The half-time whistle blew. Arsenal had not raced but slowly walked into a 2-0 lead against Steve Cooper’s Leicester City.
The Emirates Stadium was its usual bouncy hive of positivity…until it wasn’t. This was supposed to be an easy fixture, particularly after away visits to Aston Villa, Spurs and Manchester City recently.
Things are never easy, though, not in the Premier League. The Gunners found that out on Saturday afternoon.
Perhaps overconfident that they’d see the game out, Mikel Arteta’s men soon found themselves pegged back. A brace from James Justin had dug the Foxes out of a hole that didn’t look escapable.
Just hours after title rivals Manchester City had dropped points, Arsenal were about to do the same. Enter, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz.
The board went up to signal seven added minutes and then with just mere knockings left, Trossard found the net via Wilfred Ndidi from a corner – yes another one – and then Havertz was fortunate to prod home right in the very last moments. Job done, at last. That was far more stressful than it needed to be. Alas, 4-2 looks a pretty scoreline.
After such a game, it’s only right that the spotlight falls on Arsenal’s defence.
Arsenal's defensive record in 2024/25
A clean sheet at Villa, a clean sheet at Tottenham, and nearly 60 minutes of football with ten men without conceding against City. This was supposed to be easy for Arteta’s men, the team boasting one of the best defensive records in the land.
Prior to today, they had kept three shutouts in five matches and were good value for another this weekend.
In the first half, Arsenal looked incredibly comfortable. William Saliba was bullying Jamie Vardy at every available opportunity and Gabriel, the wall that he is, was unfazed by anything thrown in his direction.
That said, it was a tussle between two of the aforementioned players. Saliba tripped Vardy and down he went. What happened next? Justin was heading home via a deflection off Havertz. Alarm bells weren’t quite ringing just yet until the Leicester right-back popped up again with a delightful volley from the edge of the area.
He wanted it far more than Riccardo Calafiori which was a rarity on the day. Truth be told, the Italian couldn’t have done too much about such a strike but that aside he was simply phenomenal in north London this weekend.
He completed 100% of his dribbles, won three tackles and battled hard to win a whopping 13 duels. As his heatmap will tell you below, he wasn’t just operating as a normal left-back. Far from it in fact.
The summer signing from Bologna galivanted forward with great regularity, as well as operating in little pockets of space in midfield. It was like watching Oleksandr Zinchenko on steroids.
Calafiori has boundless energy and he showed as much on Saturday, playing a vital role in helping Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli return to form.
It is perhaps no surprise that since Arsenal have had a functioning left side, the winger has rediscovered himself, now contributing to three goals in the last two games.
So, how about the right-hand side?
Arsenal's very own Trent Alexander-Arnold
Over the last few years, there has been no disputing the quality of Trent Alexander-Arnold in forward areas.
The Liverpool right-back is one of the best passers of a football in the world, supplying a staggering 83 assists from defence during his time at Anfield so far.
That being said, his defensive abilities – although now improving – have always left a question mark.
So, what if you had someone as creative as Trent, but a defensive monster? Well, in Jurrien Timber Arsenal may well be discovering just that.
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Okay, he’s not got the same swagger as Liverpool’s golden boy, nor does he have the relentless ability to unlock a backline with a defence-splitting pass. He’s pretty damn good though.
The Dutchman endured a cruel first term with the Gunners, sustaining an ACL injury on his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest. Since coming back into the team at the start of the new season, however, he has been excellent.
Timber initially began the campaign at left-back and made quite the impression, inverting from that role and operating as a deep-lying midfielder while in possession.
Against Manchester City and now Leicester, he has moved to right-back in the absence of Ben White who is struggling with an injury niggle.
Minutes played
90
Touches
97
Accurate passes
63/68 (93%)
Assists
1
Key passes
7
Crosses
1/5
Successful dribbles
1/2
Long balls
2/2
Ground duels won
5/7
Aerial duels won
1/2
Tackles
4
Well, the former Ajax man has been fantastic. On Saturday, he won six of his nine duels, won four tackles and played a staggering seven key passes. Seven key passes from full-back? That’s a ridiculous haul.
To put that number into context, it’s right up there with some of the performances we’ve seen from Alexander-Arnold over the last few years.
One of those seven key passes ended up turning into a goal as the defender jumped forward to support the attack and then assist Martinelli’s opener.
Timber received the ball on the overlap and cut it back into a lovely area inside the box. Martinelli swivelled and found the net. How grateful the Brazilian was for his colleague’s service. He is finally off the mark this season.
White was phenomenal last term and played a huge hand in Arsenal’s second-place finish. With Timber now firing, it’s amazing to think the Englishman could now struggle to get back in the team.
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