Just over a month after their EFL third-round defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, Leicester City traveled back to north London, this time for a Premier League clash. It was anticipated to be an enticing tactical battle between two sides that looked to outwit each other in a bid to qualify for the Champions League next season.
With three wins out of five, Arsenal sat 5th in the league table before the game. The Gunners were coming from a hard-fought win in their midweek’s Europa League fixture. The visitors, on the other hand, had acquired the same number of points as the hosts but were sitting just above them due to a higher goal difference.
Brendon Rodger’s men came into the game on the back of consecutive home defeats in the league. Moreover, Leicester City hadn’t won an away game against Arsenal since 1973. Hence, the odds favored the home side before the game. However, the ex-Liverpool manager masterminded a hard-fought 1-0 victory to get back to the winning ways in the league.
In this tactical analysis, we will demonstrate the tactics used by both the managers. Besides, we will analyze the pragmatic approach that Rodgers utilized to outplay his counterpart.
Lineups
Mikel Arteta shuffled his side to include the new £45 million signing Thomas Partey as the Spaniard made two changes from their previous league game. With Partey in the central midfield alongside Granit Xhaka and Dani Cabellos, Bukayo Saka was reinstated in the forward line on the left as it meant that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was shifted to the right in place of Nicholas Pépé. Alexandre Lacazette replaced Willian in the center as he was the final change in Arsenal’s 3-4-3 formation on-paper which looked like a 4-3-3 on the field.
Leicester implemented the three-at-the-back formation for the third time this season as Rodgers also made two changes from the previous league game. James Maddison started for the first time in the new league campaign as he looked to ease the creative issues for his team. He replaced Ayoze Pérez, who has had a poor start to the season so far. Christian Fuchs also started for the first time in the league as he replaced Kelechi Iheanacho, who was benched for this game. Jamie Vardy returned to the bench after missing out on the previous two games with an injury. In the absence of a recognized number ‘9’, Harvey Barnes started as the lone striker.
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