes to go. Having just made a double substitution and thus running out of changes, Arsene Wenger was treated to the unfortunate sight of Mesut Özil sliding off the pitch and tweaking his ankle. The playmaker soldiered on after substantial treatment, but he clearly wasn’t happy.

The Gunners were very nearly torn apart within seconds of Özil returning to the field. From an Arsenal corner, Leicester substitute Jamie Vardy burst through the centre of the pitch, exchanged passes with Danny Drinkwater, and blasted an effort towards the far corner which Szczesny did very well to save.

That, however, proved to be the last real chance of the match. There was no last Arsenal surge, and Leicester claimed an important point after navigating a very tough stretch with just one loss.

Leicester City starting lineup (4-4-2): Kasper Schmeichel; Paul Konchesky, Liam Moore, Wes Morgan, Ritchie de Laet; Jefferey Schlup (Jamie Vardy 70’), Andy King, Dean Hammond, Riyad Mahrez (Marc Albrighton 64’); David Nugent, Leonardo Ulloa (Danny Drinkwater 77’).

Goals: Ulloa 22’.

Arsenal starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Wojciech Szczesny; Nacho Monreal, Laurent Koscielny (Calum Chambers 27’), Per Mertesacker, Mathieu Debuchy; Mathieu Flamini, Aaron Ramsey; Santi Cazorla (Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 77’), Mesut Özil, Alexis Sánchez; Yaya Sanogo (Lukas Podolski 77’).

Goals: Sanchez 20’.