If ever you wanted proof that football goes in cycles, then surely it was the sight of Leicester being confounded by an opposition team playing 4-4-2. This was the biggest test yet of Arsenal’s eight-match unbeaten run, and after impressively resisting Leicester’s second-half surge there can be little doubt that Mikel Arteta’s team have gone up a level in all areas.
Their confidence is high. Their work-rate is high. Their passing and movement are in sync with each other, they offer a significant threat from set pieces, and when forced onto the back foot they can rely on a goalkeeper in Aaron Ramsdale in the form of his life. Two early goals put them into a position of dominance that they never surrendered, for all Leicester’s possession and pressure, nourished by the familiar King Power roar.