Arsenal's Premier League title battle with Manchester City resumes this weekend as Mikel Arteta's side face a tough trip to Leicester City.
The Gunners restored their place at the top of the table last weekend in another weekend full of unpredictable results that saw Manchester City drop points at Nottingham Forest after Arsenal scored two injury-time goals to defeat Aston Villa.
More twists and turns are anticipated at the summit of the Premier League in the final three months of the season. But, as has been for the bulk of the campaign, Arsenal's destiny remains in their own hands.
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The run of 15 highly-contested league fixtures starts this weekend at Leicester City. Brendan Rodgers' men have faced a burdensome season so far, losing 13 of their 23 games in the league.
But a positive January transfer window - which saw three new players signed - has injected a much-needed feeling of optimism at the King Power Stadium. One defeat in their previous five games in all competitions has eased the pressure on Rodgers ahead of tomorrow's clash.
Leicester proved two weeks ago they are capable of causing serious damage to one of the Premier League's best in Tottenham. However, Arteta comes into the contest with a clear blueprint on how to win courtesy of Marcus Rashford and Manchester United.
The Red Devils' re-emergence as one of the Premier League's best under Erik ten Hag continued last week as they defeated Leicester 3-0. Despite their slow start - in which Leicester could and perhaps should have scored - United progressed through the gears thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.
From the 90 minutes in Manchester, much can be taken away and placed into Arsenal's game plan this weekend. football.london brings you some of the pieces of play the Gunners can take advantage of when looking to break Leicester down.
Against United, Leicester started quickly and were the better side for the opening 20 minutes. Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho both failed to convert big chances in a promising period of play. However, as done with the majority of the season, their poor defensive decisions cost them. For United's first goal a disorganised defensive line saw Rashford run through and slot past Danny Ward.
Bruno Fernandes doesn't need much time to notice Wout Faes' decision to recklessly stutter forward - in hope of applying pressure onto Wout Weghorst. The Belgian's decision opened up acres of space for Rashford to run in behind, unchallenged, due to Harry Souttar's poor positioning - which kept him onside.
The image above perfectly demonstrates one of the key areas the likes of Martin Odegaard, Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli can cash in on. Timothy Castagne (right-back) ventured forward much more than Victor Kristiansen at left-back throughout the game, meaning Souttar was often forced to cover for him.
Leicester's defensive line was largely disorganised, with Faes' tendency to rush into challenges, often leaving Souttar in no-man's land. As the phase of play continued, Rashford had the opportunity to assist Alejandro Garnacho after he managed to outpace Castange on the far side.
On these two occasions, it was Leicester's other centre-back whose decision-making resulted in another goal. In the first image, the Australian mis-reads Fred's intentions and opts to press, freeing up space for Rashford to double his tally. Due to Leicester's high-line, Castagne is unable to read Rashford's run.
In the second instance, Leicester's incapability to maintain possession in the middle of the park results in United springing a quick forward ball to free Sancho through a large area of space, vacated by Souttar, again. The spaces left by the Foxes two central defenders is particularly an area to focus on for Arsenal.
The final example is quite an astonishing one. In the 86th minute, with the game dead and Leicester 3-0 down, Faes continued to leap into challenges and leave his fellow defenders outnumbered. Despite Kristiansen's presence, the Belgian opts to press the United forward - resulting in a 3v2 in United's favour.
Leicester's constant failure to complete turnovers and deal with attacks means Arsenal could have a field day if they can attack with pace. Jorginho and Granit Xhaka will be tasked with the tough job of dispossessing some of Leicester's most technical players, but as evidenced in their last game, the Foxes struggle with quick attacks.
Despite their common theme of using their wide players to cause damage to their opponents with Saka and Martinelli, targeting Leicester's newly-formed centre-back partnership is where they are most vulnerable.
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