Arsenal 4-2 Leicester (Jesus 23′, 36′, Xhaka 55′, Martinelli 75′ | Saliba O.G 53′, Maddison 74′)
EMIRATES STADIUM — The home supporters only had to wait 23 minutes to get what they came for: a first goal in Arsenal colours for Gabriel Jesus. And an excellent one it was too.
Expectations on the Gunners’ new No 9 were raised after a prolific pre-season in which he bagged seven goals in only five matches and after a goalless debut at Selhurst Park, he is now off the mark. The quality of his opener, a clipped effort with zero backlift into the top corner, made the moment all the sweeter for the wide-grinned Brazilian. And things got even better for him 12 minutes later.
If the first was defined by pure technique, the second was all about anticipation. A Gabriel Martinelli corner flicked off Jamie Vardy’s head and Jesus was ready to pounce two yards from the goal line. In just 35 minutes of his home debut, Jesus scored as many goals from open play as Alexandre Lacazette managed all of last season.
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Arsenal were as good as Leicester as poor in the first half but the Foxes were gifted a route back into the match when William Saliba nodded beyond Aaron Ramsdale under pressure from Jamie Vardy.
Less than two minutes later, though, Arsenal’s two-goal lead was restored when Danny Ward gifted Xhaka a tap-in after flapping hopelessly at a cross. Where’s Kasper Schmeichel when you need him?
Remarkably, lightning struck again later in the half. James Maddison fired a shot through Ramsdale’s legs to give Leicester fresh hope of sneaking a point, only for Arsenal to immediately extend their advantage again thanks to a fine strike from Gabriel Martinelli.
After losing their first three games of 2021-22, Arsenal have now won both of their opening matches of 2022-23.
Arsenal
Aaron Ramsdale – Made a crucial early save to deny Fofana from close range. Looked as though he had conceded a penalty after a rush of blood but was spared following a VAR intervention. Will be disappointed with Maddison’s goal which flew through his leg 5/10
Ben White – Defensively solid, but unwillingness to overlap made James Justin’s afternoon easier and Saka’s life more difficult. He’s never going to be Dani Alves but did a decent job in an unfamiliar right-back role before coming off 5/10
William Saliba – Had looked assured on his first Emirates start before scoring an unfortunate own goal after being put under pressure by Vardy. Partly redeemed himself with a clearance before Iheanacho could pounce 6/10
Gabriel Magalhaes – Nodded over from a Martinelli free-kick and was generally solid defensively 6/10
Oleksandr Zinchenko – Has slotted in seamlessly at left-back and given Kieran Tierney something to think about. Drew “oooh’s” from the crowd with a smart backheel 7/10
Thomas Partey – Misplaced a couple of passes but dominated the midfield battle 7/10
Granit Xhaka – Hit the base of the post with a back post header before setting up Jesus for the opener. Added a goal in the second half with a close-range finish as Jesus returned the favour. Was he a box-to-box midfielder all along? 8/10
Bukayo Saka – A roaming, roving menace whose dancing feet caused issues to Leicester’s players in the first-half. Floated a couple of enticing crosses into the box and link-up play with Jesus shows promise 7/10
Martin Odegaard – Neat and tidy in the pocket but not his most impactful game 6/10
Gabriel Martinelli – Picked up where he left off at Selhurst Park with an extremely lively display. Drew an early yellow from Fofana after sprinting past him and getting tugged back. Scored his second of the season with an excellent arrowed finish 8/10
Gabriel Jesus – Not a bad way to introduce yourself. Scored a superb opener followed by a clinical second and could have quite conceivably helped himself to four goals in the first half alone. Helped himself to a pair of assists too, teeing up Xhaka and Martinelli. A good day for his new fans and FPL managers alike 9/10
Subs:
Kieran Tierney – Brought on to build up his fitness towards the end 6/10
Takehiro Tomiyasu – As above 6/10
Emile Smith Rowe – n/a
Eddie Nketiah – n/a
Odegaard hails ‘brilliant’ Saliba in programme notes
Appointed club captain in the summer, Martin Odegaard used his programme notes to praise William Saliba for his impact after returning from Marseille.
“The whole team defended well and worked hard [against Palace], but I have to say that William Saliba has been brilliant lately,” Odegaard said.
“He’s really impressed me over the past few weeks, in pre-season as well, because I hadn’t seen too much of him before, but what he’s doing now is really, really impressive.
“He’s still so young too, so we’re lucky to have him, and surely he will just get better and better with time.”
Leicester
Danny Ward – Could do little to prevent either of Jesus’ first-half goals, but badly at fault for the third and lacked accuracy with his kicking. 4/10
Wesley Fofana – Showed why he is attracting so much interest from Chelsea in the space of 10 electrifying seconds, racing forward to have a shot in Arsenal’s penalty area before flying back to make a vital block in his own box. Booked for a cynical foul on Martinelli and faded after a bright start 5/10
Jonny Evans – Has spent a long time out injured in recent seasons and doesn’t look as authoritative as he once did. As the leader in this backline he’ll have to shoulder responsibility for a shocking defensive display 4/10
Daniel Amartey – Struggled but not alone in that regard. Replaced by Daka as Rodgers changed his unusual 3-5-1-1 formation 5/10
Timothy Castagne – Played a couple of searching balls down the channels but wasn’t as effective going forward as he has shown previously 6/10
Youri Tielemans – Frequently linked with a move to Arsenal in recent transfer windows, Tielemans was unable to influence the game and substituted just past the hour mark. Applauded off the pitch by Arsenal’s fans who sang “Youri Tielemans, he wants to be red.” 4/10
Wilfred Ndidi – One of Leicester’s better performers on the day and may feel as though he should be owed a bit more help in midfield next time 7/10
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – Put in plenty of effort but it wasn’t the type of game in which he could display his range of passing and silky left-foot to its fullest. Snatched at a volley towards the end 6/10
James Justin – Still getting up to speed after such a long time out and was a split-second late to a couple of tackles. With Ricardo Pereira sidelined for the foreseeable future, he’ll have an important role to play 6/10
James Maddison – Anonymous in the first-half as Leicester were penned into their own half but came alive in the Arsenal penalty area with 15 minutes left, firing a low shot through Ramsdale’s legs 7/10
Jamie Vardy – Looked to have earned a penalty after tempting Ramsdale to rush out of his goal but the replay showed there was zero contact. Cue chants of “Jamie Vardy, your wife is a grass”. His presence and endeavour forced Saliba’s own goal, but was taken off 20 minutes from time 6/10
Subs:
Dennis Praet – Limited impact 5/10
Patson Daka – Unable to make a difference 5/10
Kelechi Iheanacho – Assisted Maddison’s goal 6/10
Arteta:
“We know what Gabby [Jesus] can do. He’s scored two and assisted two and he’s still disappointed
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