Arsenal vs. Leicester City: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Arsenal started slowly and had to hold on eventually, but at the end of Tuesday's Premier League match at home to Leicester City, goals from Laurent Koscielny and Theo Walcott were enough to see them to the three points.
Andrej Kramaric, who had numerous chances to find the back of the net, pulled one back for the Foxes just after the hour mark, and on the balance of play, the guests left a good impression in north London.
Overall, there were a handful of standout performances in the match—a 2-1 win for Arsenal—as well as one or two that were rather less impressive.
Following are the individual winners and losers from Emirates Stadium.
Winner: Theo Walcott, Who Scored His 3rd Goal in 3 Outings
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Theo Walcott has been in tremendous form since returning from an extended injury layoff, and his purple patch continued on Tuesday when he scored what proved to be the winning goal against Leicester City.
It was his third tally in three matches.
On hand as Foxes goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer punched Mesut Ozil's powerful shot into his path, he proceeded to smash the ball into the back of the net and put Arsenal two goals ahead of their opponents heading into the break.
Loser: Wes Morgan, Who Lost His Man on the Opening Goal
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It wasn't a completely terrible night for Wes Morgan.
After all, the Leicester City defender minimised Alexis Sanchez's effectiveness with a hard, fair tackle in the early minutes, and he also did well to stick with Mesut Ozil and shepherd the ball out for a goal-kick just prior to the quarter-hour mark.
But in the 27th minute he totally lost track of Laurent Koscielny as Ozil's free-kick curled into the box, and as a result of his lapse in concentration, Arsenal took the lead.
"Wes Morgan in "losing his man" shocker!" tweeted football journalist Ryan Hubbard.
Winner: Riyad Mahrez, Who Did Everything but Score
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Riyad Mahrez was one of the best players at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
"Leicester full of fight and real purpose and in Mahrez had the best player on the pitch," tweeted BT Sport presenter Mark Pougatch as the game neared its conclusion.
He wasn't exaggerating.
Over the course of the 90 minutes, there wasn't an attacker from either side who so consistently troubled the opposition defenders as the 23-year-old, who in the 38th minute did ever so well to drag the ball past his marker before narrowly missing the far corner with his shot.
According to WhoScored.com, he touched the ball 61 times against Arsenal, won seven dribbles and contributed a pair of tackles on the night.
Loser: Aaron Ramsey, Who Suffered Another Injury
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Arsenal may have to do without Aaron Ramsey for another stretch of matches—and at an important juncture in their schedule. The Gunners are sitting on the edge of the top four and have upcoming contests in the FA Cup and Champions League.
The Wales midfielder was only introduced in the 73rd minute as a replacement for Theo Walcott, but nine minutes later he was forced to come off the pitch with an injury.
Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Independent quoted Arsene Wenger as saying, "I don't know yet how bad it is but just visually it didn’t look good, when a guy stops straightaway and sits down, it is not good news. He has a recurrence now of a few muscular injures. We haven’t found out why."
Wenger continued, "Last year it was a thigh, this year it would be a recurrence of hamstrings. You cannot say it is not worry because after a while a player does not play with a free mind."
Winner: Mesut Ozil, Who Had a Hand in Both Arsenal Goals
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Mesut Ozil was Arsenal's best player on Tuesday, and he played a part in both goals scored by his side.
In the 27th minute, his clever shot from in close forced a corner that he himself delivered on to the head of Laurent Koscielny for the opener.
Then, in the 41st minute, his powerful shot was pushed into the path of Theo Walcott by Leicester goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who was helpless to stop the Arsenal winger's resulting shot.
"Ozil in a bit of space 25 yards from goal, smacks a left-footed shot, Schwarzer spills it into path of Walcott who finishes," analysed The Independent's Jack Pitt-Brooke.
Loser: Mark Schwarzer, Who Gifted Walcott the Winner
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Mark Schwarzer made five saves on Tuesday, but it was his error that cost his side a share of the points at Emirates Stadium.
In the 41st minute, the Leicester City goalkeeper palmed Mesut Ozil's drive to Arsenal winger Theo Walcott, who obliged by scoring what proved to be the game's winning goal.
Schwarzer would go on to made a terrific stop to deny Santi Cazorla midway through the second half, but by then the damage had been done.
