ARSENAL 2 LEICESTER CITY 1
By Ricky Butler at Emirates Stadium
 |
| Danny Welbeck heads a dramatic late Arsenal winner |
LEICESTER CITY have rightly earned
plaudits this season for a remarkable series of results that have
defied all the odds.
With a unique blend of bargain
basement buys and Premier League rejects, the Foxes have spent most
of the season near the top of the table.
They certainly do not have the best
group of players in the league but they work hard for each other,
have an incredible team spirit, and play to their strengths. They
press the ball early and make quick transitions from defence to
attack with long balls into space for the pacey Jamie Vardy.
In essence it is a slightly more
sophisticated version of the 1980s Wimbledon Crazy Gang. Yet while
Dave Bassett's Dons were vilified in the press and hated by the
football world, this Leicester side seem to have won the hearts of
the nation.
Yet on Valentine's Day at the Emirates,
it was not exactly flowers and chocolates. Leicester are not called
the Foxes for nothing. They have a wiliness about them which has
helped them win the most penalties in the Premier League this season;
ten, which is double the number of anyone else.
Many of those have been awarded for
'fouls' on Vardy, and it is easy to see why. The former Fleetwood
man, with 19 goals this season, has a tendency to fall down in the
box at the faintest of touches, belying the strength he displays when
outside the penalty area.
Ignoring the fact that Wes Morgan had
fouled Mesut Ozil at the start of the move that led to the 44th
minute penalty award here, Nacho Monreal actually pulled out of the
challenge with Vardy. But the Leicester front man, as he so often
does, wrapped his leg around the Spaniard's and fell over him.
You can dress it up however you like
but the fact is it is diving and cheating. Referee Martin Atkinson,
who had handled the pretty game well until then, fell for it hook,
line and sinker, and Leicester not only had the lead but where
closing in on an eight point advantage at the top of the table.
A game which had been bubbling just
beneath the surface in the first half suddenly sprang to life.
Arsenal felt a sense of injustice and Atkinson clearly felt a sense
of guilt. That can be the only explanation as to why at the start of
the second period he decided to produce two yellows in quick
succession for Danny Simpson.
Matches of this magnitude should not be
decided by the ineptitude of the referee. Atkinson made an error just before the break
but to then compound that with another just after the restart is
unforgivable. But what will be done about it? Nothing. And Atkinson
will no doubt be back in the middle next weekend.
Down to ten men Leicester reverted to
full 1980's Wimbledon mode. Tactical fouls, time wasting, and long
ball after long ball in the vague direction of Vardy, presumably
hoping he'd once again fall over.
Arsenal always used to struggle against
the Crazy Gang and it seemed that would be the case against Claudio
Ranieri's modern reincarnation as chance after chance went begging.
But in the final twenty minutes, it was Arsene Wenger's substitutes
that turned the match, and title race, in the direction of North
London.
Theo Walcott has a good record against
Leicester but his recent form had been such that he rightly started
this encounter on the bench. Yet when he reacted quickly to a sublime
knock down from Olivier Giroud to fire past the excellent Kasper
Schmichael, he showed his value to this team.
Now it was just a matter of whether
Leicester's ten men could hold on. They couldn't. Over the years
Manchester United often won games in the final few seconds when they
hadn't been at their best. Everyone says that is what wins you
titles.
It was fitting therefore that the
winner should come from a player who was brought up at United and who
was making his first appearance for almost 10 months following a knee
injury. Danny Welbeck's stoppage time header not only gave this match
a fitting climax but showed that Arsenal do have the mental strength
to go on and win the Premier League.
Of course Leicester still lead the way
but that eight point half time advantage is now down to just two. The
ultimate six-pointer.
With a break for the FA Cup and then
Champions League, Arsenal return to Premier League action at the end
of the month with another big game at Old Trafford. Win there and
perhaps the doubters will be convinced.
As for the wily old Foxes, well they have
two very winnable home matches to come against Norwich City and West
Bromwich Albion. But it is how they react to this disappointment that
will be key. Having put so much energy into the match, to come away with
nothing will be a devastating blow.
No doubt the wave of public support
will continue but this is where the pressure really starts. The run
in. Twelve cup finals to play. Wimbledon only ever got so far on guts
and bravado. The question now is; do Leicester have more than that?
The next few weeks will give us the
answer.
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