Arsenal produced a commanding display at the King Power Stadium when they came from 1-0 down to handsomely beat Leicester 5-2. It was just what the doctor had ordered for Arsenal after a sickening defeat to Chelsea in our last league outing. Sanchez scored an amazing hat-trick, which included a long range blinder, to become the first player to have scored a hat-trick in all three top flight divisions of Italy, Spain and England.
In what was a highly entertaining game, both the teams showed great will in trying to play positive attacking football which resulted in a lot of great end to end movement. Leicester dominated the early proceedings and quite deservedly took the lead, though Arsenal showed great character later on and put on a show of scintillating counter attacking football to come back into the game. In the end, it was a vital victory for Arsenal who now stand 3 points behind league leaders Manchester United, against whom they square off come Sunday, in a crucial game which is going be a true six pointer. Here are the Arsenal player ratings for the game:
Cech : 6.5
Had a rather quiet game with Leicester not testing him as well as they would have liked. Solid at the back. Made a couple of cracking saves to keep Arsenal in the game.
Bellerin : 6.5
Was always willing to make the forward runs to provide some much needed width on the right flank, although he was guilty of giving the ball away cheaply on a couple of occasions in the first half. It was he, who put in the cross which led to Sanchez’s first goal of the season.
Mertscielny : 7
It was a regular outing for Arsenal’s most dependable CB pairing. Valuable interceptions, great reading of the game to keep Leicester at bay, important headers to clear the danger, just the usual stuff.
Monreal : 8
Provided two assists in the match, kept the league’s top performer in Mahrez rather quiet. Couldn’t have asked for more.
Flamini : N/A
Had to be replaced by Arteta. Hopefully the hamstring issue isn’t too serious.
Arteta : 7.5
Came on to fill the role of the deep lying defensive midfielder left vacant by the injured Flamini and did not disappoint. Brought a lot of composure to Arsenal’s overall play.
Cazorla : 7.5
Got an assist against his name and kept pulling the strings behind the curtains. I still wonder about how Wenger managed to rob him off a then cash-strapped Malaga for peanuts.
Özil : 7.5
He had a very influential game against Leicester. Got an absolute beauty of an assist too. The weight of the pass and the vision to feed in Alexis taking out more than 6 defenders with just one pass! He’d be in the Earth XI.
Ramsey : 6.5
I feel he needs to step up his game. There’s nothing half bad about it. But it just feels like these performances are not a true reflection of the absolute gem of a player that he is. Covered the most ground for Arsenal. Who’s second you ask? Lazy Özil.
Sanchez : 9
Had a brilliant game. Created history with a very well taken hat-trick. What a leap he has on him! And his touch to create the space for the third goal, magical!
Walcott : 8
Posed a threat to the home team’s defense all game long and he’ll be very happy with his performance, which included a very well taken goal that brought Arsenal back into the game.
Giroud : 6.5
He came on for Walcott. Failed to connect from close range with a delicious cross from Cazorla. But made up for his mistake with a very well taken goal to let Arsenal bow out of the game on a high.
Ox : N/A
Came on for Ramsey. Showcased great strength to maintain possession for Arsenal in one particular instance. Needs to get some game time.
