Arsenal welcome Steve Cooper’s Leicester City to North London this Saturday with Mikel Arteta’s team looking to extend their unbeaten start to the campaign. The Gunners showed grit, determination and resilience to earn a hard-fought point away at Manchester City last weekend, with a 98th minute John Stones equaliser the only thing preventing Arsenal from collecting a famous three points. Leandro Trossard will be available for selection again after the Belgian served his suspension for the red card he received against City, sitting out Arsenal’s midweek win over Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup. However, there is a huge cloud of doubt over the fitness of David Raya with Mikel Arteta playing coy over the Spaniard’s availability.
It was a momentous maiden start for Hale End academy product Ethan Nwaneri on Wednesday night as the teenager recorded a brace against Bolton. Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling, on his full debut for the Gunners, also scored to see off League One opposition in a 5-1 rout. Prior to the thrashing, Arsenal had drawn three out of their last four games, so Arteta will be pleased to see his side play some free-flowing football and deservedly winning a football match, albeit against inferior opposition. They will visit Lancashire in the next round of the Carabao Cup to face Preston North End.
Steve Cooper received criticism in midweek after his side scraped through on penalties against League Two outfit Walsall in the Carabao Cup. An uninspiring display from a second-string Foxes side frustrated the Leicester fanbase, but they had something to cheer about at full time as goalkeeper Danny Ward saved all three penalties to see them through. The flak directed towards the English manager could be described as a little misguided, as Leicester have only lost once in their last five games in all competitions. Back-to-back league draws with Crystal Palace and Everton have ensured Cooper’s side aren’t currently languishing in the relegation spots, but they are still searching for their first league triumph of the campaign.
Head-to-Head
A solitary goal from Gabriel Martinelli was enough to separate the two sides the last time they met. Leicester City 0-1 Arsenal, Premier League, 25th February 2023. Leandro Trossard thought he had notched his team in front in the first half with a sumptuously curled effort but after a VAR intervention the goal was disallowed due to a foul by Ben White in the build-up. The Gunners came out after the interval with a renewed sense of purpose and they took the lead inside a minute of the second period. Martinelli burst through before smartly opening up his body and placing the ball into the back of Danny Ward’s net. The visitors continued to search for another goal as Bukayo Saka had a goal disallowed for offside, but that Martinelli strike ended up being all that was needed to take the three points back to North London. Leicester ended up getting relegated to the Championship at the end of the campaign, whilst Arsenal finished second after battling Manchester City in the title race for the majority of the season.
Team News
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Partey, Rice, Saka, Havertz, Martinelli, Trossard.
Leicester City: Hermansen, Justin, Faes, Okoli, Kristiansen, Winks, Skipp, Ndidi, Mavididi, Vardy.
Tactical Preview
Mikel Arteta has named the same 11 players that started against Manchester City last week in his starting line-up for today’s Premier League clash with Leicester City. The boss has stuck by those who performed so admirably against the reigning champions to earn a 2-2 draw, despite playing the whole of the second half with 10 men after Leandro Trossard’s dismissal. After completing his one-match ban in midweek against Bolton Wanderers, the Belgian winger returns to the team, while David Raya has shaken off concerns about an injured thigh to start between the posts. Riccardo Calafiori, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka are the only three players to have started all three games this week, and Bukayo could become the first player ever to register an assist in each of the first six Premier League games of a campaign. Youngsters Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Maldini Kacurri and Josh Nichols are on the bench having featured in cup action on Tuesday.
Leicester meanwhile have made two changes to their side that drew 1-1 with Everton last weekend in Premier League action. Former Spurs man Oliver Skipp comes into midfield alongside Facundo Bounanotte, with the more attack-minded Bobby DeCordova-Reid and Bilal El Khannouss dropping to the bench.
Match Officials
Samuel Barrott will be the match official. He will be assisted by Scott Ledger and Wade Smith while Dean Whitestone will be the fourth official. The VAR is Paul Tierney and he will be assisted by Sian Massey-Ellis.
How to Watch
Arsenal vs Leicester is not available to watch in the United Kingdom. The game will be broadcast on Premier Sports in the Republic of Ireland. Kick off at the Emirates Stadium will be at 15:00 BST on Saturday 28th September 2024.
Betting Odds
Arsenal: 2/11
Draw: 7/1
Leicester City: 12/1
Conclusion
The Gunners are coming into this clash as the favorites. They are looking to make a statement after a very eventful week of Premier League action. However, Leicester will be looking to pull off an upset. The Foxes are still searching for their first win of the season and will be looking to make a strong start to the game. This is a match that could go either way, but Arsenal is expected to come away with the win. It will be a tight game with both teams looking to win. Arsenal is expected to win the match, but Leicester will be looking to make it a competitive game.
