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This game had the potential to be game of the weekend, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. The Gunners put a stop to Leicester’s impressive unbeaten run with a 5-2 victory which saw Alexis Sanchez rediscover his goalscoring form with a superb hat-trick.
The game started off very slowly from Arsenal’s perspective and Leicester were quite clearly the team in control after the first ten minutes, and they were rewarded for their dominance. A goal from Jamie Vardy in the 13th minute who broke down the left wing to curl the ball past Petr Cech to give the home side a 1-0 lead. Shortly after the goal Leicester hit the woodwork, however this seemed to spark some life into the Arsenal team, as they passed their way through the Leicester midfield which put Theo Walcott through on goal who passed the ball past the keeper Kasper Schmeichel and into the back of the net. 1-1.
15 minutes later, Hector Bellerin broke down the right hand side with pace, to then put in a dangerous ball which gave Alexis Sanchez a tap in. This was the Chilean’s first goal of the season.
Arsenal had taken control of the game, and this dominance continued in the second half. Mesut Özil was particularly impressive throughout the game, and it was his delightful pass over the top of the Leicester defence which set up Sanchez’s second goal, guiding the ball past Schmeichel.
The Chilean wasn’t finished there; Nacho Monreal’s throw in found the Sanchez in space, who knocked the ball past Ngolo Kante to then unleash a powerful strike from distance which nestled in to the bottom corner. This made Alexis the first player to score a hat-trick in Italy, Spain and England.
Despite Arsenal’s dominance, Leicester displayed their never give up attitude to pull back a second goal. A ball was delivered from the right hand side, and after a fantastic save from Cech and some poor defending from Arsenal’s defenders, Jamie Vardy slotted home his second of the game.
To rub salt into the wounds, substitute Olivier Giroud finished Nacho Monreal’s cross to give Arsenal their fifth goal and rounded off a truly gripping end to end game.
Not only was this a massive victory in terms of getting back to winning ways for Arsenal, but title favourites Manchester City lost 4-1 to Tottenham, leaving the Gunners just two points behind the 2014 Champions, who seemed to be running away with the title in the first five games, but the defeats to West Ham and Spurs have given rivals like Arsenal a chance to mount a title challenge.
Not only did Manchester City drop points, the champions Chelsea drew 2-2 at Newcastle. Chelsea’s defending is nowhere near as organised as it was last season, and this could be down to John Terry’s absence who has been left out in recent games. However some credit has to be given to Chelsea as they were fought their way back from 2-0, nonetheless a draw is a very disappointing result for the Blues. This result means Arsenal are five points ahead of Jose Mourinho’s side which gives them some breathing space and allows them to focus on catch the two Manchester sides.
If Arsenal are to mount a title challenge this season, they will most certainly need to limit the number of injuries they have, particularly Francis Coquelin who has been suffering from a knee injury, but Arsene Wenger insists it is not major.
The Gunners face Manchester United at the Emirates in their next Premier League game, this is a crucial game for both sides and could give the winning side he psychological advantage in the title race. Can Arsenal beat the current league leaders? Or will they crumble in another big game?
