Boss - Leicester story good for football

By Lloyd Webb

Arsene Wenger says Leicester City’s incredible rise is "good for football".

The Foxes were bottom of the Premier League the last time they travelled to Emirates Stadium in 2015, but are five points clear at the top ahead of Sunday’s clash.

Claudio Ranieri’s side are now favourites for the title, and Wenger accepts that many neutrals will be rooting for them this weekend.

“It is very romantic and I understand the whole country [being behind them],” the Arsenal manager said. “That is human. I think as well that [the story] is good for football, and it goes against the usual practice in our game, which is spend and buy big stars.

“It is important to know that with quality work, quality scouting and quality management you can have great results.

“Leicester today are in a strong position and they have certainly silenced all the doubters since the start of the season because at Christmas people were saying they would not be there and now we are at Easter and they are still there.

"In the last week they showed they have solid potential to win the league, with two positive results against Liverpool and Manchester City away. Everybody now thinks they are on the same level as everybody else to win it and they have a mathematical advantage of five points.”

The Gunners beat Leicester 5-2 at King Power Stadium in September, but Wenger feels they will be a different prospect on Sunday.

"They are certainly more convinced of their quality now,” he said. "When we played them last, they were top of the table so that has not changed but their belief has been strengthened.

“The first game we played against them at Leicester was a very open game and it is true that their strength is to be very quick in transition from defence to offence. But we have to nullify their pace and attacking potential - we want to dominate the game, have the ball and be dangerous."