![\"17a50a6a-d4f0-436b-a326-ddb75639d0e7\"](\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/17a50a6a-d4f0-436b-a326-ddb75639d0e7.jpg\")
<\/p>\nDanny Welbeck gave Arsenal a 2-1 victory over Leicester City\u00a0at the Emirates Stadium as Arsene Wenger\u2019s side closed the gap to just two\u00a0points on Claudio Ranieri\u2019s Foxes.<\/p>\n
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Returning hero\u00a0Welbeck’s winner came 25\u00a0minutes after Theo Walcott had levelled the match, cancelling\u00a0out Jamie Vardy\u2019s penalty –\u00a0scored just before\u00a0half-time.<\/p>\n
![\"Vardy](\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Vardy-shot-1024x637.jpg\")
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But it was Danny Simpson’s unnecessary red card which Leicester fans will be cursing long into the night, as the 29-year-old right back picked up two yellows in quick succession while his side were 1-0 up.<\/p>\n
![\"walcott\"](\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/walcott.jpg\")
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The Gunners started brightly as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain surged down the right wing and won a corner for his side within the first minute. Alexis Sanchez headed the resulting set piece narrowly wide of Kasper Schmeichel\u2019s right-hand post; however Chamberlain would continue to give Leicester left-back Christian Fuchs problems for the duration of the half.<\/p>\n
In the ninth minute, having beaten Fuchs, Chamberlain appealed for handball against N\u2019Golo Kante, although referee Martin Atkinson\u2019s decision to wave this appeal away seemed justified in hindsight.<\/p>\n
Leicester\u2019s first real chance of the match came after 16 minutes as Jamie Vardy\u2019s header forced a brilliant stop from Petr Cech. Cech would later save his side\u2019s blushes once again as he clawed N\u2019Golo Kante\u2019s excellent curling effort away from the top corner of the Arsenal goal.<\/p>\n
And then came the defining moment of the first half as Kante initiated a Leicester breakaway amidst Arsenal appeals for a foul by Wes Morgan on Mesut Ozil. Kante was then harshly fouled himself by Laurent Koscielny, but play was cleverly waved on by Martin Atkinson as the ball fell to Jamie Vardy who burst into the penalty area and drew a silly challenge out of Nacho Monreal.<\/p>\n
Atkinson didn\u2019t need to see this incident twice and, despite the Spanish left-back\u2019s desperate proclamation of his innocence, the referee signalled for a 45th minute penalty.<\/p>\n
Vardy picked himself up, dusted himself down and smashed the ball past Cech to give the Foxes a vital lead with one of the last kicks of the half.<\/p>\n
Having not been able to respond straight after the goal, Arsenal started the second period as they\u2019d started the first \u2013 at an electric pace. Efforts from Ramsey and Giroud threatened Kasper Schmeichel\u2019s goal, however it was the problems Alexis Sanchez was causing for Leicester right-back Danny Simpson which changed the course of the game.<\/p>\n
In the 49th minute Sanchez drew a foul from Simpson which saw Leicester\u2019s right-back awarded a yellow card and, just five minutes later, Olivier Giroud did the same and Leicester were rightly down to ten men.<\/p>\n
Claudio Ranieri\u2019s decision to replace Riyad Mahrez with defender Marcin Wasilewski temporarily appeared to have solved the problem as Leicester continually soaked up all of Arsenal\u2019s pressure. But, in the 70th minute, Hector Bellerin\u2019s ball in from the right was cushioned down perfectly by Olivier Giroud for Theo Walcott whose side-footed finish levelled the game.<\/p>\n
25 minutes of constant Arsenal pressure followed as Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud and Per Mertesacker all missed fantastic chances to win the game for their side.<\/p>\n
But, in the 83rd minute Arsene Wenger made the decisive call and introduced Danny Welbeck to the action. This was the Englishman\u2019s first appearance after nine months on the sidelines.<\/p>\n
With just a minute of added time remaining Arsenal won a free-kick around 35 yards from goal. Mesut Ozil took this opportunity to float a perfectly-weighted ball into the area which Danny Welbeck was able to head past a devastated Kasper Schmeichel.<\/p>\n
There were jubilant scenes at the Emirates as Welbeck celebrated with the Arsenal fans and 60,000 people, wearing both red and blue, left the stadium wondering whether this match would be the turning point\u00a0in their respective seasons.<\/p>\n
Arsenal are now just two points behind Leicester City and, with 12 matches remaining, the title race is well and truly on.<\/p>\n
![\"Wenger1\"](\"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Wenger1.jpg\")
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–<\/p>\n
Source: Talksport<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Danny Welbeck gave Arsenal a 2-1 victory over Leicester City\u00a0at the Emirates Stadium as Arsene Wenger\u2019s side closed the gap to just two\u00a0points on Claudio Ranieri\u2019s Foxes. Returning hero\u00a0Welbeck’s winner came 25\u00a0minutes after Theo Walcott had levelled the match, cancelling\u00a0out Jamie Vardy\u2019s penalty –\u00a0scored just before\u00a0half-time. But it was Danny Simpson’s unnecessary red card which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":189569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[142],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n