Martinelli helps Arsenal keep the top of the table
In the 46th minute, from Gabriel Magalhaes' ball, Leandro Trossard crossed to the left wing, blocked two beats and passed the legs of 1m98 high midfielder Harry Souttar. Gabriel Martinelli pushed a beat and put the sole of his right foot in the far corner to beat goalkeeper Danny Ward.
This is also the 200th goal Arsenal have scored in the Premier League since Arteta took office on December 20, 2019. But Martinelli could not join his teammates in celebrating that special goal. On the way back, Leicester midfielder Wilfred Ndidi stepped on his knee, causing Martinelli to lie on the field for a few minutes before getting up to continue playing after receiving medical attention.
In the 55th minute, Martinelli picked up Martin Odegaard's slot and then crossed to let Bukayo Saka cushion the empty net. However, the goal was disallowed because Martinelli was offside.
However, a 1-0 victory was enough for the "Gunners" to firmly build the top spot in the Premier League with 57 points, five points more than Man City - the club that hosted Bournemouth in the later match.
At King Power Stadium yesterday, Arsenal completely controlled the game in the first half. The visitors held the ball 73%, cornered five times, shot seven times, while Leicester were awarded no corners and no finish on Aaron Ramsdale's goal.
However, Arsenal played ineffectively when Leandro Trossard's shot was blocked by the home defender and Bukayo Saka cut his heart into the sky. The difference seemed to be made in the 26th minute, when Granit Xhaka released the ball to Trossard to hit the far corner. But after going to the touchline to review the video, referee Craig Pawson denied the goal when he determined that Ben White had grabbed a hand of goalkeeper Danny Ward during the previous dispute.
On the opposite side, Leicester only had a remarkable phase on the ball in the 31st minute thanks to the opponent's mistake. Oleksandr Zinchenko headed the ball to clear the error, creating the conditions for Tete to poke a gap for Kelechi Iheanacho to cross the ball to lower Ramsdale. However, the line referee raised the flag for offside.
In the second half, after scoring, Arsenal sagged and gave up the game to Leicester. But on the day of conductor James Maddison's injury, the best chance that the homeowner created was to cut Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's left foot from 25m into the post.
On March 1, Arsenal made up for round 7 against Everton and then met Bournemouth in round 26 on March 4, at the same Emirates Stadium. Meanwhile, Leicester received Blackburn in the fifth round of the FA Cup on February 28 and then as a guest of Southampton in the round of 25 on March 4.
