Arsenal 4-2 Leicester: 3 Things we learned
By Damon Carter
Defensive mistakes not taken seriously enough by coaches
It’s important to note that Gabriel Jesus is a fantastic attacking threat and it was only natural that the Match of the Day highlights would note the brilliance in his two goals and overall performance. But from an LCFC point-of-view, it’s an all too familiar and infuriating story that shows no sign of changing under the Northern-Irish boss. Considering Daniel Amartey unfairly took all of the brunt of the Brentford result, I’ve decided to break down each goal to demonstrate how many problems there really are amongst the squad.
Goal One – Likely analysis – Gabriel Jesus excellently chips Danny Ward inside the box. The reality – Jonny Evans allows the Brazilian way too much time and space to pick his spot.
Goal two – likely analysis – Daniel Amartey goes to sleep and leaves Jesus unmarked at the back post. The reality – Amartey should be doing better and Jamie Vardy should have cleared the ball instead of flicking it on and increasing the danger.
Goal three – likely analysis – Danny Ward drops a clanger by not holding the ball and presents Granit Xhaka with an easy goal. The reality – Very much this but also note Wesley Fofana’s strange open-armed move towards his goalkeeper that didn’t help matters at all.
Goal four – likely analysis – Dennis Praet gives the ball away leading directly to Martinelli’s goal The reality – Not entirely true, Praet tries to cleverly spin into a received pass but allows Gabriel Martinelli to steal the ball before Wesley Fofana misjudges Gabriel Jesus return pass to Martinelli that makes it easy for him to get his strike on goal.
Away from these goals, Evans was spun easily by Jesus and the Brazilian constantly found space and could easily have had as many as 5 goals. Make no mistake about it, 4-2 was kind on Leicester City.
Brendan Rodgers used the excuse last season that the profile of the player wasn’t right amidst the injuries he was battling against. When the types of profiles like Jonny Evans and 100-million pound rated defenders like Wesley Fofana are making this many errors how long is it before we start looking at how they are coached? If Leicester doesn’t fix this problem soon they can consign themselves to mid-table mediocrity or maybe even worse.