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If this title race is to be “a war”, as Gabriel put it, Arsenal have claimed victory in a battle that may end up much more decisive than anyone expected. What should have been a comfortable 3pm home win against a relegation-threatened Leicester City was transformed into a game that tested the club’s nerves but will have reaffirmed the spirit, through a late 4-2 win.
The very fact it went to that from 2-2 in the 94th minute only tells part of what this game was, especially given it had been 2-0 at half time. It might also tell us a bit more about what Arsenal will be by the end of the season – mere challengers again or actual champions?
Just hours after Manchester City had dropped two points against Newcastle United, Arsenal looked set to unexpectedly do the same against Leicester. Except, it would have been even worse than squandering the chance to go level with the champions. It would have been the third time in four games the Gunners had lost a lead, and looked like it was going to be six points dropped from winning positions. There were some caveats to that, given the red cards against both Brighton and City and the strength of the latter, but that really isn’t how you win titles.
This is, at least in terms of how they conjured a win so late in the game. This is one effect of all the little tricks that Mikel Arteta has tried over the past few years in order to build both unity in the team and a positive atmosphere in the stadium. This is when it comes through.
It was all the more important in the emotional context. Just like last week, and also like City’s afternoon match, this had the feel of a high-tension title run-in match in March. Arteta had to remind people that “it’s just September”.
It’s already more than a normal rivalry, given the tensions that have escalated between the clubs since last week’s 2-2 draw. Pep Guardiola had unnecessarily brought up the City hearing after admittedly open-ended comments from Arteta about the champions’ own gamesmanship, and the Arsenal manager tried to clarify that afterwards. He went on at length about how much he loves and admires Guardiola and the rest of the City staff, but above all their “will to win”. He insisted that is what he was referring to, and what Arsenal have to be inspired by. His team showed a similar persistence.
Some of Arteta’s psychological tricks, from light bulbs to pickpockets, have been doubted and there could be questions about some of Arsenal’s performance here.
They got complacent, having been 2-0 up. They even looked like they got rattled, again allowing refereeing decisions to disrupt rhythm. James Justin’s deflected header just after the interval seemed to surprise them before the same player stunned everyone with a superb volley to equalise.
It was all the worse for Arsenal since there has been so much concern about Martin Odegaard’s injury, but it wasn’t the attack that malfunctioned here. Not with Leandro Trossard on this kind of form. It was the defence.
Arsenal had actually been superb at the other end, and it felt like the entirety of the first half had been spent mere yards from Leicester’s goal. The first goal was a showcase of this in how Bukayo Saka put Jurrien Timber clear with a clever reverse pass, for Gabriel Martinelli to finish. The Brazilian could have had a hat-trick. Arsenal could have been 5-0 up by the time of Trossard’s strike to make it 2-0.
That was what made what followed all the more frustrating for Arteta. Leicester’s goalkeeper made it worse. Mads Hermansen made 13 saves in this match, the most in any Premier League game since December 2017. That was also against Arsenal, albeit Manchester United’s David De Gea was between the posts back then.
This was a different kind of story. Hermansen, like Justin, didn’t deserve to lose this game. Some of his interventions went beyond the description of mere saves, particularly the stop from Riccardo Calafiori’s close-range header and then an almost point-blank parry from Trossard.
This was all why Arsenal didn’t deserve to just draw either. After matches where they had been criticised for Jose Mourinho-style anti-football, this was as attacking as you get.
“It was emotionally difficult to accept, given the amount of goals we should have scored,” Arteta said of Justin pulling it back to 2-2. He did praise his team for not letting that get to them given how “worrying” it was, and that they were “emotionally in control”.
They still had to go and seize the moment. Arteta was willing to throw everything forward. Gabriel Jesus was inevitably introduced, before Raheem Sterling came on. There were all manner of potential match-winners but perhaps the most hope was around Ethan Nwaneri. The 17-year-old is seen as the future of the club and he showed why with an immediate dribble and long-range strike at goal that Hermansen – of course – pushed away.
“I love it,” Arteta said of his young player. “If you want to be in the team, this is the courage you have to show.”
Arsenal just needed more. By then, there were a few levels of irony, as Arsenal complained over Leicester’s time-wasting.
The release came from a familiar outlet. After a series of set-pieces, when Hermansen had done so well to prevent Leicester from becoming yet another statistic to that point, the sheer maths took their course. One had to fall, and it came through Trossard. He deflected another perfect Saka delivery across the box, and it went in off Wilfred Ndidi. Kai Havertz eventually made sure with a last-gasp fourth, awarded after a VAR check for offside.
“In theory, we should have never got to this point,” Arteta said. “But this is football. This is the beauty of the game, in relation to other sports.”
That’s never more felt than with a late winner, particularly in a title run-in that looks like it has already started.
