Arsenal managed to grab three points against a resistant Leicester at the Kings Power stadium on Saturday with the help of a Gabriel Martinelli winner.
Leicester had some defensive tenacity, but little else: they made few offensive contributions. They were not innovative in going forward and that allowed Arsenal to seep deep into their territories. They had one shot in the entire game, a long-range attempt from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall that sailed wide in the 72nd minute.
Trossard’s brilliant curling shot from outside the area was initially given as a goal, but referee Craig Pawson overturned it for sustained holding after consulting the video assistant referee. It was Arsenal’s Ben White that had his left arm around Ward’s right as the ball came over at a corner leading to the goal being disallowed.
Martinelli who wasn’t having his best of games in the first half, grabbed his ninth goal of the league season just 51 seconds into the second half when he calmly stroked the ball past Ward, sustaining a painful blow to the right leg when Wilfred Ndidi accidentally knocked him in the process of scoring.
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Saka also had a goal ruled out when Martinelli was flagged for offside, but Arsenal struggled for fluency in the second half.
Oleksandr Zinchenko nearly scored his second goal in as many games as Ward blocked the defender’s curling attempt. Zinchenko was awarded the captain’s armband by his club as a sign of respect during the week of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of his native Ukraine.
Arsenal are at the top of the Premier League with a 2-point advantage over second-placed Manchester City.
