SUBSTITUTES AARON RAMSEY and Olivier Giroud scored as Arsenal twice came from behind to beat Leicester City 4-3 on Friday in a dizzily entertaining opening Premier League game.
Record signing Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal ahead after only 85 seconds at the Emirates Stadium, before a Shinji Okazaki header and a Jamie Vardy brace saw 2016 champions Leicester go 2-1 and then 3-2 up.
But Arsene Wenger’s double change turned the game, FA Cup final hero Ramsey drilling in an 83rd-minute equaliser and Giroud notching the winner two minutes later with a header that hit the bar and bounced over the line.
The Ramsey-Giroud rescue act spared Arsenal from a fourth season-opening defeat in five campaigns and enabled Wenger to start the season with victory for only the second time in eight years.
The Arsenal manager faced open dissent from fans last season as his side missed out on a place in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.
But after winning a record seventh FA Cup with victory over Chelsea, he penned a new two-year contract and his side’s Houdini act against Leicester means that late-season momentum remains intact, albeit only just.
The fans at the Emirates were getting their first glimpse of Lacazette in a competitive game and the £46.5 million ($60.3 million, 51.1 million euros) man needed less than two minutes to find the net.
From Hector Bellerin’s lay-off, Mohamed Elneny swept a first-time cross into the box and Lacazette deftly glanced a header past Kasper Schmeichel before spreading his arms to take the acclaim of the crowd.
Within three minutes Leicester were level. Following a short corner on the left, Marc Albrighton’s deep cross was headed back across goal by Harry Maguire and Okazaki leapt to nod a header past Petr Cech.
- Arsenal reshuffle -
Arsenal stepped things up, Schmeichel saving from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and home debutant Sead Kolasinac, but they were careless in possession and shortly before the half-hour, Leicester went in front.
Granit Xhaka’s sloppy pass was picked up by Albrighton and he forged down the left flank before bending a sublime cross into the danger area that Vardy tapped home.
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“We’re gonna win the league!” sang the Leicester fans and they almost had a third goal to cheer when Okazaki’s header from Christian Fuchs’s cross bounced just wide of Cech’s left-hand post.
After Wilfred Ndidi had survived a penalty shout for handball, Arsenal levelled in first-half stoppage time, Danny Welbeck tapping in from Kolasinac’s square pass after Lacazette’s shot was blocked.
Though Arsenal began the second half on the front foot, Leicester created the cleaner chances, Cech rushing out of his box to tackle Vardy and then tipping over a shot by Riyad Mahrez, and after 11 minutes they went in front again.
Again a set-piece proved Arsenal’s undoing as Mahrez’s in-swinging corner from the right was nodded in by Vardy.
Schmeichel thwarted Oxlade-Chamberlain and Bellerin before Wenger turned to his bench in the 67th minute, pitching Ramsey and Giroud into the fray in place of Elneny and Rob Holding.
The ensuing reshuffle left Arsenal with a winger — Oxlade-Chamberlain — at right-back, a right-back — Bellerin — at left-back and two left-backs — Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal — at centre-back.
It seemed an unlikely platform for victory, but Ramsey neatly controlled Xhaka’s dinked pass to drill in an equaliser and moments later Giroud’s header from Xhaka’s corner completed a remarkable turnaround.
Wenger out! Uh, i mean…Wenger in!
@Coner Willis: yawn
Opening game of the season.. What a cracker! Giroud without a doubt best supper sub in the Premier league and by a country mile
@Acedeuce: fair play for the comeback but that was a shocking display in defence, blud.
@AM: yeah but they get the 3points all the same dont they
@paddy: not questioning that, it was an entertaining match and as I said, fair play to snatch the win.
@AM: woeful defending Blud Ya get me.. But Bloodclaat Giroud the don with another key winner.. Beautiful man
@Acedeuce: Go easy on the drink there, its only leicester…
@Coner Willis: sorry for enjoying the game and being delighted about coming back from behind to win :( I won’t do it again.. And I’m just not saying that about giroud because of this game.. He’s made a habit about of it.. He is the best super Sun in the league.
@Acedeuce: No, its just that your comment literally made no sense to me… bloodclaat?
@Coner Willis: quoting Troopz
@Coner Willis: ohh my dayz.. Ham roll fam!
@Coner Willis: it’s Jamaican patois that has evolved into British slang particularly in London, you may be disgusted when you look up what it actually means lol.
@Acedeuce: blud??
@Acedeuce: Why do you have to bring food into it?
@Coner Willis: Leicester will put many a top team to the sword this season!
@Acedeuce: the new 42 village idiot
The new season sees an Arsenal who still haven’t learned how to defend but are still super when attacking. Same old Arsenal always thrilling (but questions remain!!)
@Michael Kelly: Great comeback from the Arse-all this nonsense talk of Wenger out-his biggest disaster is having Steve Bould beside him-what on earth for years has he been instilling into this team??? Loyalty will be the managers death
@Michael Kelly: When you play three at the back that’s always a risk and they were punished thrice. But when Arsenal are going forward they are so often a joy to watch.
Until their April capitulation.
@Simon Cunnane: April?!! That’s generous.
Wow. This is why the premier league is the best league in the world. What a match, what a win. Just shows how big of a loss mustafi and koscielny are. Brilliant tactical substitutions from Wenger.
@Jordo Callaghan: I’m sure you’re an OK chap but eh… arsenal fans are the most delusional and insufferable fans. Like… It’s a thing.
@Jordo Callaghan: premier league is best league in England…that’s where it ends!
@Titus Groan: 3 premiership titles, 7 FA cups, a season undefeated. Complete attacking football philosophy. Where exactly is the delusion?
@Michael Kelly: 14 years since they won the league and they haven’t even been close since then, the cups dont mask the abject failure thats been arsenal since the invincibles , coming 4th all the time is consistent but it’s not success feck they didn’t even get 4th last year.
@Titus Groan: you’re a feminists
. Enough said.
@Jordo Callaghan: most entertaining maybe. Most skilful and best quality not a hope lol. Last time an premiership team won the or even got past semis was a long time ago.
@Acedeuce: No… not enough said at all. And way to go proving the sexist point regardless. You can’t have any interest in women’s rights AND sports? You’re like a parody of yourself. And fella, I’ve forgotten more than you know…
@Titus Groan: you’re always whingeing on the journal and being a lick arse to extreme third wave feminists
@Acedeuce: jesus leave the political crap for the other app.
And solskjaer and hernandez will always be too super subs :)
@Titus Groan: haha preach lad, you speak the truth!!
@Acedeuce: Whinging? About what. I complain about whinging coming from bros like you. You’re confused, buddy. And I love how believing in feminism makes you a lick star if you’re a guy but then you complain when women or anyone make generalisations about men. Sort your head out lad… confused and hypocritical.
@Stephen Coveney: to too two
What shakespeare was doing bringing on Iheanacho for a midfielder was madness. Arsenal scored 2 goals in the 4 mins after that substitution
@Joe Lowry: Live and learn.
Sorry didn’t see it I was playing bridge
I’d be surprised if Arsenal can mount a title charge with a back 4/5 defending like that but a great header from Giroud to win it.
@James Quinn: we were missing our 2 centre backs, lad
@Jordo Callaghan: it wont make a difference lad.
@Jordo Callaghan: I hope you’re not including Mertesacker as one of those 2 centre backs lad! It won’t get much better with him in the starting 11. A year older but hard to imagine him getting slower than he already was last season!
@Philip Mc dermott: it will
@Jordo Callaghan: not a hope
@Jordo Callaghan: we?????
Excellent game. Great to have the footy back. What’s the craic with Ramsey anyone? He has to play.
@Nollaig Elliot: he got injured last week, only back in training the other day
Kane, lukaku, augero etc might as well just give up on scoring more than a bearded French man .. The golden boot is going to lacazatte.
Arsenal will win nothing. Same old problems. No urgency. Can’t defend. No leaders. Wenger must pick the team with a dice. Too slow in their build up also, very predictable. Was a good comeback but the urgency for the last ten minutes needs to be there for the ninety. They gave the ball so many times without much pressure on hem. We have seen all this before and nothing changes. Giroud should be a starter. Better than Danny and Theo. Nice to get three points but it’s going to be very frustrating season again o reckon. Hope I’m wrong.
Xhaka was alright wasn’t he! Improving all the time
Am I the only one to see Ozil’s blatant handball in the lead up to Arsenal’s 3rd goal… ref Mike Dean had a clear view of it and bottled it…are we going to have another season of refereeing bkunders ?
Pure entertainment.
Leicester blew it. Should have freshened things up earlier when they were on top to try and close it out. Iheanacho etc they have options now given the new signings. Instead they let Arsenal seize the initiative. Lack of leadership on the Leicester sidelines- with better game management they could have seen it through.
There was great peace for three months without this dung
@Enda Reynolds: put your head in a hole for 9 months so and enjoy
A blockbuster!
Drogspur must be gone to bed eaerly
@paddy: hahaha
Looks like I’m the only one who thought that was absolute shite. How these fuc#s are paid all that money. Amateur defending from the start, it doesn’t take a genius to work out playing a high against Vardy is asking for trouble. Brutal game of football.