It was a classic opening match of the 2017/2018 English Premier League season as Arsenal and Leicester City played out a seven-goal thriller at the Emirates stadium.
Second half substitutes, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud scored two late goals, with Leicester leading 2-3, and seven minutes left to play to complete a stunning comeback for the Arsene Wenger’s side.
It took record signing, Alexandre Lacazette, just two minutes to score his first goal in the PL on his debut, but the Foxes responded through Shinji Okazaki, just few minutes after Lacazette had given the host the lead.
Leicester took a shock lead in the 29th minute, as England international, Jamie Vardy opened scored his first of the season, to hand the visitors a 1-2 advantage.
However, just before the break, the Gunners were level as former Manchester United winger, Danny Welbeck equalised for the host, as the half ended 2-2.
Fourteen minutes after the restart, Leicester regained their lead, and it was that man again, Vardy, who scored his second of the evening and the Foxes’ third.
But in a dramatic turn of events, second half substitutes, Ramsey and Giroud scored two quick goals, in the 83rd and 85th respectively to hand the Gunners a spectacular comeback win to send fans at the stadium into a frenzy.
“Character wise we have been great tonight,” Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, said moments after the match. “You cannot keep the strikers happy when they don’t play. We have many games and hopefully I can give them games.
“I love the man (Giroud) and the player. He is a fantastic guy who loves the club. He doesn’t want to leave but at some stage I opened the door for him because I had many strikers.
“We love him and in the end he decided to stay. The first goal was from a short corner and we were not focused enough. We lost the ball for the second goal and lacked some experience.
“Rob Holding is a great defender but he lost some of his confidence after the second goal. We had a lot of experienced defenders out injured for the game. I don’t know how good everyone will be.
“There are six or seven teams who can win the league. We have top quality strikers coming back. I didn’t want to take a gamble with Ramsey and glad he didn’t get injured,” he added.
Leicester City manager, Craig Shakespeare said “Good entertainment for everyone, but we wanted a result.” “To score 3 here and lose is hard. Needed to be more streetwise.
Up next for Arsenal is a trip to Bet365 stadium to face Stoke City, while Leicester host new comers, Brighton at the King Power.
