Arsenal Vs Leicester Preview

Arsenal Vs Leicester Preview

It`s been almost 6 months since Arsenal demolished Leicester on home turf. The Gunners’ 5-2 win against the current Premier League leaders will be meaningless if not recreated at the Emirates. Since then, a lot of things have changed. Arsenal moved to first, then second then third place after being affected by injuries. Leicester moved to the top of the table and stayed there while managing to lose just one other game aside from that against Wenger’s side. Currently they have one of the most unexpected runs going in the history of English football with 3 losses in all domestic competitions. The strange thing is that even so, they don’t come in as favorites against Arsenal. They might be favored on paper given the latest results, but few actually expect to see Leicester win. That`s probably because as seen in the past, if there is anyone who has the key to defeating this team, it`s Wenger. Alexis Sanchez could also be mentioned next to the French manager as the striker found the net three times back in September.

When comparing the current Arsenal lot with that which defeated Leicester, we will see that Cazorla would be the most important player who is unavailable right now. Fortunately, Coquelin will take his spot and will play down the middle next to Ramsey and Ozil. Other than that the starting elevens will look pretty much the same for both sides.


Arsenal Starting XI:

Cech; Bellerin; Gabriel/Mertesacker; Koscielny; Monreal; Coquelin; Ramsey; Oxlade-Chamberlain; Ozil; Sanchez; Giroud.

Substitutes:

Ospina; Chambers; Gibbs; Mertesacker/Gabriel; Elneny; Walcott; Campbell

Unavailable:

Cazorla; Wilshere; Rosicky

Leicester Starting XI:

Schmeichel; Fuchs; Morgan; Huth; Simpson; Albrighton; Kante; Drinkwater; Mahrez; Vardy; Okazaki

Substitutes: Schwarzer, Chilwell, Wasilewski, King, Inler, Gray, Dyer.

Unavailable: Schlupp; James; Amartey

Looking at the two lots, there will be some problems that Wenger will need to address in order to help Cech keep a clean sheet. First there’s the fact that Mertesacker, if not in perfect form, could cause a disaster for Arsenal down the middle. Vardy and Okazaki are very fast and if the German does not compensate with experience and absolute focus, things will not go down well. Sure you have all the other three defenders who are fast but still, Mertesacker needs to be on top of his game this Sunday and that is why it would not be a total surprise to see Gabriel play.

The other issue is with Huth who is a beast when it comes to set pieces. Arsenal will need to stay away from corners thus avoiding giving any chance to the 6’3″, 200lbs defender to score. Other than that, Arsenal, in a good day can beat Leicester. Hopefully it will be one of those days as going into the Champions League clash against Barcelona with a good morale would represent a massive advantage. Sure, there’s also the game against Hull next Saturday Arsenal look to three-peat in the FA Cup.

Score Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Leicester.