How Leicester City flourished against an extremely poor Arsenal side

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LEICESTER, ENGLAND – APRIL 28: Sead Kolasinac of Arsenal is challenged by Hamza Choudhury of Leicester City during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Arsenal FC at The King Power Stadium on April 28, 2019 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

The midfield composition Rodgers opted for was different to any of his previous Leicester teams, he dropped one of the ordinary wingers (Harvey Barnes or Demarai Gray) and added another central midfielder in Hamza Choudhury, placing James Maddison on the wing. Maddison naturally rotated into the centre of the park, after being given an almost free-roam role combined with Choudhury’s presence in the midfield, Leicester outnumbered Arsenal three/four to two.

From the off, Leicester won the midfield battle, and rather easily at that. The space between Xhaka and Torreira in comparison to the wingers and forwards of Arsenal gave complete freedom to Leicester in the middle of the park. Having an extra player in the midfield was the beginning of the end for Arsenal, as it was Maddison who drew the foul for Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ second yellow and red card.

It was clear that opening 40 minutes of play was already dominated by Leicester, but the game tilted even more in their favour against the 10-men of the Arsenal.

Tactically Arsenal got it wrong. Initially, they sat far too deep and gave freedom to Leicester. Emery had the defensive-line sitting high but didn’t tell the midfield or attack to press high up the pitch. By doing one and not the other, means your team-play is a complete mismatch, especially against Leicester.

By mixing the two styles, Arsenal didn’t pressure the ball enough when Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans or Wilfred Ndidi was in possession. In fact, the Gunners didn’t have to make sharp decisions and were given a chance to pick favourable passes rather than forced into quick decisions.