Arsenal will be hoping for a repeat of last year where Mikel Arteta’s side managed to do the double over the Foxes. The north London beat Brendan Rodgers’ team 2-0 in the same fixture last season.
Arteta has fielded the same line up in the last two pre-season games and the first Premier League game of the season which gives an indication on how Arsenal could line up against Leicester. However, Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu’s introduction could persuade the Gunners boss to make changes to the line-up.
Arsenal writers Kaya Kaynak and Bailey Keogh will be keeping you updated with all the happenings from the game. Scroll down for all of our latest updates from Emirates Stadium, with the game due to kick-off at 3:00pm BST.
After an injury-plagued season saw Leicester finish eighth in the table last term – deemed a disappointment following their flirtation with the Champions League places and an FA Cup win the previous term – any hopes Rodgers had of squad strengthening have been hampered by financial constraints.
Leicester are the only club in Europe’s top five major leagues yet to make a signing, and as well as seeing club legend Kasper Schmeichel depart for Nice last week the Foxes have been fending off bids for their top names including Wesley Fofana and James Maddison.
Rodgers will be hoping that he can keep the rest of his squad intact, as well as out of the treatment room to ensure his side can once again be involved in fighting the European places come May.
Of course, Jamie Vardy still exists. He’s scored the third most Premier League goals against Arsenal of any player, behind Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney. He missed out against the Gunners last spring due to injury and hasn’t scored in his last two appearances against Mikel Arteta’s side. He hasn’t ever gone three matches against Arsenal without scoring. Leicester also have a red-hot James Maddison, who has four goals and four assists in his last five Premier League matches. You’ll recall that last season in the first meeting between the sides, Aaron Ramsdale made one of the Premier League saves of the season on a Maddison free kick.
The first 30 minutes of the match will be key for both sides. Arsenal will have that first home game of the season support behind them and should come out strong. The Gunners have won every match in their last 15 when they’ve scored in the first half and haven’t won any where they failed to score in the opening 45 minutes. In a similar vein, last season, Arsenal rescued the joint-fewest points from losing positions in the Premier League. The Gunners need to score first and maintain whatever early dominance they are able to establish.
Another key: attacking corners for the Gunners. Arsenal scored the third-most goals from corners in the Premier League last season, including in both matches against Leicester City last season. They scored from a corner against Crystal Palace in the opener.
Brendan Rodgers will be without the services of Ricardo, who recently had surgery to repair an Achilles problem, and Harvey Barnes, who will be out another few weeks with a knee injury. Mikel Arteta will be without Fabio Vieira and Reiss Nelson. Vieira has recovered from the foot injury that kept him out of preseason and is back in training but isn’t ready for matchday duties. Reiss Nelson is awaiting the results of a scan on a muscle injury, but it doesn’t look good. He has a suspected muscle tear and looks set to miss three months. Kieran Tierney, Emile Smith Rowe, and Takehiro Tomiyasu should all be available for the Gunners.