BEVERLY HILLS, February 28, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Wilfred Ndidi, midfielder for English Premier League side Leicester City, had a game of mixed fortunes on Sunday when Arsenal came from behind to claim a 3-1 away win over his side at the King Power Stadium.
In a match where he was one of the best players in the losing side, Ndidi had the most tackles (4) and won the most duels (11) but unfortunately cost his team a penalty which led to an Arsenal lead and could very likely had given away two penalties but for the intervention of VAR.
It will be unfair to place the blame for the loss entirely on the midfielder but it is reasonably logical to imagine a different outcome had he not given away the penalty in the extra time of the first period so that Arsenal went into the interval with the advantage of the lead and the confidence of being on the ascendancy after having conceded an early goal in a stadium that has been very difficult for them to win in.
But, the Gunners, to their credit, rallied and lifted themselves up into the EPL top half after manager Mikel Arteta’s toss up of six changes to the team that beat Benfica in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday allowed team captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and impressive youngster Bukayo Saka to replenish lost energy with some time on the bench, and it paid off brilliantly in the end.
Not for the first time this season, Arsenal’s sloppiness at the back allowed an early goal in. This time it was only six minutes on the clock when Leicester’s Youri Tielemans drove into the penalty box unimpeded to find the far corner of the net with a low finish past Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno.
As the Gunners went in search of a leveller, Nicolas Pepe peppered the left flank of the Foxes to the point where he looked to have forced a penalty on the Foxes when he was allegedly fouled in the box. The referee, Paul Tierney, wasted no time to point to the spot, believing that Tielemans had gone from hero to villain by presenting the Gunners an opportunity to draw level.
However, VAR was used to adjudge that the contact had in fact occurred outside the area and had nothing to do with Tielemans, rather it pointed at Ndidi being responsible for bringing the Ivorian down as he charged goal-wards. A few extra inches and the penalty could have been given. In fact, without video assistant refereeing, it was already given as a penalty. Rather, a freekick was awarded instead.
It should have sounded a note of warning to the very hardworking Nigerian midfielder who played a determined game in the middle of the park and ventured forward to help the advance of the team, as well. An accidental collision of Ndidi with teammate Jonny Evans provided a moment of scare for Leicester as it took a while before the latter could be clear-eyed enough to continue.
Although Ndidi was not at fault in the equalising goal, which happened to come from a yellow-card foul on Pepe by Luke Thomas, and David Luiz headed in a Willian free-kick from the foul, the one that gave Arsenal the lead was all on Ndidi.
Pepe, who was a constant thorn in Leicester’s side throughout the encounter, attempted a shot at goal. It was blocked by the unprofessional raised arm of Wilfred Ndidi as the ball soared from Pepe’s boot. Another VAR check and this time the replay confirmed the foul for the referee to award the penalty. Centre forward Alexandre Lacazette sent Kaspar Schmeichel the wrong way with a direct drive low into the net from the spot.
The Gunners had time to add a third to compound the headache the loss will give Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers and it could have been more because Aubameyang came off the bench and almost made it 4-1, skipping into space and firing just wide of the right-hand post in the closing stages of the tie.
It was a good comeback from the Gunners and it takes them up to ninth place in the Premier League table, closing the gap on West Ham United in the final UEFA Champions League spot to eight points. It was also shocking to see that the best player in an Arsenal shirt on the day was Willian, the Brazilian they got for free from London rivals Chelsea.
The 32-year-old, who has faced sharp criticisms for his underwhelming performances since his move to the Emirates, rewarded the manager’s faith in starting him by playing an inspired key role in the Europa League fightback against Benfica during the week which he carried directly into this match. Not only way he one of the most accurate passers of the ball but his contributing assists made for two of the Gunners’ three goals.
Ndidi’s Leicester endured a dreadful afternoon and he was a big part of the best parts and the worst parts of that. To worsen their lot, key players of the squad joined the already devastating injury-plagued squad. Harvey Barnes and Jonny Evans were forced off with Barnes, in particular, the most concerning. The 23-year-old was stretchered off in the second half with his foot in a brace.
This season alone, Rodgers has had to deal with sidelined players like James Maddison, James Justin Wesley Fofana, Ayoze Perez and Dennis Praet due to injuries. How they can avoid a repeat of their 2019/2020 mishap when a six-game winless run prompted a poor end to their season and a failure to see out a top-four finish, with this list of injuries, will be the coach’s nightmare after this result.
Coming so soon after their Europa League exit to Slavia Praha, they can only hope their failure on Sunday on their home ground does not threaten to derail their aspirations this season, especially after all the hard work that brought them this far to joint-second on the table. As impressive as Ndidi was, Leicester seemed out of sorts after going ahead and barely threatened Bernd Leno’s goal from then on.
Even their Arsenal-nightmare Jamie Vardy appeared strangely isolated in attack. The forward who found the net 11 times in his first 12 league meetings with Arsenal to be a serial tormentor of the Gunners, had a paltry 21 touches and failed even to attempt a single shot on target.
The earlier they get their acts together and find their winning formula again, the better for Ndidi, the better for Kelechi Iheanacho, Leicester’s Nigerian striker, and the better for the entire team, as well.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
