26 February 2023 , 03:00
881
0
Arsenal are starting to look much like the side they have been for the majority of the season after a brief shaky spell at the beginning of this month.
Saturday's league outing saw them make the trip to Leicester and come away with all three points following Gabriel Martinelli's goal in the opening exchanges of the second-half. Though the Foxes enjoyed some late pressure, manager Mikel Arteta will be pleased with how his men reduced the hosts to just one shot on goal all game.
The result means that whatever happened in Manchester City's clash away at Bournemouth, the Gunners would remain top of the pile for another match-week. Up next for Arsenal is a home contest against Everton on Wednesday night- their game in hand over title rivals City.
Mikel Arteta praised Arsenal's performanceArteta praises Arsenal dominance
The Gunners were in charge for the majority of the game and managed to keep the Foxes attacking threat to a minimum throughout.
Their hosts failed to register a single shot on target all game and come the full-time whistle Arteta praised the manner of the victory.
Mikel Arteta's dream Arsenal line up as last-gasp January transfers are secured
"We dominated the game almost from start to finish. In general I think our play and understanding of spaces was excellent," the Spaniard claimed.
"We lacked that final pass to score more. We had the decision with the disallowed goal which was frustrating to take, but to restrict Leicester to one shot at home is great."
Oleksandr Zinchenko captained Arsenal for the first timeArsenal's Zinchenko gesture
Ahead of kick-off, Arsenal released a statement confirming that Oleksandr Zinchenko would replace Martin Odegaard as captain for the trip to the King Power.
It read: "Alex Zinchenko is our captain today, as a mark of respect and love on the first anniversary of the conflict in Ukraine."
Following Arsenal securing the victory, Arteta explained the reasoning behind the gesture.
We wanted to win for him, for his family and loved ones and all the people in Ukraine who have inspired the world with this fighting spirit they have shown for over a year now."
It seemed to inspire the Ukrainian international, who enjoyed a positive display littered with line-breaking passes and taking up a number of positions all over the pitch in a bid to drive Arsenal further up the pitch.
Leandro Trossard operated in a different role for Arsenal at LeicesterTrossard's new role
Leandro Trossard was given a different role during the game against the Foxes after Eddie Nketiah was dropped to the bench for the first time since club football resumed following the World Cup.
More often deployed on the left-flank, the Belgian was tasked with causing havoc to the Leicester defence while operating as a false nine.
For the most part, the former Brighton man was one of Arsenal's brighter sparks and thought he'd opened the scoring with a thunderous strike but VAR's intervention robbed Trossard of his second Gunners goal.
Arsenal lose eight players and sign three as January transfer window closes
He was eventually replaced with 20 minutes to play, but not before setting up the game's only goal. Trossard's nutmeg pass through the legs of Harry Souttar put Martinelli through to convert.