3️⃣ points 10-man Arsenal concede late on to draw with Leicester | OneFootball

Jamie Vardy’s late equaliser ensured Leicester and Arsenal shared the points at the Emirates on Tuesday evening.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had given the Gunners a first half lead but the match was turned totally on its head when Eddie Nketiah was sent off with 10 minutes to go.

Arsenal are … back?

It’s taken a while but it looks as if Arsenal *might* have just hit upon a template that can take them to the next level.

That *might* should really be in capital letters and have honking great neons emblazoned around the outside because, as I’m sure Arsenal fans don’t need telling, there have been signs before.

This though, this feels slightly different.

Mikel Arteta has come into a club that was on its knees after Unai Emery’s tenure and has cut through the noise with a Sir Alex Ferguson-like steel.

His decision to ban Mattéo Guendouzi from training after the midfielder’s bust-up at Brighton belies a coach with the utmost confidence in his methods.

Then there’s the decision to drop Mesut Özil from the squad, which can’t have sat well with the money-men but has proved to be the right thing to do on the pitch.

In Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka, Arsenal have a front three that can torment any defence anywhere.

That’s not to mention the markedly improved performances from Granit Xhaka, Hector Bellerin, Dani Ceballos and even David Luiz.

The move to a back three has worked wonders for the central defenders’ confidence, while allowing Bellerin and Kieran Tierney to move further up the pitch has freed their abilities too.

It was only the sending off of Eddie Nketiah late on that changed the result of this game, and, as frustrating as that is for Arsenal fans, it shouldn’t take away from this performance.

Whisper it, but this Arsenal look like Arsenal again.

The future’s Saka

He scored his first Premier League goal at the weekend and now Bukayo Saka has added to his burgeoning reputation with another stunning Arsenal performance.

After signing a long-term contract last week there was much talk online about just how good Saka could be for the Gunners in the coming years.

But to be perfectly honest, fans of the north London side don’t have to wait years to see his genius, because this boy is something special right now.

It was his quick feet in the first half that put Premier League veteran Jonny Evans on his backside before slotting a perfect pass into the path of Aubameyang for the opener.

It was the perfect encapsulation of everything this 18-year-old is all about – dynamism, the ability to make great decision at pace and a game intelligence well beyond his years.

Arsenal are very, very lucky to have him.

Is a point enough?

They lost just three times in the Premier League before Christmas, but after that astonishing start to the campaign, Leicester have totally fallen off a cliff since then.

This latest draw means that Brendan Rodgers’ side have picked up three points on just five occasions since the Yule Tide and there Champions League ambitions are started to look like exactly that – ambitions.

It’s a tricky-looking run-in for the midlands outfit too, with games against Sheffield United, Tottenham and Manchester United all to come.

There was just no incision here, no cutting-edge in the final third, no tempo when the midfielder’s had the ball and no whiff of an equaliser at any point.

If it weren’t for the reflexes of Kasper Schmeichel ad the sending off of Nketiah late on it could have been a lot worse for Leicester.

Carry on like this, and it’ll be Thursday nights next season.