With Arsène Wenger having presided over the only team to complete a Premier League season without defeat, perhaps Arsenal saw it as some kind of duty to tick off the division’s final unbeaten record.
Leicester’s run fell when they came up against a team who matched their willingness for attacks at the highest velocity and added a layer of sophistication. Arsenal also had Alexis Sánchez back to his best. The Chilean has, understandably, been tired and flatter than his most exuberant self after spending the summer winning the Copa América. But here the full sparkle was back. His first hat-trick for the club, at a stadium where visiting players are not used to profiting, was emphatic proof of that. His performance blended energy and imagination to such effect even Claudio Ranieri felt compelled to purr afterwards. He slipped into his native Italian for the right compliment.
“Meraviglia,” A wonder. “The ball and him are born together.”
Sánchez had been searching for a goal since his FA Cup final special. Wenger was delighted to see that element of his game return, having seen the signs of improving sharpness in training. “He won a big competition with Chile. Mentally to adjust again to a competitive level when you come back takes some time.” At the end of a week when the definition of world class was in the news, Wenger has no doubts that Sánchez qualifies.
In seeking the right word to sum up the Leicester style recently Ranieri simply went: “Whoosh,” and this match was played by both teams in the spirit of whoosh football. But for all the verve that Leicester could offer, Arsenal found more. It made for a compelling spectacle.
The essence of what makes this Leicester team tick flourished in all its glory. Bloody-minded defending was switched to a rapier attack in the blink of an eye. It was fast, committed, exciting and – most crucially of all – superbly efficient. N’Golo Kanté dispossessed Aaron Ramsey, who seem to feel the challenge, and the ball was manoeuvred forward brilliantly by Danny Drinkwater. Jamie Vardy, oozing belief, headed the ball smartly to set it into his path before sweeping sweetly past Cech. The happy souls in the King Power Stadium erupted.
It could have become worse for Arsenal before it became much better. Vardy threw his hands to his head in disbelief when a super chance to double the lead bounced off the frame of the goal.
Arsenal replied with a break of their own. Santi Cazorla, Sánchez and Mesut Özil were all involved, and when the ball came back to Cazorla he made a fine threaded pass to Walcott. The left-foot finish faded beautifully into the far corner.
The feeling persists that the England man needs a run of games to really show his credentials as a central striker. There were other chances that did not quite work out but his movement was excellent and Arsenal feel like a faster counterattacking team all round with him as the focus of such efforts.
Another high velocity break took Arsenal ahead. They regained possession in their own area (leaving Vardy unimpressed as he tumbled over Laurent Koscielny) and were away. Özil’s reverse pass for Héctor Bellerín opened Leicester up. Although Walcott could not get a clean contact on the cross, the ball fell kindly for Sánchez to slide in his first of the season.
Sánchez looked desperate to score more, constantly making a nuisance of himself with his darting runs. He was rewarded with his second, designed by a peach of a lobbed pass – signature Özil – and finished with a dinked header. Wenger enthused about the German’s contribution but also offered an interesting aside: “The little frustration I have today is he couldn’t score. He is really upset, he needs a goal as well.”
Sánchez’s hat-trick was sealed in sensational style. A shrewd touch took him into position to lash early in at Schmeichel’s near post.
Cech was commanding to ensure there was not enough of a grandstand finish. But such is Leicester’s desire to be comeback kings, they did throw plenty at Arsenal late on, and Vardy manufactured another excellent finish.
The visitors threw back more, and the substitute Olivier Giroud coolly struck Arsenal’s fifth, the endnote to a remarkable game.
Ranieri was phlegmatic. “We are sad because we wanted to continue to be unbeaten. But when you play against Arsenal, United, Chelsea, City, it’s extra. It is important to learn something. What is very important is the reaction in the next match. We are down. But our spirit must be very high.”
