Leicester 0-1 Arsenal: Gunners temporarily move five points clear at the top of the Premier League

To win the Premier League title you have to go through the pain barrier and Gabriel Martinelli did just that to deliver another vital win on the road for Arsenal.

A split second after releasing the shot the found the corner of Danny Ward’s net in the first minute of the second half, Martinelli took a fearful whack to the knee from Wilfred Ndidi, who had tried in vain the block the shot.

The Brazilian was briefly in agony but fought on to typify a victory that once more underlined the Gunners’ credentials as they moved five points clear at the top, with Manchester City playing at Bournemouth later on Saturday. 

Leandro Trossard had a goal ruled out in the first half for a contentious VAR call but Arsenal always had the edge on Leicester, who suffered in attack for the absence of their best player James Maddison and never seriously tested Aaron Ramsdale. 

The Foxes remain in relegation trouble and have a huge game at Southampton next weekend.

Gabriel Martinelli’s second half goal was enough for Arsenal to beat Leicester on Saturday

Martinelli celebrates with Bukayo Saka after scoring the match-winning goal for the visitors

The Gunners also had two goals ruled out in the game, but still managed to get all three points

Oleksandr Zinchenko was handed the captaincy by regular skipper Martin Odegaard as a mark of respect on the first anniversary of the start of Ukraine, Zinchenko’s homeland. 

And both players responded with influential displays as Arsenal clocked up their 10th away win in the league this term, surpassing the nine they managed last season.

Energised by their late victory at Villa Park last weekend, Arsenal began positively. Leicester were without Maddison, who has knee trouble though the club cited illness, and the Gunners looked to capitalise early.

Uncertain defending from the home side presented Odegaard with a difficult chance in the first minute, which he volleyed over. 

Zinchenko was finding space throughout the first half and he sent Leandro Trossard through in the 12th minute, forcing Wout Faes to make a timely block.

Martinelli received a knock upon scoring his goal but was fine to continue playing

Moments later, Jorginho put Bukayo Saka clear with an excellent pass from deep, taking Victor Kristiansen out of the game. This time it was Harry Souttar who came to Leicester’s rescue with a covering challenge.

Arsenal thought they had taken the lead in the 26th minute when Danny Ward’s punch at a corner fell to Granit Xhaka. The Swiss midfielder set up Leandro Trossard, who was given too much space on the edge of the box and found the top corner brilliantly.

Yet their joy was curtailed when VAR Michael Salisbury called referee Craig Pawson to the monitor. Pawson agreed that Ben White had impeded Ward unfairly at the corner by grabbing his forearm, and the goal was ruled out.

Though Arsenal were in control, Leicester might have punished them on the break with better decisions. Kelechi Iheanacho had the ball in the net but was offside, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall delayed his pass when the home side were three-on-two after an Arsenal corner. 

At the other end, Saka demanded a penalty for Souttar’s clumsy challenge and Gabriel Martinelli fired over from a tight angle to round off a clever move involving Zinchenko, Saka and Odegaard.

All Arsenal’s irritation vanished in the first minute of the second half when they finally surged in front. Trossard played a clever pass through the legs of Souttar and Martinelli provided a finish to match, though there was an immediate cost. 

Defender Oleksandr Zinchenko wore the captain’s armband as a mark of respect for the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Mikel Arteta was delighted after watching side move five points clear at the top of the table

The Brazilian appeared to injure himself as he tried to regain his footing and signalled immediately to the bench.

He continued as Arsenal had two hairy moments, first when Trossard gave the ball away Harvey Barnes and then when Tete – who had struggled to find the pace of the game – was inches away from turning in Barnes’ cross.

Yet with Zinchenko, Odegaard and Jorginho pulling the strings, Arsenal were always dangerous. Saka had the ball in the net from Martinelli’s cut-back and the excellent Trossard won a free-kick close to the D which Odegaard drilled into the wall. Moments earlier Ward had looked uncertain in parrying Zinchenko’s angled effort.

Arteta brought off Trossard for Eddie Nketiah with 20 minutes to go and by then Jamie Vardy was on for Leicester. The home side were still in the game and Dewsbury-Hall was just off target from 20 yards. Though he and Barnes found many promising positions, they lacked quality at the decisive moments and it cost Leicester in the end.