Good evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole for tonight's Premier League clash between
Leicester City and Arsenal at the King Power Stadium!
Neither of these two teams have much to play for aside from pride in the closing week of the season, although both managers will want to see some fight from their players. Claude Puel is under increasing pressure for the Foxes, whereas Wenger has only two games left including tonight before his 22-year reign comes to an end.
We will take a closer look at both teams in a moment, but first let's check out the team news...
LEICESTER STARTING XI: Jakupovic; Simpson, Morgan, Maguire, Fuchs; Choudhury, Silva, Mahrez, Diabate; Iheanacho; Vardy
LEICESTER SUBS: Hamer, Benalouane, Dragovic, Iborra, Barnes, Gray, Thomas
ARSENAL STARTING XI: Cech; Maitland-Niles, Holding, Mavropanos, Kolasinac; Xhaka, Ramsey, Iwobi, Mkhitaryan, Welbeck; Aubameyang
ARSENAL SUBS: Ospina, Osei-Tutu, Mertesacker, Mustafi, Willock, Nelson, Nketiah
What can we make of those two teams, then?
Well, we will have a look at the hosts in a short while, but let's start by checking out the Arsenal team news as Arsene Wenger makes four changes to the side that gave him such a good send-off against Burnley at the weekend.
Among those to drop out is Alexandre Lacazette - scorer of eight goals in his last nine games across all competitions - as he missed out on a place in the squad altogether. There was no reported injury for the Frenchman, so that appears to be merely down to rotation.
Indeed, Wenger has given a few of his big names the night off tonight, with Bellerin and Jack Wilshere joining Lacazette in dropping out of the squad altogether having played on Sunday.
Calum Chambers is also absent from the 18, with Maitland-Niles, Rob Holding, Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck the quartet to come into their side for Wenger's penultimate Arsenal team selection.
There is another start for
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, though, as the Gabon international leads the line having scored twice in the win over Burnley at the weekend, and no doubt also because he is fresher than others having been ineligible for the Europa League.
Aubameyang has been in fine form since arriving at the Emirates Stadium, scoring eight goals and registering four assists in his 11 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, and he is sure to be a central figure for whoever replaces Wenger in the dugout.
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Arsenal do have injury problems in this final week of the season with Cazorla still sidelined and Elneny out, and the news broke earlier this week that Laurent Koscielny now faces a long spell on the sidelines - at least six months, according to Wenger.
While the severity of that injury always looked bad, there has been questions asked regarding Mesut Ozil, who is now expected to miss the rest of the season with a back injury - although he has insisted that he will be fine in time for the World Cup.
Arsenal can not exactly complain about injury problems in this match, though, as Leicester are going through a full-blown crisis on that front at the moment with as many as eight first-teamers unavailable for tonight's match.
Schmeichel, Okazaki, Ndidi, Huth, James, Chilwell and Amartey are all sidelined for the Foxes at the moment, while Marc Albrighton is suspended for the rest of the season after accepting a misconduct charge for his red card against Crystal Palace.
There is good news on the injury front when it comes to Danny Simpson, though, with the full-back returning ahead of scheduled this evening to take his place back in the starting lineup for Leicester.
Vicente Iborra is another who has been struggling with an issue recently, starting the weekend defeat to West Ham but only lasting until half time, but he only makes the bench tonight, which suggests that he is not quite at full fitness at the moment.
Despite being down to their bare bones, Leicester still make three changes to their side for this match, with the returning Simpson joined by goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic and striker
Kelechi Iheanacho.
Hamer had been preferred to Schmeichel in the previous games without the Dane, but it is Jakupovic who gets the nod this evening, while Iheanacho will hope to provide and extra goal threat having replaced Iborra in the starting lineup.
The main man Leicester will be looking to for goals in
Jamie Vardy, then, with the striker boasting a very good record against top-six clubs and an even better one when you narrow it down to just Arsenal.
Vardy has scored five goals in his last five Premier League games against the Gunners - including a brace in the reverse fixture - and while Leicester as a team are not firing on all cylinders at the moment, he must still feel confident that he can add to that tally tonight.
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Leicester really could do with the likes of Vardy and Mahrez finding their feet again because the whole team has gone drastically off the boil in recent weeks, to the point where talk of
Claude Puel being sacked is growing by the day.
The Leicester hierarchy are already reportedly considering a swoop for Huddersfield boss David Wagner, and they certainly have not been shy in changing manager in the past - just ask Nigel Pearson and Claudio Ranieri!
When looking at the stats, Claude Puel has not actually done a bad job at Leicester this season. They were threatened with relegation when he took over, but they have been safe for a while now and were even in contention for a European place a little earlier in the campaign.
However, much like Sam Allardyce at Everton, the fans are unhappy with the team's playing style. Boos were heard at the end of both halves of Saturday's defeat to West Ham, and there was even a banner imploring Puel to leave - scenes I'm sure Arsene Wenger in the opposite dugout will sympathise with.
Leicester would do well to heed a warning from what has happened to Southampton since Puel left the club, but that is a risk which the fans certainly seem willing to take.
The Foxes could still mathematically finish as low as 14th this season - although that is highly unlikely due to goal difference - while they can finish no higher than eighth, and even Everton would be uncatchable if Leicester fail to win this game.
Victory would guarantee a top-half finish for the Foxes, but Premier League wins are not something they have found easy to come by of late, chalking up just four from their last 19 games.
Leicester's form has taken a particularly sharp nosedive in recent weeks too, taking just one point from their last five league outings with a draw and three defeats in that time. Another defeat tonight would make it three losses on the bounce for the first time since February 2017.
Leicester have failed to even score in their last three Premier League outings - conceding seven goals in that time - and with their final two games of the season coming against the North London duo of Arsenal tonight and Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, that run could realistically extend to the end of the campaign.
Leicester have not failed to score in four successive Premier League games since a dismal run of six in February 2017.
There haven't even been many home comforts for Leicester recently either. The Foxes are winless in their last six outings in front of their own fans, last picking up maximum points in the league here in mid-January.
The most recent of those matches came against West Ham on Saturday as Leicester barely threatened in a 2-0 defeat to the then relegation-threatened visitors - a result which made it their joint-longest home winless run in the Premier League.
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Only relegated Stoke are currently on a longer winless home run than Leicester right now, and a draw or defeat tonight would make it seven games on the bounce for the first time in the top flight since they went 12 home leagues without a win en route to their relegation in 2003-04.
Leicester have been wildly inconsistent at home all season, though, winning six, drawing six and losing six of their 18 matches. Indeed, the Foxes would be 13th if only home form counted, compared to seventh if only away form counted.
Fortunately for the Foxes, they are coming up against a team with not just the worst away record in the Premier League this calendar year, but also the team with the worst away record in the top four tiers of English football and Europe's top five leagues.
Incredibly, Arsenal are yet to win a single point on their travels in 2018, which no other team in England or Europe have managed to do. With the players at Arsenal's disposal that really is a damning statistic.
Bournemouth, Swansea, Tottenham, Brighton, Newcastle and Manchester United have all welcomed a visiting Arsenal side and come away with all three points in 2018, and their final two games of the campaign come on the road too - against Leicester tonight and huddersfield on the final day.
Surely Arsenal must turn that form around before Wenger's departure, but if they fall to yet another defeat tonight then it would be seven successive away defeats for the first time since January 1966.
Arsenal's last away point in the Premier League came at West Bromwich Albion on New Year's Eve, while their last win was back on December 28 when they overcome Crystal Palace.
Only three teams - Swansea, Brighton and Stoke - have picked up fewer points on their travels this season, with Arsenal amassing a measly 13 points from 17 games and winning just three times.
What makes that form all the more remarkable is the contrast to their home form, which has been impeccable this season. Indeed, despite sitting 34 points off the top of the table, Arsenal have amassed the same number of points at home as Manchester City this season, winning 15 of their 19 outings on route to a points tally of 47 at the Emirates.
Arsenal have won their last five home games and the two Manchester clubs are the only visiting teams to have won at the Emirates in their last 26 home games, so it is solely that away form which has let them down.
The disparity in goals scored is also pretty shocking, with Arsenal average 2.84 goals per home game in the Premier League compared to just 1.1 goals per away games.
Across all competitions things are a little better, but not much. Arsenal have won twice on the road this calendar year in the Europa League, but those are their only two wins in a spell which has also seen them beaten eight times. That includes an ongoing run of three defeats in a row, and another tonight would make it four on the bounce for the first time since May 2010.
Unsurprisingly considering the contrast between home and away form, Arsenal's overall form is very mixed, with seven wins and seven defeats from their last 14 Premier League games.
The Gunners did end a three-match winless streak in all competitions on Sunday, though, as they put on a show for Arsene Wenger in his final home match with a 5-0 triumph over Burnley. That was only Arsenal's second win in their last seven matches.
There has been a good feeling around the club since Arsene Wenger announced that he is stepping down, with the fans rightly putting any animosity to one side and paying tribute to their greatest ever manager.
However, the history books will not read kindly for the Frenchman's final season. Arsenal are now guaranteed to finish sixth, which is their lowest position in Wenger's 22-year reign. They are also guaranteed the lowest points tally of Wenger's time at the club and have already lost 12 league games this season - more than they had in any previous campaign since 1994-95.
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PREDICTION! Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the moment, which means that it is time for a prediction!
This is actually quite an intriguing game considering Arsenal are in such poor away form. However, the 5-0 win over Burnley - and the exit parade surrounding Wenger - should help the Gunners to lift their game that bit further in these final two outings of the season. Leicester, by contrast, already looked like they were on the beach against West Ham and a similar performance here will surely only result in defeat.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Leicester 0-2 Arsenal
Leicester have actually been one of Wenger's favourite opponents down the years, with the Frenchman having come up against the Foxes on 22 previous occasions and not lost any of them.
Indeed, Leicester are the team Wenger has faced most without losing in his entire managerial career, winning 14 and drawing eight of their 22 meetings in this era, although one of those draws did result in a penalty shootout defeat in the FA Cup fourth round replay at Filbert Street in January 2000.
Leicester did win the first ever Premier League meeting between these two sides in November 1994, but they are winless in 22 meeting since then, losing 15 and drawing seven in that time.
That makes for Arsenal's longest ever unbeaten run against a single opponent in their top-flight history, so it is safe to say that the Gunners are something of a bogey team for Leicester.
Arsenal's most recent visit here ended in a goalless draw in August 2016, but the reverse fixture this season could not have been further from a boring stalemate as the two sides shared seven goals in an opening-day thriller.
Lacazette opened the scoring after two minutes before Okazaki restored parity three minutes later. A brace from Vardy either side of a Welbeck goal right on the stroke of half time then saw Leicester lead heading into the final 10 minutes, but goals from Ramsey in the 83rd minute and Giroud in the 85th sealed a dramatic win for the Gunners.
Right, the players are on their way out and we're just about ready to get started now! A reminder of the team news before we do get underway...
LEICESTER STARTING XI: Jakupovic; Simpson, Morgan, Maguire, Fuchs; Choudhury, Silva, Mahrez, Diabate; Iheanacho; Vardy
ARSENAL STARTING XI: Cech; Maitland-Niles, Holding, Mavropanos, Kolasinac; Xhaka, Ramsey, Iwobi, Mkhitaryan, Welbeck; Aubameyang
KICKOFF: Arsenal get us underway at the King Power Stadium!
Concerns in the opening seconds for Leicester here as Maguire goes down and stays down after landing awkwardly on his leg with no other players around. It doesn't look good at first, but he is now back on his feet and back on the field.
Arsenal have started this match quite brightly, although Leicester are now beginning to get themselves on the ball a little bit more as they try to settle themselves.
SAVE! Jakupovic is called into his first serious piece of action tonight as he dives to his left to push an Iwobi effort behind for a corner. It was a nice move from Arsenal, but Leicester made it far too easy for them once they got into the box.
Leicester are again slow to get going here. They looked very disinterested against West Ham at the weekend, and there aren't many signs of it being much different in the opening stages tonight.
Arsenal come forward again with some slick passing, but Kolasinac's effort is blocked before it can test the keeper.
CHANCE! Leicester threaten for the first time this evening as Welbeck gives the ball away, allowing Silva to thread the ball through for Vardy. Vardy stands up Holding to create space to shoot, but he forces himself a little wide and Cech is able to turn the ball past the near post.
GOAL! Leicester 1-0 Arsenal (Kelechi Iheanacho)
Arsenal cannot clear their lines from the resulting corner, and Leicester just keep putting the ball into a dangerous area. Morgan is just denied a simple tap-in, but the danger is still not clear and another cross to the back post is nodded back inside by Diabate for Iheanacho, who fires his finish past Cech!
RED CARD! Konstantinos Mavropanos (Arsenal)
Oh what a nightmare couple of minutes for Arsenal! Moments after going behind, they are now down to 10 men as Mavropanos is shown a straight red card for dragging Iheanacho to ground as the last man. It is a contentious one, but referee Graham Scott had little doubt in his mind.
CHANCE! I take everything back about Leicester being sluggish here! They have suddenly burst into life and then almost have a second from the resulting free kick as Mahrez's delivery finds an unmarked Maguire, whose powerful volley is brilliantly turned over by Cech.
ARSENAL SUB: Arsene Wenger makes a change after that red card and Welbeck is the man sacrificed as Shkodran Mustafi replaces him.
SAVE! It is all Leicester at the moment, and Arsenal are hanging on here. Iheanacho gets the ball in space and is never closed down, with the Arsenal defence backing off and allowing him to get a shot away which Cech saves.
They look well on course to break that record tonight if this match carries on the way it is going...
Arsenal really do have a mountain to climb if they are to avoid yet another away defeat here, but right now they need to be solely focused on weathering this storm. They started this match brightly enough, but they are under some big pressure now.
Leicester are really up for this one now - it is almost like they are a different team to the one we saw on Saturday. Claude Puel will be wondering why this team hasn't turned up over the past few months!
Diabate drills a low cross into the box which Vardy is just short of meeting, although the England international would have been offside if he did apply the finish.
SHOT! A poor clearance from Ramsey gifts the ball to Mahrez, who in turn finds Silva, but his effort from range flies a long way high and wide of the target.
Leicester will still feel quite comfortable in this game considering they have the man advantage, but there may be some slight concern that they have failed to build on their dominance since the opening goal. A second would be very hard to recover from for Arsenal.
CHANCE! This is exactly why Leicester may need a second goal. Aubameyang races on to a ball over the top before Arsenal work it well to Iwobi, who lays it into the path of Mkhitaryan. His low first-time strike is well saved by Jakupovic.
CLOSE! The resulting clearance is not dealt with by Leicester and eventually falls to Holding, who pokes his effort agonisingly wide of the far post with Jakupovic stranded.
SHOT! Leicester are back on the front foot now and Mahrez holds on to the ball for a long time, trying to do it all himself but eventually blazing his effort a long way over the crossbar.
UPDATE: There has been a goal in one of the night's other games, with record-chasing Manchester City taking the lead against Brighton through Danilo...
...But that lead was short-lived, and Brighton have levelled things up again through Leonardo Ulloa. It is 1-1 at the Etihad Stadium!
SAVE! Leicester win a free kick in a really good position and Mahrez leaves it for Silva, who tries to go under the wall and into the far bottom corner. Cech sees it late, but gets down well to make a decent save.
SAVE! Cech again comes to Arsenal's rescue here as Iheanacho fires a low strike across goal which the keeper parries away with another smart stop.
CHANCE! Almost another chance for Iheanacho as Vardy flicks a low cross from the left on to his striker partner, who takes a touch but then sees the ball stolen away from him just as he is about to pull the trigger from close range.
This has been a breathless first half, with non-stop action since that opening goal which - I must admit - I was not expecting from tonight's game! Leicester have been a lot better than they were at the weekend, that is for sure.
Leicester started the half with an injury scare, and they are ending the half in that way too with Silva writhing in agony inside his own area.
There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.
Silva is up and running about again now, but that stoppage will add more to the initial two minutes which were signalled at the end of this half.
SHOT! Ambitious from Iheanacho as he steals the ball just inside his own half and tries to lob Cech from inside the centre circle, but he puts too much on it. He had Vardy in support against one Arsenal defender there, so it was the wrong choice from the striker.
HALF TIME: Leicester City 1-0 Arsenal
The first half comes to an end at the King Power Stadium, and what a first half it was! Action-packed stuff between Leicester and Arsenal, and it is the Foxes who go into the break with the lead.
Arsenal actually started the brighter here, but things went horribly for wrong for them around the quarter-hour mark and in the end they will consider themselves fortunate to go into half time with only a one-goal deficit.
The only goal of the game came through Iheanacho, who drilled home from inside the area after a smart knockdown from Diabate at the back post.
Arsenal had earlier failed to clear their lines from a corner, which came as a result of a Cech stop from Vardy, and they paid the price for it as Iheanacho applied an unerring finish past the keeper.
Just one minute later Arsenal found themselves down to 10 men when
Konstantinos Mavropanos was shown a straight red card for dragging Iheanacho to the ground as the last man, having lost possession to the Leicester striker in a dangerous area.
The hosts proceeded to create a string of chances throughout the remainder of the half, but Arsenal somehow held out to go in with only a one-goal deficit. There is still a lot of work for them to do here, though.
KICKOFF: Leicester get us back underway for the second half here at the King Power Stadium.
OFF THE POST! Arsenal have started this half brightly as well, and they almost level things up! A chipped ball to the left channel finds the overlapping Kolasinac, who drills a low strike against the foot of the near post from a tight angle. Leicester are immediately up the other end and Vardy takes the ball around Cech, but the offside flag is up.
OFF THE LINE! Well, this second half hasn't taken long to get going! Leicester come pouring forward again and find themselves with a two-on-one far too easily as Vardy gives the ball out to an unmarked Diabate. Diabate advances into the area before squeezing the ball under Cech, although the Arsenal keeper gets enough on the ball to take the pace off it before Mustafi is there to clear it off the line.
UPDATE: Huge goal at Stamford Bridge as Huddersfield take a shock lead against Chelsea through Depoitre! That would be enough to keep Huddersfield up, effectively relegating Swansea in the process, while it would also be a massive blow to Chelsea's top-four hopes!
SAVE! Cech makes yet another save, although this one is more comfortable than many of the ones he has had to make tonight. Mahrez curls a free kick towards goal, but Cech sees it all the way and steps across to catch it.
GOAL! Leicester 1-1 Arsenal (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang)
Out of nothing, Arsenal are level with just 10 men, and suddenly Leicester will be ruing all of those missed chances!
It is really good play from Maitland-Niles down the right as he reaches the byline before playing a low ball into the box. Aubameyang meets it only to see his first save spectacularly saved by Jakupovic, but the Arsenal striker is alert to the follow-up and fires it into the roof of the net.
SHOT! Leicester are immediately on the attack again after that goal as the ball is laid back for Iheanacho, but this time he cannot keep his effort down from the edge of the box.
This really has been a cracking game. It has been played at a superb tempo ever since that opening goal after 14 minutes, with both sides pouring forward whenever they get the chance.
CHANCE! Half a chance for Fuchs as Mahrez picks him out on the edge of the box from a corner, but he doesn't catch his effort sweetly and scuffs it wide of the target.
UPDATE: Chelsea have restored parity at Stamford Bridge through Marcos Alonso, so it is as you were in the top-four and relegation battles.
UPDATE: There has been another twist in the top-four race as Tottenham take the lead against Newcastle United through Harry Kane.
This match has finally begun to calm down a little now, which was inevitable sooner or later considering how quick the tempo has been throughout. I would be surprised if we have seen the last of the goals, though!
Painful landing for Maitland-Niles as he has his legs swept from underneath him while going for an aerial challenge. It was a heavy one, but he should be fine to continue.
SHOT! This would have been some way to put your side in front! Mkhitaryan brings down a diagonal ball into the box with a lovely touch before looking to hammer a half-volley towards the near top corner, but it flies over the crossbar.
A long ball forward almost picks out Aubameyang on the edge of the box, but he is just unable to bring it under his spell.
Kolasinac is fortunate to avoid a booking here - first for a foul on Mahrez after being beaten all ends up, and then for kicking the ball away afterwards.
Arsenal burst forward with a lightning break involving Ramsey, Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan, but the latter's final pass towards Ramsey is overhit and runs straight through to the keeper.
LEICESTER SUB: Leicester make their first change of the night as Diabate is replaced by Demarai Gray.
Credit to Arsenal here - they have been down to 10 men since the 15th minute but they are still looking to pour forward at every opportunity.
PENALTY TO LEICESTER!
GOAL! Leicester 2-1 Arsenal (Jamie Vardy, penalty)
Arsenal have more than held their own with 10 men in this second half, but they find themselves behind here courtesy of a brilliant Vardy penalty.
The spot kick itself is contentious as Mkhitaryan hangs out a leg and appears to catch Gray on the knee, albeit not enough to bring the Leicester winger down. Graham Scott points to the spot nonetheless, and Vardy slams his penalty into the top corner to leave Cech no chance at all. Brilliant penalty.
Mkhitaryan concedes a foul in the opposite penalty area now, diving in on Maguire in a desperate attempt to keep hold of the ball.
YELLOW CARD! Simpson goes into the book for a cynical block on Iwobi.
SAVE! Half a chance for Arsenal as Ramsey gets his head to a corner, but Jakupovic gathers. This is non-stop action at the moment - a brilliant game.
LEICESTER SUB: Leicester make a second change as Simpson limps off to be replaced by Aleksandar Dragovic.
ARSENAL SUB: Another change for the visitors here as Eddie Nketiah replaces Iwobi.
YELLOW CARD! Mahrez picks up a silly yellow card for kicking the ball away after being penalised for a handball.
LEICESTER SUB: A third and final change for the visitors sees Iheanacho replaced by Harvey Barnes.
GOAL! Leicester 3-1 Arsenal (Riyad Mahrez)
Game over! Mahrez wraps up the three points for Leicester in style, latching on to a pass down the right flank before cutting inside and then leaving Holding for dead. Cech is also fooled by the cutback, and Mahrez then just keeps his composure to stroke the ball home.
There will be five minutes of added time at the end of this match.
FULL TIME: Leicester 3-1 Arsenal
Wow. The reverse fixture between these two sides was a seven-goal thriller, and this one was just as entertaining tonight despite having fewer goals.
It was non-stop action for the vast majority of the match as both sides looked to get forward at every available opportunity - even Arsenal after they had gone down to 10 men with just 15 minutes on the clock.
Leicester were already a goal to the good at that stage courtesy of Iheanacho's strike, but Aubameyang levelled things up for the Gunners early in the second half. However, a Vardy penalty and classy Mahrez finish in the final 15 minutes wrapped up a rare win for Leicester as they condemned Arsenal to yet another away defeat.
Right, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Leicester edge 10-man Arsenal in a thrilling penultimate game for Arsene Wenger. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!
