Arsenal v Leicester – Giroud seals breathless Gunners win

You surely did not expect Arsenal to make this opening Premier League game against Leicester City an easy watch for us hopeful Gooners did you? If so you would have been disappointed but for anyone else it was an absolue thriller and in the end it was a happy night because the Arsenal managed to win.

We had to claw it from the brink of disaster though, as with les than 10 minutes on the clock we needed two goals to get the three points, and we got them thanks to the subs. Aaron Ramsey latched on to a fantastic raking pass from Xhaka to fire a bullet finish past Schmeichel before the big man Olivier Giroud did another super show off the bench to plant a brilliant header off the bar and in to stun the visitors.

The Foxes were ahead twice despit Lacazette scoring just two minutes into his EPL debut, becaue as well as we played in midfield and attack the defence was shaky, with an unfamiliar trio of Holding, Monreal and Kolasinac drafted in. They were all over the place to let Okazaki level straight away and then Vardy to put them ahead.

Our second goal was vital as it came on the stroke of half time with a great slick passing move finished by Welbeck and it looked to have done the trick as we looked the most likely after the break but once again that man Vardy punished our sloppiness at the back.

It looked bad for quite a while but Arsenal did come good and we broke the opening day run. Phew!

154 Comments

    1. I was very nervous, but result was good, thanks to the changes that actually do not make sense but worked!

      1. wrong, it doesn’t make sense TO YOU, thats why we fans will never be managers cause we can’t analyse a match and the players form etc. like to whole coaching and managing team 🙂

          1. Still ruined my night bcoz it was a horrible display and we know any other manager would be buying defensive players after that but wenger won’t coz he’ll just say we won

            1. I wonder why some of u fans just clamour abt buying , buying and buying. Did u noticed the number of CBs we had? Kolcielny (suspension), Mert (head injury), Mustafi (benched due to match fitness), and Gabriel (injured). As u can see, Kolcielny and Mustafi are just one week away from starting, and u want the club to sign another CB?

            2. Dalinho we should buy defensive players and sell koscielny, mertesacker and mustafi? They all didn’t play today. Gabriel us injured.

              What we need to buy is a replacement for carzola (lamar).

              Once Alexis is back, we shall be unstoppable.

      2. @Anko: Wow! I am totally surprised you could say something like this. A manager made a change that completely turned the game around and not just that, it was the 2 substitutes he made that saved the day for Arsenal and you said the changes didn’t make sense. Sincerely, the substitution AW did proved to me that he knew exactly what he was doing. To me, for a manager to substitute a defender for a striker that late shows that he has tactics he wanted to use to see if the match could still be redeemed, especially when the opponent is leading.

        1. I said it didn’t make sense not that I didn’t love it! He exchange the two wingback and removed a centre back. That is not done often in football and it worked. But it was a gamble. You heard Gary say it became a make shift defence. So am not wrong at all

          1. “He exchange the two wingback and removed a centre back. That is not done often in football and it worked.”

            The attacking pressure with the changes was just too much even for the Foxes, who are counter-attaching team.

            70-30 possession suggests that Wenger got is exactly right on a night he did not have both Koz and Mustafi, while Per should not be risked, and Gabriel is still out. Wenger risked Ramsey to do so, showing how much he wanted to win this game.

            Wenger is the manager of the match.

    2. Thumbs up to the whole team !! STanding ovation for Lacazette, Kolasinac, Ox and Xhaka. Giroud is bae? Walcott ?? Holding’s first poor game. I wont blast you boy. Cech was poor.. Monreal Mr Dependable.. Ozil ?? Still made us Gel. More of this please. This is what we call entertaining football. Stoke Next. Someone Please tell Wenger OX is A natural RB… Please give out Walcott for free?

        1. wtf are you saying ?? Xhaka might’ve been at fault for giving away the second goal but he wasnt terrible. He created more chances and made more defence splitting passes. You want terrible, Holding was though it’s nothing, it’s his first bad game so i have no complaint… you have peter cech running around for the 1st n 2nd goal… what is he looking for ?? All the passes Ozil should’ve done were by Xhaka plus he got 2 assist today so give it a break and be honest

          1. To me the first goal was due to Kolasinac abandoning his position near the far post leaving an open space for leicester to attack. For the second goal as soon as Elneny passed the ball I was concerned, Xhaka had a leicester player bearing down on him, basically ball and leicester player arrived at same time giving Xhaka no time to control the ball so he made a hurried poor pass, personally I think it was Elneny who made the initial mistake which resulted in the goal.

            So I do not particularly blame Xhaka for either of the first two goals.

        2. amusing comment, Opta stats are Xhaka:
          82% passing accuracy
          99 passes
          117 touches
          5 key passes
          3 blocked shots
          2 assists

          And that apparently makes him terrible, please get real.

          1. A player’s pretty statistics are useless if the player’s action causes an opponent’s goal. Or if most of his passes are backpasses and sidepasses (means he plays too safe).

      1. Eddie, I wouldn’t blame Holding. The goals conceded had nothing to do with him, maybe he should have went tight on his man for Vardy’s second goal but Xhaka totally put them under it. He was edgy as hell but that was because of the daft goals given away. Bellerin does not know wing-back, which didn’t help him one bit either, Oxlade would have been more helpful and so would a senior CB through the centre. Wenger is the main culprit, but player wise Kolasinac Monreal and Xhaka were very poor on the goals conceded.

        1. Lol, what are you smoking?

          Oil gave ball away for 1st goal, Czech left his goal wide open and xakha got Billie off ball by a little man in the box.

          2nd goal, salvageable ball away , Czech again middle of no where.

          3rd goal xakha did not mark.his man.

          Oil left bulletin a lone all game.

          Wenger playing 3cbc of which 2 are lb. Lol genius, sarcasm btw.

          Wrlbeck proved he can only hit a barn door from 2 yards out, barely.

          I blame these people, how about you.

      2. agree to that point give Walcott for FREE even akpom is better
        play mertesacker in front is better
        buy a goal keeper from lowest division and play him as striker would be better than walcott this guy is a total disaster no ball control no skills no passing accuracy no strngth no defensive ability no header

      3. Would that be the Kolasinac who, for the first leicester goal, left his posision near the far post to go for an aimless wander across the front of goal leaving a wide open space near the far post for leicester to attack, which is exactly what they did, this drew Cech away from the goal mouth so the header in to the front of goal left Cech stranded and an open goal for leicester to easily score.

  1. Ozil bad cop good cop! I wasn’t the best game to watch live but good result. Laccacet is Magic. Love him

    1. Ozil’s task is to unlock the opponent’s defense, but he is not doing it. He is not performing well, but Arsenal keeps using him as a starter. His fans can wait for a beautiful assist to Lacazette in this season.

      Lacazette definitely needs more time to settle down.

        1. After Lacazette’s first goal, he disappeared. Until he made a great movement in the second half, after receiving a pass from Giroud. Unfortunately he didn’t score.

          1. I actually saw Lacazette come back a couple of times to help with build-up play. The only reason why he never got more chances is because he was man marked after that first goal and the teammates never assisted him and gave him a scoring chance. For Lacazette to thrive we need a lot more movement in the final third and less sideways and backwards passing.

            1. Lacazette looked good. He scrapped a bit, he scored, was involved with the first equalizer. Kept men busy and made nice touches, looked dangerous with his positional play. Looked to capitalize on anything coming off the keeper. Looks stronger than you’d think too.

              He seems well suited to our play if you ask me, but it’s still very early, so it’d be stupid at this stage to knock him, esp when he doesn’t deserve it.

              Thought it was a very promising first day.

          2. U just answered ur question mate! “After his first goal” that came after 90 Seconds in his FIRST start…. I don’t know how much quicker u want him to settle in?

      1. He was the poorest player defensively. Both goals in the first half were results of his disinterest to defend a set piece. But he got 2 assists today… So there u go!! … But Elneny, men that guy breaks a f–kin rythem like shawcross!

        1. Xhaka will be a beast when he plays alongside real CBs. Stick this comment on your bedroom wall.

    2. Agree Ozil was completely invisible in the first half but redeemed himself in the second. Wenger should never play Ozil on the wing ever again, Ox operates so much better on the right. The problem with Ozil is inconsistency and whether Wenger would make the hard decision during the season if he under performs.

      1. ozil second half was a bit better but still…. He is supposed to be the creator in chief and he is not doing it well. I wonder why… I tend to prefer iwobi in that position now

      1. Good shout Charlie Nick.
        So easy for ‘fans’ to keep slating loyal players. Giroud is slow but will always know where the goal is and will ping the ball in off his ear if he needs to and Ramsey is even more misunderstood but will run through brick walls for us and has come up with the goods so many times but still gets a kicking from his own supporters………..BRING ON THE ‘thumbs down’…….

    1. and then we demand loyalty from our players while we cant cherish the truly loyal and fighting players and only love the ones who want to leave…

  2. GREAT COMEBACK!
    and to you all pathetic moaners out there.. look moaning and criticizing is your life style and keep doing it, BUT every supporter should support on a match day! you can bash the team on any other day.. what kind of fans are you, if you cant even support the team against another team…
    just pathetic

    1. Let’s not get Carried away we were inches from being embarrassed and badly need to sort the defensive side of the game out coz if Liverpool press like they did in the first half we would be 5-1 down so until wenger buys a CB and DM we should expect more of the same fron the first half! I don’t just want top 4 I think we could get the title if wenger addresses the problems GO FOR THE TITLE WENGER

      1. Koscielny and Mustafi will be back for the Liverpool game … will make a huge difference to both Monreal and Cech having those two in front of them ..
        That will also give Xhaka more confidence… I think he is very poor defensively but I dont think he was bought as a CDM…
        Sanchez whether he wants to leave or not should be buzzing after that game – when he plays alongside or behind Lacazette with Ozil feeding them its going to be very exciting
        So makeshift team all round – 30% of out outfield team and 3 of our main players Kos, Mustafi and Sanchez all not playing – but did you see the bench? 6 or 7 players who were our first team 2/3 years ago – so that shows what improvements in the team we have made
        GREAT WIN but lots to do re defence wise but hopefully the guys coming back will address that

  3. Have to hand it to the old man, masterstroke for changing the system on the fly with this makeshift team. I don’t think he’s done yet.

  4. Lacazette kolasinac awesone..dont underestimate giroud..we need him this season..we need to show tgis resilence and nvr give up attitude throughout the season

    1. Lacazette sweet goal, Kolasinac nice assist…

      For the neutrals this must be a very entertaining opener to the season…But for Arsenal fans,it is killing….

      We have too many teams we dread playing;

  5. Some things don’t change at Arsenal..

    A lot on my mind when it was 3:2 like playing with two LB with no heights. No wonder Leicester players were crossing the ball well. Then Mustafi should have resumed training on time.. .

    But….I had a good feeling when Ramsey and Giroud (super sub) was introduced in a tensed game and they delivered.

    Chelsea won the league last season on a Friday (2games to go). This season kicks off on a Friday (for the first time) and the Premier League season starts with CLASSIC. #FootballMadness #Entertaining game especially for the neutrals. The tension for me is so much.

    Glad we got the three points in our first game.

  6. Luckily Arsenal won, but it feels like they played with ten men from the beginning. Arsenal should have guts to bench the players that are not performing well.

    Arsenal still plays with the old system, but with 3-4-2-1 formation. If they want to win the title, they have to improve the system and they need midfielders that can unlock the opponent’s defense.

  7. xhaka is a welcomed beast….. a reborn legend. ….master of long range pass
    ………#becomin a master piece

  8. Awesome result
    I will take a win. Any kind of win
    I would have been really demoralized if we had not won at home.

    Brilliant start by Lacazette. 2mins
    Welbeck saved us heading into half time
    But Ramsey and Giroud saved us
    Giroud is at his best off the bench. I think he is more likely to score off the bench.

    I can have a happy weekend noe
    🙂 🙂 🙂
    COYG

    1. Wen playing a stronger team is a cause of concern for the misplace passes and lack of awareness at the back may ruin our season they need to work on that.

  9. And who said giroud should br sold dat guy just saved my heart let alone the points!!. . Oops wat an introduction to da epl!???
    I

  10. Wenger got the subs spot on, but he needs to do a lot of work on this team….

    We conceded cheap goals from aerial balls,am not surprised as Monreal played CB…we surely need a reliable CB, I believe that now, one of Gabriel or Chambers to make way….

  11. That was a proper schizo game ?? we were Excellent for the first 2 minutes then we were ?? and then some more ?? and in the end we came out smelling of Roses. God bless Lamp post ??

    I need a Holiday after watching that ?

  12. What a great game for the neutrals and a heart stomping one for us Arsenal fans. Our passing wasn’t up to scratch nor our defending but we got the win we needed in our first game, so who cares if it wasn’t perfect football. Come on you Gunners.

  13. Sead great freebie, Lacazette needs more time but great to see him finish like that, integrate with the players & the celebration sums up this boys confidence ?? Ox had a great game also.

    Silly mistakes at the back cost us them goals but with Boss, Mustafi,Gabriel back wel be all okay. Eleney, Welbz & Monreal were awful. Rambo & Giroud was great subs by wenger along with the 433 change midway through 2nd half ??

    What a game to kick off the League season… glad to have tbe prem back

    1. Elneny played okay, but he was not awful. Who do you think create that assist for Lacazette?

      Welbeck worked very hard, threatened the opponent with his runs and scored a good goal that made Arsenal equalized.

      Monreal anticipated a lot of threats. It is Holding that is unreliable today.

  14. Is anyone fed up with ozil?
    Most fans are like”we’ll win the league now!” but when we finish outside the top 4 they will cry for WENGER OUT!!! ?
    Don’t be too pessimistic nor too optimistic. Just be realistic & the results will never disappoint you.

    1. Why do you ask mate? Your nick name is ozil10 😀

      Most fans are naive. They are just happy with ugly or lucky wins.

      Arsenal still play with Wenger’s old system, but in 3-4-2-1. Don’t expect too much, unless they suddenly change the system and get better midfielders that have better technical skills.

  15. We gonna see the much improved Xhaka this season.

    Kolasianic a free signing?hahaha a real Bosinian Hulk.Am sleeping with a big smile.Nyt gunners

  16. Now we know where we need to strengthen. Talk of a makeshift defence, that almost cost us the match.

    I believe we will get better afterwards, when the defence has its regulars back on duty.

    Lacazette and Kolasinac, well-done boys. You are beginning to justify your signing. I think it is not a bad start by any means.

    Three points in the bag. That’s all that matters.

  17. The ability to get you head on crosses is vital in the current game. 4 of the 7 were scored that way today. Take a bow OG!
    What I loved about his game today even as much as his goal was his ability to find Laca with his back to goal and also his taking out someone bearing down on Cech from a throw in.
    Great comeback and one of the most thrilling matches I have seen!

  18. Same old arsenal, ozil and holding what a nightmare for them ozil got better when we were 3_2 down, but we dug in and got the win which is the thing that matters, we need another defender or defensive midfielder carvalho is suddenly available no matter who we get we can’t afford to defend like this and get away with it every weekend

  19. Kolasinac isn’t just a brute he seems to be good technically too :O did you see the (zidane :P) roulette at the end?

  20. What a way to start the season. Great EPL ahead. Once Sanchez and Koscielny are back it’s gonna be a different Arsenal. Boss can Marshall the defense Xhaka will control the midfield and attack is possible from all the sides. Wow a great year ahead.

  21. laca really changes our attacking game, breaking the defence with one-two’s, what we can’t do with giroud.
    but no still in midfield, xhaka with some good passes but a lot of bad ones, el-neni only crosses back…
    we were pretty good going forward, better then most games last season, but a good team with decent defense and reliable midfield would have made an easy win after the 1-0. so some good sings on the attack, but also lots of red flags that suggest we that we are not good enough to win the title.
    we need another top defender and not one but two top midfielders. as it stands we have one ok midfielder (xhaka) and the rest are rubbish.

  22. what a game…. the game concluded arsenal season.. wenger in wenger out.. losing ,wining ,poor and makeshift defense..

  23. To see people slagging off Giroud calling him a donkey. Takes all the rubbish from the spoilt “What have you done for me lately?” So called fans. Pops up as the hero of the match and bags us a truly viral win. Shameful. But well done lads for digging in. Now you have to fight every game like you did those last 10 mins!

    1. I ain’t seen any giroud bashing for ages just transfer bashing and rightly so coz we need players that play in the right positions

    1. Play Laca and OG together. The way he set up Laca for a great shot on goal late reminded me of what he does for Greizeman.

  24. Massive screaming at my house! My teenage daughter has locked herself in her room. My cats all went running for their lives after the fourth goal. Wife thinks the house is on fire. As soon as I post this I have to go find where the cats are all hiding! COYG!

  25. wish we didn’t wait till we’re under pressure before showing our calibre.
    we are irrepressible we cannot be stopped from notching up goals – thats
    wenger off the hook yet again.

    *happy for him, the team and of course our fans.

  26. Kolasinac MOTM. Lacazette, what a touch, what control !
    Let’s work on that defence.
    Good fight gunners. Bravo!

  27. I’m starting to believe there are some people here who have a crush on Xhaka want to brain wash others with his display regardless good or bad and today he was clearly terrible and made two fatal mistakes and if compared to Elneny the later made the 1st goal assist and almost not one touch wrong on the ball despite the few back and side passes which were necessary against a team playing zone defense intimidating any Arsenal player on the ball

  28. So glad we won but we MUST learn from this
    Giroud must stay
    Lacca is class and will score 20+
    Sead is WC
    Welbeck/elneny/belerin are bench players
    And I know you won’t like this but ozil should NEVER be in the starting 11

    1. bellerin only rejoined the team 2 weeks ago while ox played a whole pre-season who do you expect to be sharper you fool? i agree that Iwobi needs to start over welbeck though…

      1. Am I the fool for thinking different or the person who played them doh! Lack of sharpness shouldn’t be a fans fault
        Ox should play right sead left so no need for fitness doh!

      2. Iwobi should start over Ozil, not Welbeck. I rue Welbeck inconsistencies in front of goal but can’t deny how hard he he works and that makes him a starter.

    2. Welbeck is not a bench player, but I agree with Ozil. Arsenal will never bench him, because they need to sell him.

  29. Off to change my pants now!

    Just seen this the stats, wow!

    Arsenal 70%possession 27 shots 10 in target.
    Leicester 6 shots 3 in target.

    Shows from this how we were relentless going forward it’s like we all said before need to get the defence tightened up, who will play once everyone’s available?
    I’m wih this back line:
    Ox holding mustafi kos kolasinac/monreal

  30. For you people complaining about the defending keep in mind that it wasn’t our first choice back 3 playing so they tried their best. For all the stick ramsey gets he does score some pretty important goals for us and giroud is the best impact sub in the league. As for lacazette it is a positive start and he did show some good touches so that is a good sign and great fighting spirit from the boys to pull out the win. *tries to catch breath* On another note – let’s hope this isn’t an often situation – So nerve-racking!

  31. That was one Hell of a cracking Game. Can’t wait to see Kolasinack on the left wing with the OX on the right, with Alexis in the mix of it. Lacazette to me seems to be the perfect striker we’ve been missing in our squad since RVPS’s departure. I’m kind of starting to believe in this season. COYG.

  32. All that ends well, is well.

    Offensive game:
    With four goals the team showed they cn brek down a tight defense, exactly what Lacazette was bought for. Alexis will replace Welbeck soon and our attcking ability will look scary.

    Midfield: Ox was the everywhere, Bellerin nowhere. Xhaka and Elneny were firm and Xhaka showed class. I would bench Bellerin, deploy Ox on the right, Kolasinac down the left side and Mustafi can replace Kolasinac in the defence but centraly with Monreal on the left (Monreal saved the team a couple of times today).

    Defense: Hmm, things did not look convincing today. Mustafi and Kos must return soon.

    1. we need a new midfielder but there won’t be one to play next game. we actually need two, xhaka is a good long distance passer but losses easy passes under pressure. he can use his physical power and positioning to win balls but he is two slow to really be great at breaking the opponents game. so overall he is good but one dimensional. the rest of our midfielders are worse and can’t impose themselves on a game like xhaka. we might forgot what a top midfield looks like, buy we can’t do with one decent one dimensional player, and even with only one top player next to xhaka. we need two top midfielders. but not getting at least one would mean no title- simple as that- you can’t win a title with coq, ramsey or el-neni. get gtotazka, seri or naingolan.

      ramsey of course shouldn’t play RW. ozil has to pay for a poor game, but what good is a headless chicken for a real live chicken?

  33. A result in the end after Rambo and g-rude were put on but come on, it was Leicester at home.

    Nothing has changed though bar two new players. The same guy making the same decisions is in the hot seat and whilst they remains we will not be a force.

    Not a hater, just being real.

    1. Jesus Christ. Moaning when we win, moaning when we lose. Let’s see how the rest of the weekend pans out. Only Leicester at home? There are no easy games in the premier league. Leicester picked up where they left off last season, very strongly. They played well but the quality we had and the players Wenger added to the game got us the result we needed. You can’t get more than 3 points for a win. We did the job.

  34. After this game our best team should be:

    Cech
    Kosc must monresl

    Ox. Xhak Ramsay/elneny Sead

    Ozil. Lacazette. Sanchez if stay

    Ox can cover ozil laziness

  35. I will take this win any day any time, but we need to improve. Xhaka was in the middle of everything wrong today. Lots of poor passing, poor tackling and caused two of their goals. Although redeemed himself with the assists.

    Again, I cannot over emphasize how much we need a defender. In the absence of Kos (who now has a niggling injury), our defence look average.

    Our attack is the best part of the team. Quality on the pitch and on the bench. Plus we have not even played Sanchez.

    A tough tackling midfielder and a defender and we are ready.

  36. I really like kolasinac but he was at fault for first two goals.
    Xhaka was poor tonight.
    Czec was iffy too.
    We must not sell Ox or Giroud.

  37. This is what I am talking about…the zeal to push until the end. Things won’t always happen as you planned them, but you gotta refuse taking “NO” for an answer. Push. Fight. If the win won’t come to you, you go and take it.
    Some games will be “a stroll in the park”, some will be like “the battle of Troy”, whichever way, you gotta give each game what it demands. This night’s game was one of those battles, and thank God we were ready to fight. Top of the Table already. One game down, 37 more to go. 3 points in the bag, 111 points left for the taking. COYG

  38. Not very long ago we had a team that would have crumbled with ten minutes to go and needing two goals……….. Now we have a team that will fight for us and each other. Fitting that we were bailed out by an inspired double substitution ( by an apparently clueless manager) bringing on two of our most unappreciated players who got the equalizer and winner.
    We finished the season with a good run and the FA cup and looking like we have still got the momentum going.
    Keep Giroud, Rambo and The Ox…..enjoy two great signings in Laca and Sead…… get Lemar and Seri………… And keep supporting all of our team COYGs !!!

    1. “(by an apparently clueless manager)”

      A fan base that goes quiet when the other side scores? Or leaves empty seats? Arsenal has a fan base with no spirit.

  39. Hey gooonerssss…please cheer for the team.. we have won an impossible game.. I think Wenger knows the faults … I believe he is still finding two different solution .. one the new formation in the first half and two the old formation in the second half. You must give credit to Wenger as he took away holding and useless elneny. No matter elneny provided assist but I feel he can’t carry on defensive duty.. I would sell him or loan him out… Bring two quality players for CB and CDM position.. I think this must be Cech last season in arsenal shirt.. we don’t know how to deal with set pieces.. Wenger must surely tighten up defence to succeed in EPL.

  40. 1. A win is a win. Lucky? No, they attacked with speed and intensity, and it broke the the Foxes down. This game should have been 5-0, it was that Vardy that made things difficult, as he is baaack.
    2. Mahrez is a good player, better than the Ox. Sell Ox, and buy Mahrez. It will increase the goals out put and increase possession. The Ox has poor judgement, and often a poor final pass as well as a good cross. Ox must be used on the right or sold; he is a young position player.
    3. It is clear that Sead is offense minded first. He needs to be used in the middle to break up plays, defend and attack. Next to Xhaka he will help control the middle, and keep Xhaka focused. Sead is not a natural part of a back three, where the player has to be a natural worrier of positioning and marking even when playing zone.
    4. Lacazette is a sniper.
    5. Czech is the general of the side now, able to talk, given the rest are too polite, and Wenger like.

    Next game (still no Koz and Alexis): Basically a 3-4-3, but in action a 3-3-3-1. Ozil has to be in the middle/roaming focused on supplying the other forwards, and Lacazette has to be freed to be in the box. That means the rest have to focus on defense as well as attack. They have to control the middle N-S and open the wings for speed and crosses.

    Lacazette
    Iwobi Ozil Ox
    Sead Xhaka Bellerin
    Nacho Per Mustafi
    Czech

    Have to play Per to keep the rest focused and address the aerial threat. When Koz returns for third game, Nacho to the bench.

    Minimum transfer demand to make top 4: need a proper defender for the back three. At least 6’2″ and mobile, with a mind focused on defense.

    1. Agreed!

      Winning the league would require three or more players… 40M+ defender, 80M+ attacking min-fielder, and a right-winger worth another 80M.

  41. At some point there is a need for 4-4-2. Playing a weaker side, to get more goals, this would work. There is no sense in using Lacazette in the wing or Giroud on the bench when facing a bottom 10 team. Just keep Koz and Mutafi back and release Sead and Bellerin to attack. Use Ospina for great mobility.

    Lacazette Giroud
    Alexi Ozil Ramsey Iwobi
    Sead Koz Mustafi Bellerin
    Ospina

  42. We r not playing our best defence line and it cost us three goals, but tank God for our productive attack that gave us 4 goals. Holding carried bigger load tonight, Ozil was average, og12 n Ramsey tanks so much, Laca great one, anyway, am so happy for d win ugly or not.Czech need to be careful.

  43. We looked rusty at times and not too sharp, but when the magic came it took over and restored some faith.

    Lots to work on, but the subs and shoring the defence worked well, so credit for that.

    We really have to sort our defence though because we really could be up there and it makes us look amateur and weak at times, not to mention the panic every time teams cross into our box.

    Positives and negatives, but we won and we fought hard, so that’s enough for now.

  44. I will save my bashing of some players for another day, some sloppy play in the middle of the park actually allowed Leicester in the game, 3 chances, 3 goals, our defence seemed quite nervous and unsure of themselves.

    However, big up Laca, Welb, Ramsay and of course Giroud, we actually look quite dangerous going forward. One thing must be mention is the fact that three of our forwards scored, cut out those silly defensive errors and we should be great for the season. The perfect test to see where we are at will be against Liverpool.

  45. from my point of view, we need a real dmf that will be helpful for the defense not necessarily a defender. a great tackler. we have a good forward in laca, Sanchez, og, welbz, iwobi, Nelson, the ox. … let’s all support arsenal till the end of every game we play. this is our season. wenger only need to act wisely in the ongoing transfer market by getting us exactly what we need in the middle which is the real dm. COYG

  46. cons: our defending was atrocious again. We just cant seem to fix it year after year no matter what. Ozil is a joke and yet we pay him over 200k
    Pros: Laca and Giroud give the opponents all kinds of problems. The ox deserves every penny so give the lad a new contract.

  47. Stunning game, negatives and positives, but the main thing is we got three points, starting the season off right! Well done!

  48. That was a great game for the neutrals. For me there were lots of positives, Despite being behind for most of the match and losing with only a few minutes to go, we never gave up, kept disciplined and kept trying, not degenerating into pointless fouls etc. Our attack was good, scoring four goals against a packed leicester defense who for the vast majority of the game were winning or drawing, either of which would be a good result for them, so there was no need for them to come out and attack. Consistently I saw two arsenal players tackling one leicester player and winning the ball, also there were many occasions where arsenal lost the ball and immediately won it back.

    The negatives were the defense. First goal kolasinac was in front of the far post and went for an aimless wander leaving that area free for leicester to attack. The second goal was caused by Elneny passing the ball to Xhaka such that Xhaka had no time to control the ball before leicester player arrive, hence poor pass from Xhaka. Third goal seemed like leicester players had more desire to attack the ball than we did.

    The question is can the defense improve. Seems to me that we have kos, mert and mustaffi to come back so I hope so. If not then we will not win the PL this season, or make the top four.

  49. Ox was brilliant, he injected pace into the box to box and crossed superbly. In terms of effort, he was one of the best. Give him what he wants, we can’t afford to lose him.

  50. Match Rating over 10:
    Cech (6): In has much as the defence was poor, he could have made a difference from one or two of the goals conceded. However, he made few good timing clearances. Average tonite.

    Holding (4): Poor boy… He had an unusual outing tonite. Poor clearance and bad timing, jst below average tonite. He can’t be slated though, he has always been good but just a bad game tonite.

    Montreal (6.5): He was not commanding and was taken advantage of due to lack of height. A decision by the Mngr to put him at d center was a bad one and was dentrimental to his potential. Cannot be slated too much, his experience was however useful at some point in the game.

    Kolasinac (9): Watch out for more of this beast. Although, he gave 2-3 wrong passes at the pack, but he did more than enough to bag the MOTM with all round fantastic displays. Wenger in his right senses should never deploy him elsewhere but as a full time right full-back on the pitch.

    Bellerin (6.5): Average tonite. He seem not fit or ready, missing lapses and poor delivery.

    OX (8): No fault can be found with this young lad. I don’t know if I’m the only one, but OX is being denied his full potential when played off position. He’s made for the RFB position, he played perfectly from the (defensive & attacking wise). Arsenal will be wrong to sell him.

    Xhaka (7): Hmm!! There are lots of talking point on our MD maestro. He just knows how to portray this hate but love me attitude on the pitch. Made some wrong decisions but yet redeemed himself with some outstanding display that led to the triumph. He remain an integral part of the team this season.

    Elneny (7): He ran the whole pitch and did his best, but it was not enough to make him a starter in the team. Thanks to his pass that led to the first goal. However, his all round game was average though.

    Ozil (6): Our Mr dependable was caught missing most part of the game has he can be sometimes. He was caught off guard by the Leicester defends most part of the game. He seem unfit yet for the big occasion, he just need time to come to match fitness.

    Welbeck (8): Hard working has his usual self dazzled the opponents defence with cut-edge dribbles and passes. His lack of finishing cannot be ignored has he really need to work hard on that if he’s to be reckoned with his hardworking spirit. Good game and a well timed goal deserves credit.

    Lacazette (8.5): Arsenal seem to have found a clinical finisher in Lacazette. The French man need just 95secs to make his mark in the epl. He link-up play and positioning will be of great benefit to the Arsenal attack in the future games to come.

    SUBS:

    Ramsey (9): Rambo worked tiredlessly at his introduction. He could have gotten the equalizer from the opponents box, but was denied by a reckless marking. He eventually did slotted in the equalizer from 10mins to the end of the game. He was a sub that made a difference, hope to see more of same Ramsey most part of the season.

    Giroud (9): Oliver Giroud was the name that brought down the emirate tonite. This player has had his share of mouth lashing by few Arsenal fans, but the truth remains that Giroud still has that special something (attribute) only him can offer the team. His area abilities is second to none in the league and that which he has proved is several games. Having both Giroud and Lacazette in the team complements our style has a team because they offer different service the team will always benefit from at different occasions of games to come in the season.

    In summary, we can’t deny the fact that our main CD were missed in most part of the match.
    The midfield missed a dynamic ball winner except for great passers of the ball. Meanwhile, we can draw lots of hope and believe from the attacking display shown tonite from the team. Long live Arsenal.

    1. Why always fans defense Cech when his performance is really poor? Now is the defense but when Ospina is the keeper nobody said it’s the defense the fans always judged him. Cech from the time that he was bought from the Chelsea bench is not with a good performance.

      1. Agree, reputation plays a big role in fans judgement of a player. Cech was piss poor and reminded me of a certain Manuel Alumnia, with the way he was caught in no man’s land for the first two goals.
        Very poor for a very tall goalkeeper who should be comfortable with aerial balls.

  51. Why nobody said that Cech performance is been very bad, but it’s today was Ospina who played today all the fans will be on top of him to get three goals.

  52. Ox playing so well reminds me of how Walcott played so well before he signed his current contract only to be on the decline ever since.. I hope ox won’t do another Walcott on us if he eventually and hopefully signs a new contract with us..

  53. arsenal deserve 3 points..but still sloppy play…

    my question is?

    WHERE IS WALCOTT?
    WHERE IS WALCOTT?
    WHERE IS WALCOTT?

    WENGER…PLEASE SELL WALCOTT..OOO.PLEASE…

  54. It’s was a good win for arsenal and a morale booster for the team. Next up is stock city, I think we need Olly to start upfront and I hope Per is back by then.. height and physical presence of this two players is of the essence. Good job!!!!

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