Premier League back with a bang

Arsenal and Leicester City put on a real spectacle on Friday night as we welcomed back the Premier League. Both teams played some great attacking football, but it was Arsenal who took the three points after a 4-3 victory. 

Alexandre Lacazette's Premier League debut got off to the perfect start when he headed past Kasper Schmeichel after just one minute. Just three minutes later, however, Shinji Okazaki scored a header of his own to make it 1-1 inside the opening five minutes. 

Just before the half hour mark, that man Jamie Vardy was back on the scoresheet for Leicester City. Against the run of play, Marc Albrighton picked out a perfect cross from the left-hand side, which allowed Vardy to fire home from close range. 

As they went behind, some familiar problems began to emerge for Arsenal, as their defensive frailties began to show themselves. However, as Leicester tried to hold on to their lead until half time, some neat passing play allowed Danny Welbeck to pass the ball into an empty net just seconds before the end of the half. 

The excitement continued after the interval and it was Jamie Vardy again hitting the back of the net. Some poor marking from a Riyad Mahrez corner allowed Vardy to loop his header past Petr Cech. 

As time went on, Leicester began to sink back further and Arsenal dominated possession in their search for an equaliser. The Foxes continued to hold out, until the final ten minutes. 

What appeared to be a handball by Mesut Ozil was missed by the referee in a quick paced Arsenal attack, which led to them winning a corner. From that corner, Granit Xhaka found substitute Aaron Ramsey, who controlled neatly before hitting a powerful shot past Kasper Schmeichel. 

Arsenal were not content with a draw and their waves of attack continued to be thrown at Leicester. Just two minutes after the equaliser, another substitute, Olivier Giroud, got on the end of a corner and header strongly in off the crossbar. 

It was a great opening fixture for the Premier League and exactly what fans around the world have been waiting for. Arsenal will be glad to get the win, but they need to continue to improve if they want to push for the title this season. 

Whilst they will be disappointed with a defeat, Leicester City can take a lot of positives from their first game. New signing Harry Maguire looked strong at the back and Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez looked very threatening again too. 

All eyes now turn to the weekend, where the remainder of the twenty teams look to make a strong first impression of the 2017/18 Premier League season. 

 

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