Leicester 0-2 Arsenal
by Layth Yousif
at Filbert Way

RESURGENT Arsenal continued their run of good form with a hard-fought 2-0 victory against Leicester City in front of 32,000 supporters at the atmospheric Filbert Way stadium.

An early goal from defensive linchpin Gabriel, supplemented by an Emile Smith Rowe effort inside the opening 20 minutes, gave Mikel Arteta’s side the advantage. 

But the visitors’ Saturday lunchtime win was notable for an obdurate rearguard display, fuelled by an outstanding performance by the Gunners’ new number-one keeper Aaron Ramsdale. 

Since usurping Bernd Leno, the 23-year-old former Sheffield United netminder is yet to be on the losing side in eight matches, saving 24 out of the 28 shots he has faced. 

Ramsdale pulled off a number of superb saves as Arsenal achieved seven league games without loss, climbing from 10th to sixth in the table, level on points with fourth-placed West Ham, by the end of Saturday. 

The pick of the highlights reel came when the keeper somehow kept out James Maddison’s free kick moments before half-time, a save none other than the great Peter Schmeichel, father of Foxes’ shotstopper Kasper, described as the “best save I’ve seen for years.”

Ramsdale, who also gained experience when loaned to Bournemouth by the Blades, made another excellent save from Foxes substitute Ademola Lookman that left boss Arteta full of admiration.

“When you want to win games consecutively, you need big individual performances,” the Arsenal manager said, adding: “You can win in different ways, but it’s for sure that your goalkeeper has to stand out because the opponent has the quality to create chances against you. In big moments today, I think he was superb.

“I’m really happy with the performance, with the result, with the phases of the game we had to go through, and how we managed them — in general, to keep winning and playing the way we did, because if we play that way, we’ll be closer to winning more matches.”

Brendan Rodgers’s side dominated the second half as they camped in the Gunners’ final third. Luke Thomas drilled narrowly wide, Ramsdale bravely blocked an effort from lively substitute Harvey Barnes, while Jamie Vardy’s bullet header flew past the post as Leicester hopes eventually subsided.

“A poor start cost us,” the Foxes boss said after the game, adding: “It’s a lack of concentration, and then you’re chasing the game against a good side. We’ve been able to do it in a few games recently where we’ve not had a great start and come back, but you can’t give teams a 2-0 start, especially a good team like Arsenal.”

However, credit should also go to Gabriel and defensive partner Ben White, as their burgeoning defensive partnership formed an impressive redoubt when repelling Leicester raids, invariably prompted by the creative Youri Tielemans.  

Everywhere you looked, Arsenal showed grit, from the left-sided Nuno Tavares, in for the injured Kieran Tierney, to the battling right-back Takehiro Tomiyashu, to the increasingly impressive midfield powerhouse Thomas Partey.

This defensive solidity, allied with the work rate colleagues further forward showed in tracking back and closing down, helped to clinch a tenacious victory that was joyously celebrated at the end of the match by the 3,000 vociferous travelling supporters. 

Bukayo Saka, making his 100th appearance for the club at the tender age of 20, was impressive, alongside the industrious Smith Rowe, who lights up every game he plays these days, and memories of the club’s dreadful August, losing their opening three league games for the first time since 1954, are receding.

For Arsenal, without the relentless grind of European fixtures and set to enjoy the previously unheard-of luxury of a full eight days without a first-team match, the prospect of hosting struggling Watford at Ashburton Grove on Sunday can’t come soon enough. And Arteta was handed a pre-match boost: drawn at home to League One Sunderland in the League Cup quarter-finals. 
 
As for player of the match, Ramsdale, previously capped from under-18 to under-21 levels, will surely be handed an England debut by manager Gareth Southgate when Wembley hosts Albania during the next international break in November. On this performance, he certainly deserves it.