Even Leicester’s late comeback after William Saliba’s own goal and James Maddison’s strike could not stop the home side as Granit Xhaka and Gabriel Martinelli made sure of the points in the second half. It’s certainly some contrast to the start of last season, when two defeats left Arsenal bottom of the Premier League table and Arteta facing serious questions over his future. However, despite the disappointment of missing out on Champions League qualification in May, there are already signs of his side’s progress following a busy summer in the transfer market which included the signing of Jesus from Manchester City. On a baking day in north London, every Arsenal player was given a rapturous welcome before kick-off as Arteta selected the same team he started in last week’s win over Crystal Palace. But, as if to underline the anticipation surrounding his arrival from the City, there was a very loud roar that Jesus had reserved. Having taken a 2-0 lead into their opener against Brentford last week, Brendan Rodgers also opted for an unchanged squad and arranged his team in a formation designed to ease the pressure and hit Arsenal on the break. That plan almost paid off inside the first three minutes when Aaron Ramsdale had to make a save to deny the onrushing Wesley Fofana. After this early wake-up call, Arsenal took control. Half the crowd thought Jesus had scored when his header from Martinelli’s free-kick found the side-netting before Fofana was booked for pulling Martinelli back. The France under-21 international is expected to be the subject of a fresh bid from Chelsea this week, with Leicester holding out for a fee in excess of £80million. However, he was powerless to stop Granit Xhaka heading Bukayo Saka’s cross onto the post, with Oleksandr Zinchenko heading the rebound over the bar. Start your evenings with the Guardian’s view of the world of football Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The moment all Arsenal fans had been waiting for came soon after, with Jesus adjusting his feet brilliantly after receiving the ball inside the area before curling a superb shot past Danny Ward via a slight deflection. It was the 25-year-old’s sixth goal against Leicester in eight matches and he didn’t have to wait long for his next. Lingering at the back post for a corner, the ball seemed to be drawn to Jesus’ forehead like a magnet after the Leicester defenders failed to clear. He could have had a hat-trick 60 seconds later after a mistake by Jonny Evans, although a last-ditch tackle from Daniel Amartey and the legs of Ward saved the visitors for the time being. The Leicester keeper was called into action again soon after when Jesus combined superbly with Martinelli on the left. Down the touchline, Rodgers looked confused as his team worked in the heat. But a quick break that saw Jamie Vardy hit the boards after reaching the ball before Ramsdale appeared to offer Leicester an unlikely route back into the game just before the break when the referee, Darren England, pointed to the spot. Much to the delight of the home fans, this was quickly overruled by VAR after replays showed there was minimal contact, although Vardy avoided a booking. For all the optimism at half-time, however, Arsenal showed they still have a tendency to shoot themselves in the foot. A harmless long ball forward at the start of the second half should not have caused drama even when James Justin won the opening header. But after his excellent debut against Palace last week, Saliba’s intervention as he tried to drive the ball back to Ramsdale was not one to be remembered. Gabriel Martinelli restored Arsenal’s two-goal lead with a well-taken finish. Photo: Nigel Keene/ProSports/Rex/Shutterstock Fortunately for the Frenchman, Leicester were also in good spirits and Ward’s failure to gather a simple cross two minutes later allowed Xhaka to restore the two-goal cushion. Rodgers responded by abandoning his three-man defense and dropping Dennis Praet and Patson Daka, before Kelechi Iheanacho was brought on to replace Vardy. It took a last-ditch save from Saliba to keep the Nigerian out, but when Iheanacho set up Maddison to make it 3-2 with 16 minutes remaining, it looked like Leicester could even grab a point. Fortunately for Arteta, Jesus set up Martinelli to score a fourth goal that finally put the game beyond Leicester’s reach.
