Leicester City 2 Arsenal 5: Three Things We Learned

Arsenal produced a swashbuckling 5-2 win at Leicester City on Saturday.

The performance doubled the Gunners' goal output for the season and ended Leicester's unbeaten opening run. Combined with the midweek win over Tottenham in the Capital One Cup, Saturday's victory represented a strong response to disappointing losses in the two preceding contests at Dinamo Zagreb and Chelsea.

Here are three things we learned from the match.

Don't get into a shootout with Arsenal

In truth, we could fill a report with accounts and analysis of the various ways Arsenal scored--incisive counterattack, deft crosses, individual skill off a set play, precise timing of a fullback run. That's testament to how rampant Arsenal's offense was in this match.

Allowed space by Leicester's high defensive line, Arsenal's Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez swooped into dangerous areas again and again. Leicester's midfield failed to put pressure on Santi Cazorla and Mesut Özil, giving those two pass masters many opportunities to pick out the runs of their teammates farther forward.

The numbers (from Opta via the StatsZone app) reveal the consequences.

Arsenal had 26 shots, an amazing 22 inside the Leicester penalty area, and only missed the target with one (not including the 14 blocks Leicester made).

Cazorla completed 71 of 77 passes (92 percent), created five opportunities for teammates, and assisted on Walcott's opening goal. Özil connected on 54 of 59 passes (also 92 percent), also created five scoring chances for teammates, and delivered a delicious cross for Alexis's second goal.

Leicester tried but could not match the Gunners' effectiveness in attack. The Foxes took 16 shots of their own, 11 in the Arsenal penalty area, and opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Jamie Vardy latched on to a long clearance, outran Per Mertesacker, and finished past Petr Cech into the far corner.

This set the tone for a wide-open match, which played to Arsenal's strengths.

Alexis loves Leicester

The King Power Stadium in Leicester will hold fond memories for Alexis when he ends his time in the Premier League.

Arsenal's star man got his first league goal there last season and ended his early season drought there Saturday with goals of opportunism and top quality.

His first was a welcome, straightforward finish, thanks to Walcott's clever run to the near post, which took two Leicester defenders with him. When Hector Bellerin's cross was redirected by that three-player melee, Alexis found himself with the ball in front of an open goal. The easiest of putaways got him off the mark for the season.

For his second, he received another pass from the marauding Bellerin, passed to Özil across the top of the Leicester penalty area, timed his run to escape all the defenders, then redirected Özil's cross past the onrushing Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel.

He capped the hat trick with a screaming low shot from outside the penalty area, an opening he generated himself with a deft flick of Nacho Monreal's throw-in past Leicester's Ngolo Kanté.

These were a worthy payoff for Alexis's combination of creativity, desire, and skill that took him to such heights in his inaugural Premier League campaign.

Nacho Monreal may be the best left back in the Premier League

It's a variation of the rags-to-riches story. Monreal joins Arsenal in January 2013, primarily due to the injury of starting left back Kieran Gibbs. The Spaniard does not thrive under the circumstances but gradually learns the requirements and tricks of a Premier League defender.

Watch the recent interview on the club's website for Monreal's thoughtful reflection on his career.

He's now made 94 appearances for Arsenal; his latest was an absolutely top performance against the league's in-form attacking player, Leicester's Riyad Mahrez.

Mahrez came into the match with five goals and three assists in six games this season. Monreal shut him out on Saturday, so much so that Mahrez switched sides to try to find better opportunities on Arsenal's right.

Overall, Monreal made seven ball recoveries, succeeded on seven of the eight clearances he attempted, and won seven of eight aerial duels. He also assisted on Olivier Giroud's goal in second half injury time, taking advantage of the flagging Leicester defense to reach the by-line and cut the ball back for the Arsenal striker.

That closed Monreal's outstanding display and solidified his place as the top left back in the league at the moment. Name a better one. 
 

Extra time

This was Walcott's top showing as a center forward for Arsenal.

The conditions favored him: Leicester's lumbering center backs and assertive defensive line gave him the space to use his speed. He did that, connected with Cazorla's defense-splitting pass, and delivered a subtle left-footed finish for Arsenal's first goal.

On other occasions, Walcott created space for teammates with intelligent runs, such as the one that freed Alexis for his opening goal. And he held his own in the physical battles.

Nacho Monreal, Management Material

A lasting image of Arsenal's 2015 FA Cup triumph was manager Arsène Wenger hoisting the trophy with left back Nacho Monreal. Wenger's joy, as unrestrained in his sixth win as in his first, warmed many supporters' hearts.

The moment was all the more stirring because Wenger shared it with Monreal. The Spaniard had shone in the two decisive victories of this cup campaign, the final and the quarterfinal win over Manchester United, and had been one of the season's most important contributors. He deserved to accompany the manager for this image of triumph.

The shot was symbolic, too. It captured two Arsenal leaders, one the obvious public face of the organization, the other a less visible but influential figure. As time passes, we may look back on this moment and see the emergence of Wenger's protegé.

Monreal isn't the current player most observers expect to become a top-flight manager. That's probably captain Mikel Arteta, who indeed seems to possess many of the qualities of intelligence, leadership, and communication required of modern football managers. There are also signs of a future manager in Monreal:

1. The way he thinks and talks about the game
2. The growing influence he is having among his teammates
3. The club's reliance on him as a public spokesman

Expressing a manager's mindset

In 2015, Monreal has shown he can convey a complex understanding of football. That's a vital capacity for a successful managerial career, and Wenger has clearly influenced Monreal in his development.

I first noticed this ability after Monreal's outstanding performance in the Cup quarterfinal at Old Trafford. His post-match interview on Arsenal Player relied on managerial discourse. "We have to keep going in the same dynamic," he urged. "We have to win every single game. That is our mentality. Only thinking in the next game, and get those three points against West Ham."

The shift from the bigger picture -- the necessity of a winning run -- to the focus on the upcoming match was classic Wenger. (See "Arsène Wenger's Management Acrobatics.") The use of the word "dynamic," too, raised Monreal's commentary above that of the typical player interview; his was the Spanish-inflected voice of Wenger.

Monreal has given thought and expression to other management-grade issues. For example, how should rotation of the squad be addressed in the middle of a successful run? "In these moments, I think the most important thing is not to change the team."

At the same time, Monreal has been keen to promote competition within the squad and support teammates who find themselves among the substitutes. He has spoken at length about his direct competition at left back, Kieran Gibbs:

Kieran is an amazing player. I can imagine it is really difficult for the boss to choose between Kieran and me. Obviously, in football only 11 players can start the game. The boss can choose between him or me. I think it is a good thing for the team. I have to give my best every day in training, or I wouldn't play. I think in this position we are lucky, as we have two good players.

Again, this sounds like a Wenger statement, attending to the confidence of a current second choice and valuing talent throughout the team. This priority on the collective is part of what I described as "Arsenal's Defining Mindset."

Wielding influence in the team

By seeing the team's growth and objectives through a manager's lens, by displaying a knack for communicating this progress in a second language, and by making an impression on the pitch, Monreal has earned the respect of his teammates.

As midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said of him in his "Meet the Team" profiles on Arsenal Player, "He's picked up English like an absolute genius. He gives it a go - you've got to give him that. And he's just a top boy."

This for a teammate who's keeping Chamberlain's "sensei," Gibbs, out of the starting XI.

Monreal's influence is especially apparent among the team's Spanish-speaking members. He provides the cerebral and serious side of leadership while Santi Cazorla takes the playful side. Monreal often serves as the go-between with referees when a player is injured, and he helps the team's Spanish speakers during promotional appearances. As a result, Monreal has become a kind of authority among equals.

This could all come down to his facility with English. But his commitment to learn the language underscores his professionalism and, perhaps, hints at his aspirations in the field of football management, where English is the lingua franca.

Entrusted by the club

The Arsenal hierarchy has recognized Monreal's growing stature and has made him a prominent messenger of the club's plans and ambitions.

He was one of two players, the other vice-captain Per Mertesacker, chosen to review the season on the club's Website. Among his comments was a signal that the club and its players intend to build on their success: "I imagine the club will sign new players, but I think in this moment, we are building, we are making a good group, and this team, it will help us for the next season."

Not earth-shattering stuff, but soon after, Monreal represented the first team at the Arsenal Soccer School in Dubai, where he emphasized his desire to extend his contract and his interest in acquiring "one or two top players."

Then he returned to England and was the club's pick to meet with a group of bloggers at the launch of the new home kit. Here, he drove home the message -- one the club must have approved, otherwise it would not have given him this prominent role -- that the club need "one or two top players," particularly one to provide goals.

As I wrote in "Arsenal's Title Ambitions," Monreal's statement aligns with Wenger's previous assessment of the squad. He also delivered this analysis in detail, in a second language, in an unscripted forum.

His ability to excel in this setting suggests more than a few similarities with Wenger and hints that he may one day follow in the Frenchman's footsteps. Until then, a well-deserved contract extension should await this emerging leader.

Arsenal's Title Ambitions

Several Arsenal players took Monday's home kit unveiling as the latest opportunity to make public their intentions to compete for the 2015-16 Premier League title. On the heels of similar comments by at least six other teammates, Tomas Rosicky, Santi Cazorla, and Nacho Monreal used Monday's club-sponsored event to make clear statements about their collective ambitions.

"The first thing is to fight for the Premier League, and we're going to see if we can do that from the start," said Cazorla.

Rosicky, seeming as though he'd practiced his line, remarked, "I think there is only one aim from us - to win the title."

And Monreal provided a detailed and thoughtful analysis when he met with a group of Arsenal bloggers before the event. (See the transcript on Arseblog News.) "I think we need two things," he began.

First, we need to keep going like we finished. We need to keep the same level. And the other thing, I think if the club signed one or two top players. We had a lot of injuries, but also we need a player who scores 25 goals per season. We're lucky because Alexis scored 24 goals, and Giroud scored, I dunno, 19, something like that. We need more goals to win the Premier League.

This jibes with manager Arsène Wenger's assessment in April, when he said, "We need another player who gets 10 or 15 goals."

The group's pronouncements are designed to encourage supporters, motivate current players, and attract acquisitions. The words will prove empty, though, unless performances turn them into reality next May.

The power of collective communication

The statements of the manager and his players are encouraging because they point to common thinking and planning. Too often in the past, we've heard players air their displeasure that the club didn't share their ambitions or their preferred approaches to success.

Not so in the summer of 2015. In fact, the club is approving the statements of ambition, in particular the priority on the Premier League title.

Knowing that Monreal had made a similar comment on a visit to Dubai on 2 June, the club selected him to interact with bloggers and allowed him to answer their unedited questions at length. That suggests the Arsenal leadership is endorsing Monreal's target for the team and his take on how to achieve that objective.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this development; after all, as @PoznanInMyPants pointed out, saying "no players" or "lots of players" would have posed a public-relations problem.

Still, it's remarkable how open and specific Arsenal's current players have been about their interest in acquisitions. In years past, supporters and the media would gasp when a player in good standing publicly expressed such a need. Mikel Arteta and his teammates received much attention for statements to that effect in the summer of 2013. Now, such talk barely raises an eyebrow.

Implications

This evolution of communication and perception has accompanied two other meaningful developments: 1. The growing expectation of elite arrivals, and 2. The team's comfort level with each other. As a result, they can go public with a desire for world-class teammates without implying criticism of current ones. And they welcome the competition for playing time.

As striker Danny Welbeck told the club Website:

Competition is healthy as it gives the manager a selection headache, which is the best for the team to drive us forward and keep improving. With the selection of players the manager has got, you can use people in different styles and positions, which is only going to help the squad. I’m sure that when anyone is called upon, they are going to give 100 per cent to try to stay in the team for the next game.

We saw this dynamic with Monreal, whose contest for the left back spot with Kieran Gibbs pushed the Spaniard to top-level performance, and striker Olivier Giroud and midfielder Jack Wilshere, both of whom returned from injury to eye-catching contributions.

Making the word real

But all the improvements--competition for places, world-class arrivals, chemistry, the 2014 FA Cup, etc.--did not get Arsenal close to the Premier League title in 2014-15. This summer's words and collective understanding aren't likely to narrow that gap. What will?

1. Good fortune: Arsenal will not have the highest wage bill in 2015-16 and, as such, will suffer from the correlation between spending on players and league supremacy. The relationship is a correlation, not a causation, though, which allows for the possibility that Arsenal can take the title. It just doesn't have the room for error that Manchester City and Chelsea do. As a result, the breaks will need to go Arsenal's way, including...
2. A relatively clean bill of health: Injuries reduced, if not eliminated, Arsenal's margin of error in 2014-15. Important players will need to avoid similar problems next season for a serious title challenge to develop.
3. Consistency: Former Arsenal great Thierry Henry and Cazorla both stressed this imperative this week, supporting Wenger's earlier observations. In practical terms, it means that Arsenal can lose no more than five matches. Although each Premier League season unfolds with different dynamics, it's rare for a team with six losses or more to win the title. Chelsea lost just three, one after its championship was no longer in doubt, last season. That's Arsenal's target.
4. Better results against top-half opponents: Arsenal lost just twice in six matches against other top-four finishers in 2014-15 but struggled against clubs that ended the year fifth through ninth in the table. The Gunners picked up 11 points from a possible 30 in matches against Tottenham, Liverpool, Southampton, Swansea, and Stoke. Turning three of those five losses into wins and one other into a draw would have delivered 10 more points, for a total of 85, just two points behind Chelsea's title-winning production.

It's a significant challenge for a club that can't match its rivals' spending power, but it's not impossible. The players' statements show that they've embraced the challenge. They'll prepare for it during the next seven weeks. Then they'll have to start delivering when the season opens against West Ham.