Leicester 0-2 Arsenal Player ratings and Match reaction

[HCZ_Reborn]

Raya 6 - Largely a spectator


Timber 6 - Not one of his better games


Saliba 7 - Untroubled


Gabriel 7 - Also untroubled


Lewis-Skelly 7.5 - Probably would have lost the game if he hadn’t got there ahead of De Cordova Reid


Partey 5.5 - Clumsy


Rice 6.5 - Wasteful


Odegaard 6 - Game that sums up his season.


Trossard 6.5 - Good assist for second goal, but overall muted performance


Sterling 3 - He’s finished at the top level and every time he plays for us, it just confirms it


Nwaneri 8.5 - Would have been a travesty for him not to be on the winning side, his industry and his quality were really on show




Subs


Merino 9 - Whilst Nwaneri was the overall best player on the pitch, its a big deal to step up and play in a role which isn’t your primary role and excel like this.


Jorginho/Calafiori/Tierney - N/A Anonymous


The less said of the overall performance the better, it wasn’t dreadful it was just a bit listless…not a great deal of energy on show from anyone bar Nwaneri from the starting XI.
I think one has to say at this point, for Merino whilst I can only doff my cap to him and say well done sir. It is a bit of a fluke. Not the goals they were both well taken, but I would be staggered if he’s able to recreate this in the games to come.

I mean that simply because to expect a player who has no prolonged experience of playing up front to consistently start banging in goals would be absurd. However it certainly doesn’t hurt to hope that this isn’t just a one off, and I absolutely am in favour of starting him up front next Saturday.

It comes down to what I said about moderating expectations for the foreseeable. And hoping that the luck that has abandoned us for large parts of the season comes to us now where we need it the most

[Marc Overmars]

10 mins away from dropping points to one of the worst teams in the league…

Happy we got it done of course but for most of the game it was a slog and we were just relying on Nwaneri’s individual brilliance to bail us out. Probably an indication of how the next month will go with this line up.

Quite funny that the Merino gamble paid off today and I would definitely start him next week simply because we can’t get a tune out of Sterling.

Anyway, on to next weekend. At least the schedule is lighter now till April.

[Letters]

This whole season has felt like a slog but somehow we keep finding a way to just about hang in there.

That MLS pokeaway when the ball went across our box
Possibly the difference between 0 points and 3. Such fine lines in football.

The Leicester defence for the second goal. There were plenty of Leicester players in the box, who the hell were any of them marking? Merino was the only Arsenal player there . I guess that's why they're in the relegation zone.

[dazthegooner]

One thing yesterday showed that if we have attackers in the box we will score goals, how many times this season have we crossed into the box only for our players to be loitering the penalty area?

[HCZ_Reborn]

This whole season has felt like a slog but somehow we keep finding a way to just about hang in there.

That MLS pokeaway when the ball went across our box
Possibly the difference between 0 points and 3. Such fine lines in football.

The Leicester defence for the second goal. There were plenty of Leicester players in the box, who the hell were any of them marking? Merino was the only Arsenal player there . I guess that's why they're in the relegation zone.

Marking is easier when you’re defending a dead ball situation I guess, plus also factoring in tiredness as well. Plus I’d say give us credit where it’s due…lovely ball in by Trossard and good instincts from Eugene Levy to ghost in and tap home

[Letters]

Marking is easier when you’re defending a dead ball situation I guess, plus also factoring in tiredness as well. Plus I’d say give us credit where it’s due…lovely ball in by Trossard and good instincts from Eugene Levy to ghost in and tap home

All true, but it wasn’t like the Leicester players were nowhere near Merino, they were just marking space while he drifted in behind all of them.
But of course breaking with pace makes it harder for defenders which makes us all ponder why we don’t do it more

[HCZ_Reborn]

All true, but it wasn’t like the Leicester players were nowhere near Merino, they were just marking space while he drifted in behind all of them.
But of course breaking with pace makes it harder for defenders which makes us all ponder why we don’t do it more

True, only thing I’d say is we were famous or should I say infamous for zonal marking when Wenger was in charge

But of course if their defence was that marvellous as you say they wouldn’t be in the relegation zone (having a 38 year old Vardy as your primary goal scorer doesn’t help none too much either)

[HCZ_Reborn]

As for counter attack. Teams like Arsenal can’t really counter attack against teams like Leicester unless we are already ahead . Because teams like Leicester won’t overcommit in a way that leaves spaces unless of course they fall behind with ten minutes plus stoppage time to play.

Of course I agree that we don’t do it enough when the opportunity is there, we went through City like shit through a goose

[IBK]

Raya 6 - Largely a spectator


Timber 6 - Not one of his better games


Saliba 7 - Untroubled


Gabriel 7 - Also untroubled


Lewis-Skelly 7.5 - Probably would have lost the game if he hadn’t got there ahead of De Cordova Reid


Partey 5.5 - Clumsy


Rice 6.5 - Wasteful


Odegaard 6 - Game that sums up his season.


Trossard 6.5 - Good assist for second goal, but overall muted performance


Sterling 3 - He’s finished at the top level and every time he plays for us, it just confirms it


Nwaneri 8.5 - Would have been a travesty for him not to be on the winning side, his industry and his quality were really on show




Subs


Merino 9 - Whilst Nwaneri was the overall best player on the pitch, its a big deal to step up and play in a role which isn’t your primary role and excel like this.


Jorginho/Calafiori/Tierney - N/A Anonymous


The less said of the overall performance the better, it wasn’t dreadful it was just a bit listless…not a great deal of energy on show from anyone bar Nwaneri from the starting XI.
I think one has to say at this point, for Merino whilst I can only doff my cap to him and say well done sir. It is a bit of a fluke. Not the goals they were both well taken, but I would be staggered if he’s able to recreate this in the games to come.

I mean that simply because to expect a player who has no prolonged experience of playing up front to consistently start banging in goals would be absurd. However it certainly doesn’t hurt to hope that this isn’t just a one off, and I absolutely am in favour of starting him up front next Saturday.

It comes down to what I said about moderating expectations for the foreseeable. And hoping that the luck that has abandoned us for large parts of the season comes to us now where we need it the most

Agree with most of this.

We certainly didn't look like a team coming off a Dubai break - very little tempo throughout (particularly the fist half). But then it doesn't seem like Dubai was used as much of a rest...

Maybe it's because this season so far has not given us much cause for optimism, but my feeling is that as much as Merino's goals were extremely welcome, this had as much to do with (1) the fact we were playing Leicester, and (2) they would not have prepared for him playing up front, so we had the advantage of surprise. If Kai has been largely dealt with by the opposition this season, I fear that it won't take much to nullify Merino's threat if we try to replicate this going forwards. That said, if he can draw players away from Nwaneri, then this would be a good thing.

As for Nwaneri - he was the best player on the pitch by a mile, and I loved seeing that he can strike with both feet. But these Messi comparisons? Ridiculous hyperbole IMO. This was Leicester City FFS - a nailed on relegation candidate. It's really impressive that he can step and carry the burden of being out key attacking player but it's unfair to expect him to carry our team.

Sterling? Oh dear. But saying that he can't play again as many are saying ignores the fact that he is one of our only 3 forwards. He will play again because of this, and I think that this needs to be up front, in the hope of getting a flukey tap in.

Great and important win, but I just can't see us going on the kind of run needed with a team flying on a single engine...

[Mac76]

i watched the interview with Merino on the Arsenal website and he talked about watching Ethan and Leo in training and looking at the crosses they liked to put in, so he took up positions which would suit them - simply really isn't it?

puts Eddie to shame that a supposed full-time striker can't do that - how many times did he simply disappear? and even when he didn't he fluffed his chances