Arsenal got back on track after their derby misery with a 2-1 victory over Leicester that lifted the Gunners into fourth place in the Premier League on Tuesday
Arsenal's English midfielder Theo Walcott (C) celebrates scoring their second goal during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and and Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium in London
London: Arsenal got back on track after their derby misery with a 2-1 victory over Leicester that lifted the Gunners into fourth place in the Premier League on Tuesday.
Arsenal's English midfielder Theo Walcott (C) celebrates scoring their second goal during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and and Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium in London. Pic/AFP
Arsene Wenger's side had slumped to a dispiriting late defeat against north London rivals Tottenham on Saturday, but they rebounded at the Emirates Stadium thanks to first half goals from Laurent Koscielny and Theo Walcott. It was hardly Arsenal's most dominant display and they had to survive a Leicester fightback in the second half following Andrej Kramaric's strike for the visitors.
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But Wenger, whose team will drop back down to fifth if Manchester United beat Burnley on Wednesday, will be relieved to see his team's morale wasn't damaged by that derby defeat at the weekend. The only downside for Arsenal was an injury to Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey. The result was another blow for Leicester manager Nigel Pearson, who had been under huge pressure following his touchline scuffle with Crystal Palace's James McArthur and then speculation on Sunday that he had been sacked.
But, as impressive as this display was, it doesn't alleviate Leicester's situation and they are now five points adrift of safety. What will infuriate Pearson, more than any opposition player accidentally sliding into him as McArthur did, was the more deliberate barge which set up Koscielny's opening goal.
While Riyad Mahrez had enjoyed the freedom of the home side's left flank before seeing a show narrowly deflected wide by David Ospina, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil had to graft to eke out their first chance of the game. A fine ball from the German put Walcott through, only for Mark Schwarzer to stand up strong, and the goalkeeper then pushed away another Ozil shot minutes later.
It was from the resulting 27th minute corner, though, that all Leicester's hard work was undone. As Ozil whipped in the set-piece, Sanchez barged Paul Konchesky aside, and Koscielny was left with enough open space to easily guide the ball in.
Deeper damage
Leicester continued to gamely battle, but there was a feeling the deeper damage had been done. By the end of the half, Arsenal were ripping them apart, and starting to create chances at will. Eventually, Arsenal broke through again as Ozil battered a shot at Schwarzer. The goalkeeper could only parry it into the path of Walcott, who emphatically volleyed it into the net on 41 minutes.
It could easily have been 3-0 just before the break, as Leicester were forced into increasingly desperate challenges to keep the home side at bay. After what had been in a hugely tepid start, in which Arsenal genuinely seemed to have been affected by the weekend's defeat, they had rediscovered their recent verve, only to relax a little too much again. Wenger's side offered little once the second half started, and it wasn't long until Leicester let them know they were in a match.
By the 61st minute, impressive new signing Kramaric had already brought a fine save from David Ospina before forcing a corner. That broke to the edge of the box to Kramaric, who fired home to make it 2-1. Suddenly, it was Leicester again doing all the running, with Mahrez back in the game. He almost made it 2-2 on 73 minutes, but his surge and shot finished narrowly outside Ospina's post.
Kramaric was presented with another opportunity 11 minutes from the end but, with Arsenal defenders closing in, he opted to try and chip the ball over the goalkeeper. Ospina caught it, and the home side were able to catch their breath. They survived until the end, but substitute Ramsey didn't, as he had to go off injured just minutes after coming on.
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