Mikel Arteta proved himself a master of improvisation as he made light of his striker shortage by turning a midfielder into his match-winner and keeping Arsenal in the title race.
With Kai Havertz sidelined for the rest of the season and Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus also missing through injury, Arteta rolled the dice midway through the second half. With his team struggling to break down Leicester, the Gunners boss brought off Raheem Sterling and sent on Mikel Merino. The summer signing from Athletic Bilbao responded with two goals to sink Leicester.
Though Merino was decisive, Ethan Nwaneri was man of the match. The 17-year-old produced a bewitching display, creating the opener and underlining why he is one of the best prospects on the planet.
Liverpool will expect to extend their lead at the top to seven points when they face Wolves on Sunday but had Arsenal failed here, the Reds would have felt like starting their celebrations three months early. Leicester showed enough here to believe they can stay up, though fans staged a protest against director of football Jon Rudkin before and during the game.
It is worth highlighting that before this game, Leicester had conceded 53 league goals and near the end of the first half, had to bring on Woyo Coulibaly for his home debut after an injury to right-back James Justin.
They had also lost eight of their previous nine games and they should have been there for the taking for Arsenal. Even without Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal should still have threatened more than they did in the first half.
Mikel Merino came off the bench to fire Arsenal to victory against Leicester at the King Power Stadium
The Spaniard was deployed as a makeshift centre forward amidst the club’s injury crisis
But Merino proved more than capable in the role, netting twice in the closing stages to seal the win
This was Raheem Sterling’s chance to shine yet on only his fourth league start for the Gunners since his loan move from Chelsea, the 30-year-old looked rusty.
He had little joy against Justin, who has had a tough campaign himself, and was then bested by Coulibaly at the start of the second half when trying to take on Leicester’s only winter signing.
Just before the interval, the home side – who had showed excellent defensive organisation – came desperately close to taking the lead. Victor Kristiansen crossed from the left and Wilfred Ndidi, who had run away from Myles Lewis-Skelly, met it 12 yards out but his header crept past the post.
Prior to the break Arsenal looked agitated and were making simple mistakes. During a break in play for Justin to be treated, Declan Rice tried to urge Thomas Partey and Leandro Trossard to give more.
Sterling collected the ball in a dangerous area inside the box only to lose his footing. Lewis-Skelly let a return pass from a throw-in slip under his foot and out of play.
Ethan Nwaneri was their brightest attacker and came close on the hour. Rice won a vital tackle in centre-field, allowing Partey to find Martin Odegaard. Nwaneri ran on to the Norwegian’s pass, steadied himself and was just off target from 20 yards.
Now Arteta was starting to feel the strain. When Ndidi was not punished for a heavy challenge on Trossard near the edge of the box, Arteta and two of his coaches howled at the fourth official. Moments later, Rice won another important duel to stop Kristiansen heading in at the far post.
Though Arsenal were moving through the gears, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s men kept their shape well and Mads Hermansen – man of the match when Arsenal beat Leicester in north London earlier in the season – was relatively untroubled.
With a little more than 20 minutes to go, Arteta hauled off Sterling, moved Trossard to the left and sent Sterling’s replacement – midfielder Mikel Merino – to play through the middle.
Ethan Nwaneri was a bright spark for the Gunners throughout, and set up Merino’s opener
The Gunners struggled to create an opening before Arteta switched things around late on
Lewis-Skelly then denied Bobby De Cordova-Reid a certain goal with a fabulous sliding intervention to cut out Ayew’s cross, with David Raya stranded and the Leicester man waiting for a far-post tap-in.
The Gunners came even closer as Nwaneri, who had been excellent all afternoon, tore past Kristiansen on the outside and struck the post with a ferocious right-foot effort.
Nwaneri always looked like the man who could unlock the door and so it proved. Rice gathered yet another loose ball and found Jurrien Timber.
A heartbeat later, Nwaneri had it and was delivering a sweet cross that Merino nodded beyond Hermansen from close range.
The Spaniard made it two with three minutes left as he found space at the far post to steer home Trossard’s cross from the left.
