Leicester 0-1 Arsenal: where Foxes and Rodgers went wrong

Leicester City completed an unwanted statistic to Mikel Arteta’s top-of-the-table Gunners following this defeat. They have now lost five games in a row to Arsenal for the first time since the 1930s, it was hardly a surprising result but there is a sense that things didn’t go as planned.

Way too much respect being shown

Arsenal have been a fantastic team this term and deservedly sit as the best team in England. But recent results have faltered and they have been much easier to rattle. A defeat at Everton and draw at home to Brentford was followed by a defeat to Championship rivals Manchester City before a very fortunate win at Aston Villa. The Gunners arrived at King Power Stadium having not kept a clean sheet for five Premier League games, they were fragile.

Leicester City arrived into this match following impressive wins at Villa and at home to Spurs before a strong first half at Manchester United quickly turned sour. This would have been a game that Arteta’s men would not have been relishing. So it was odd for Leicester City to be so reserved in their approach to this game. They stood off their opponents and were desperately focusing on keeping shape so as to not leave gaps through the middle. Tactically in the first half, they contained the opposition but never came close to causing them any serious problems.

They half-pressed when Arsenal held the ball and yet on the few occasions that the foxes held possession they quickly gave it away or were muscled off the ball by eager red and white shirts. This was not a game where City’s timid approach would benefit them. They thankfully had a VAR decision go in their favour as Ben White’s holding of Danny Ward’s hand was key to stopping him from making a proper claim on the ball before Leandro Trossard fired in. At halftime, it was goalless, and AFC hadn’t really troubled Ward’s goal.