Premier League Player Ratings: Arsenal 3 - 1 Leicester City

In a surprising turn of events it was Leicester City who started out on top, only to lose momentum after a goal. Arsenal’s equalizer at the very end of the first half seemingly flipped the game on its head and the second half was an exercise in futility for the Foxes. The final scoreline of 3-1 may not reflect the fact that there was a blatant handball penalty ignored and a few big chances missed, but on the overall balance of chances it’s probably fair.

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Kasper Schmeichel - 6.5

It was a tough one to judge for the keeper as there wasn’t much he could do about Arsenal’s goals and he did make one spectacular save on a point-blank shot from Lacazette, but there wasn’t much more he could do.

Daniel Amartey - 6.5

He mostly held his own as part of the back three and made five interceptions, but perhaps could have done more to track Aubameyang’s runs.

Jonny Evans - 7

Also seemed to benefit from playing in a back three and seemed more comfortable than he had in previous appearances.

Harry Maguire - 7

Was mostly steady in defense and was a threat from set pieces. He came painstakingly close to scoring a goal with a downward header, but was denied by Bernd Leno’s quick reactions.

Ricardo Pereira - 6

Made a few well-timed runs down the wing, but wasn’t quite involved enough and only completed 41 percent of his passes (of which there weren’t many) before being subbed off in the 68th minute.

Nampalys Mendy - 6

Couldn’t quite get to the right spots in time as he so normally does; most notably failing to get back goal-side of Mesut Özil on his first-half equalizing goal.

Wilfred Ndidi - 7

Shockingly didn’t make many defensive interventions, but instead made three key passes, including the excellent pass to Ben Chilwell to set up City’s only goal, and hit the woodwork with a header from a corner.

Ben Chilwell - 7.5

Followed up his amazing week by being the best player on the pitch in the first half. He was Leicester’s primary outlet pushing forward, forced an own-goal after a tremendous run and impressive burst of speed, and tracked back diligently. He was much more subdued in the second half - certainly as a result of adjustment’s on Arsenal’s part - but still managed.

Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

James Maddison - 7

Followed a trend by serving as the team’s most inventive initiator for about 60 minutes before running out of steam and being subbed off around 70th minute. He made three key passes and and drew three fouls, two of which came in dangerous areas.

Kelechi Iheanacho - 7

Caused Arsenal all sorts of problems with his runs in behind the defense, made a handful of threatening passes, and forced a save from Leno with a dangerous shot from the edge of the box.

Jamie Vardy - 6

Had just 11 touches and came off late in the game with what appeared to be a Gary Lineker-eque rush to the bathroom.

Marc Albrighton - 6

Came on for Iheanacho in the 60th minute and ran hard from the start.

Rachid Ghezzal - 5

Subbed on for Ricardo in the 68th minute but struggled a but in that time. He had a few loose touches and dribbled into defenders frequently.

Shinji Okazaki - 5

Came on in the 74th minute and didn’t touch the ball very often and gave it a way a couple times when he did.

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The reversal of the trend of slow starts for Leicester City was promising, but once again it feels like there were more moral victories with no points to show for it. Arsenal’s one-touch passing was too much to handle and the result showed it.

As a Leicester City blog we designate a City player as Man of the Match in every game, but we all know the real MOTM for this one was Mesut Özil, who went into apocalyptic universe-destroying deity mode and was single-handedly responsible for the Gunners’ takeover. Regardless, City’s MOTM had to be Ben Chilwell for the way he played in the first half. It’s not like any Fox could make much of an impact in the second half anyway. This marks the third Fosse Posse MOTM award of the season for the young defender who is having a remarkable run at the moment.