There was chaos at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal recorded a dramatic 4-2 victory over Leicester City, when they appeared to be heading towards a draw.
Mikel Arteta’s side were well aware that Manchester City dropped points in the title race after drawing to Newcastle in the early kick-off, but they left it very late as they beat Leicester, who are still winless in the Premier League.
Arteta named an unchanged lineup from the 2-2 draw at Man City, with David Raya recovering from an injury to start in goal, but Ben White was left out of the squad as he continues to struggle with an injury.
Arsenal took the lead as Gabriel Martinelli sent a shot into the bottom corner from a Jurrien Timber cross, and they doubled the lead just before half-time as Leandro Trossard slotted in from a Martinelli cut-back.
Leicester pulled one back at the start of the second half through James Justin, who headed in from a free-kick, and the right-back handed the visitors a shock equaliser with a stunning volley.
Arsenal looked set to drop points in an incredibly frustrating manner, before Trossard came up with the winner, firing in a rebound from a set-piece which deflected in off Wilfried Ndidi, and Kai Havertz tapped in to make it 4-2 in the dying moments.
Here’s five things we learned from the incredible win at the Emirates…
Leandro Trossard enjoys Arsenal redemption
Trossard was named in the starting XI despite being sent off away at Manchester City, with a careless moment costing his side a victory, and he really had a point to prove.
The Belgian delivered a much-improved performance, with his work-rate in the middle of the park noticeable, whilst he offered a creative link in the absence of Martin Odegaard.
The 29-year-old doubled the lead with a superb finish in injury time of the first half, in a stark contrast to what happened in the same minute of the game against Man City, and he justified his inclusion against Leicester by helping secure the win.
With the 93rd minute on the clock, Trossard fired in a shot which deflected off Wilfried Ndidi to find the back of the net, and send the Emirates into raptures and handed Arsenal all three points.
Gabriel Martinelli is back to his best
Questions were being asked of Martinelli after he suffered a dip in form and a long goal drought, but he finally ended his frustration as he netted for the first time since March.
Martinelli missed a good chance early on as he snatched at a chance, but he recovered well to open the scoring, and this sparked him into life.
The Brazilian was a constant threat on the left side, and he showed great composure to set Trossard up for the second goal, with the 23-year-old delivering a strong display overall before being substituted for Raheem Sterling.
Arsenal still miss Martin Odegaard
Despite scoring four, it became clear in the second half that Arsenal were still suffering without captain Martin Odegaard.
Arsenal pushed forward and created a lot of chances, but there were times in which the Norweigan’s skill on the ball, and his composure in the final third, could have led to higher-quality chances for the hosts.
However, Arteta may have now stumbled across a solution…
Ethan Nwaneri is ready to start in the Premier League
With the scores locked at 2-2, Arteta turned to youngster Ethan Nwaneri, who came on for his first Premier League game at the Emirates Stadium.
Nwaneri was nothing short of sensational, as his first action was to dribble forward and fire a fierce shot, which required a good save from Mads Hermansen.
The 17-year-old was incredibly composed way beyond his years, and his close control stood out above a lot of his teammates as he injected more creativity into the Arsenal side.
It is clear that he is ready to play at the top level despite his age, and he will now hope that his cameo will lead to a starting role soon.
Arsenal missed Ben White on set-pieces
Whilst Timber performed superbly at right-back, Arsenal did still miss White, particularly on set-pieces.
Leicester’s goal came as Justin headed in via a deflection off Havertz from a free-kick, which White could have possibly helped defend, but the key area where White was missed was in Arsenal’s attacking set plays.
Hermansen was comfortable on a lot of Arsenal’s deliveries, and White’s disruptive presence in distracting goalkeepers in these situations could have led to more luck in front of goal.
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