Red card ends a terrible week for Arsenal

FT: LEICESTER 3-0 ARSENAL by Alfie

Another terrible result away from home, in a difficult and disappointing week for the club. Whilst our response to the red card and the way we played after it was not great, I do think the sending off ultimately tipped the balance of the game, and I don’t think it was a red card.

Unai Emery clearly approached the encounter with a specific game plan- to sit deep, absorb pressure and not allow them to hit us on the counter, something they have excelled at for years. Personally, I felt this was going well until the red card. Whilst they controlled possession and did look threatening in and around our box, we appeared to be dealing with it relatively well, and looked threatening on the counter ourselves, missing a few good chances with Lacazette and Iwobi.

However, the red card was the turning point, and from that moment onwards, we appeared to have little outball and really struggled to retain possession and progress the play. They dominated the majority of the second half, looking fluid and bright, and we struggled to contain this movement throughout. It was a matter of time until they opened the scoring, with the excellent Tielemans heading in.

Although we exerted a bit of pressure towards the end, with the introduction of Guendouzi giving us a bit of renewed balance in midfield, it was never sustained or incisive and they added another couple as we faded and showed signs of fatigue. 3 defeats, 9 goals conceded and diminished top 4 hopes: a terrible week for Arsenal. The players must give us something to cheer about on Thursday.

PLAYER RATINGS vs Leicester:

1️⃣9️⃣ Leno 9

1️⃣5️⃣ Maitland-Niles 4

2️⃣0️⃣ Mustafi 5

0️⃣5️⃣ Sokratis 4

3️⃣1️⃣ Kolasinac 6

1️⃣1️⃣ Torreira 5

3️⃣4️⃣ Xhaka 4

0️⃣7️⃣ Mkhitaryan 4

1️⃣7️⃣ Iwobi 4

1️⃣4️⃣ Aubameyang 5

0️⃣9️⃣ Lacazette 5 –

Subs

0️⃣6️⃣ Koscielny 5

2️⃣9️⃣ Guendouzi 6

4️⃣9️⃣ Nketiah 6 –