The perfect way to start a new Premier League season is with a 7-goal thriller, and that’s exactly what Arsenal and Leicester City provided, including lead changes, supersubs and late drama.
Arsenal beat Leicester at home, something that doesn’t always happen to the Gunners, often starting the season with jitters and losses. It wasn’t far from happening this time, but late goals from Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud, both coming off the bench, gave them a 4-3 victory to kick off the season, perhaps suggesting to Arsene Wenger he needs to do a better job selecting his lineup next time.
One thing that both teams shared in this match was poor defending against crosses. Alexandre Lacazette scored on his Premier League debut within the first two minutes after a cross into the box, and Leicester’s equalizer by Shinji Okazaki came in the same way minutes later.
Jamie Vardy scored to put Leicester ahead just before the half-four mark after a cross from Marc Albrighton, while the terrible Leicester centre-back (at least on this day) allowed Danny Welbeck to equalize. It was Vardy again off a corner kick in early goings of the second half who put Leicester ahead, but as the minutes rolled on and both Ramsey and Giroud came on, it looked like Arsenal would get at least one back.
And so they did, within two minutes. First it was Ramsey, left wide open in the box off a cross into the danger area, and two minutes later it was Giroud, heading in a corner kick. Overall, despite the rollercoaster, a good way for Arsenal to start the season, and a slightly heartbreaking way for Leicester to leave the Emirates, without any points to take back home.
