After four weeks away, Premier League football finally returns to Emirates Stadium on Saturday (3pm UK) when newly-promoted Leicester City come to town.
Fine results in September have stretched our unbeaten run to 13 matches in all competitions, which is the longest stretch during Mikel Arteta’s near-five years in charge, who can also claim five successive victories over our visitors.
It’s a trip that traditionally the Foxes haven’t enjoyed making as they have won just one of their last 26 away league games in N5, but Steve Cooper will be looking to turn history on its head as he searches for his first Premier League win as their boss.
Draws galore for Cooper’s Foxes
Despite coming up from the Championship as champions last term, Chelsea’s poaching of Enzo Maresca saw another summer of upheaval at the King Power Stadium. Steve Cooper was installed as boss, who brought in nine new players, with Bobby Decordova-Reid, Oliver Skipp, Jordan Ayew and Odsonne Edouard boasting Premier League experience.
However, Leicester remain winless after five league games and head into this weekend in 15th place. An encouraging opening day draw against Tottenham Hotspur was followed by losses to Fulham and Aston Villa, and then a 2-0 lead at Crystal Palace was squandered as an injury-time penalty saw the Eagles secure a point.
Last weekend saw them claim a 1-1 home draw against fellow strugglers Everton thanks to a goal from Hale End graduate Stephy Mavididi, and another draw came their way on Tuesday at League Two Walsall. However a penalty shootout success after a goalless 90 minutes eventually set up a Carabao Cup fourth-round trip to Manchester United.
What the managers say
Arteta: "They have a lot of ability. What he [Steve Cooper] has done with previous teams, what he’s trying to do - I’ve watched three or four of the games this season and they have a lot of threat. He’s got the formula as well because he beat us when he was at Forest and it’s a game we are going to take very seriously because it’s going to be a very tough opponent.
"If you put me in this scenario before I started this season with the calendar that we were given, the fixtures that we had, the three away games that we had and the amount of injuries that we had to deal with and how we got out of that, I would be very, very pleased."
Cooper: “We’re not going to go into any game seeing it as a free hit or a bonus. I can’t think of anything worse. If I as a leader said that, I wouldn’t blame players for not listening. We have to back ourselves to achieve the right result.
“We’re working daily and trying to promote the team we want to be. What we really want to do is put a complete performance together that gets a result. We’re put together some really good things, but we need to be consistent through a game, and we haven’t done that.”
Team news
David Raya missed the midweek win over Bolton with a thigh problem and is touch-and-go to feature in this game, but Neto is available again after being cup-tied against the Trotters.
Leandro Trossard is back after serving his one-match ban and Arteta admits that Jurrien Timber and Ben White should be involved in the matchday squad, but Martin Odegaard (ankle), Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) and Kieran Tierney (hamstring) all remain unavailable. Mikel Merino and Takehiro Tomiyasu have returned to light training as they edge closer to their comebacks.
Ankle injuries have blighted the Foxes, with Jannik Vestergaard expected to be out until after the next international break having missed the previous three league games, while Patson Daka hasn’t played yet this term after suffering the safe fate.
Backup keeper Jakub Stolarczyk is also missing with a foot problem, but Winks, Wilfred Ndidi, Stephy Mavididi, and Jamie Vardy all sat out the cup win at Walsall and are all likely to return to the starting line-up.
Talking tactics
Adrian Clarke, writing in the matchday programme: Cooper has steadfastly stuck with a 4-2-3-1 as Leicester boss. Last season’s possession-heavy football under Maresca has gone, with the promoted side averaging just 45% of the ball in 2024/25.
Cooper encourages the Foxes to move the ball forward much quicker, as he aims to strike a balance between using his players’ technical quality, while also applying top-fight pragmatism. The priority has shifted from playing out from the back to defensive solidity. Wout Faes has caught the eye, making 12 blocks, the second most in the division.
In general, Leicester like to keep a solid shape without the ball, before using their talented wide players to spring attacks. Only two Premier League teams have produced more successful crosses than them (16), and just shy of 30% have found their intended target, but in their opening five games they’ve only twice created a chance via a fast break.
The Foxes have scored in all five matches to date, which should provide them with confidence, but they have conceded first in four of those, with four goals going in within the opening 30 minutes. Meanwhile, only Ipswich Town have had fewer touches and shots inside the opposition box.
Facts and stats
We have won our last five Premier League games against Leicester, our joint-longest winning run against the Foxes in league history (also five between 1908-1914 and 1930-1932).
Leicester are winless in 10 away Premier League games since a 4-2 win at Aston Villa in February 2023. The Foxes have won just two of their last 17 Premier League games in London, and none since November 2022.
We have won 16 of their last 17 Premier League games against newly promoted sides (L1 – at Nottingham Forest in May 2023), including all six such matches last season by an aggregate score of 25-4. At home, we are unbeaten in 39 such games since a 1-0 loss to Newcastle in November 2010.
We haven’t lost a home Premier League game in September since 2012, going unbeaten in 18 such matches since (W14 D4).
Bukayo Saka could become the first-ever player to assist a goal in each of his side’s first six games of a campaign in the competition.
Against no side has Gabriel Jesus been involved in more Premier League goals than he has against Leicester (9 – 7 goals, 2 assists).
Raheem Sterling has scored a brace in his last two Premier League games against Leicester – one with Man City (December 2021) and one with Chelsea (August 2022).
Kai Havertz has had a hand in 10 goals across his last nine league appearances at Emirates Stadium (7 goals, 3 assists), scoring in each of his last three.
No visiting player has scored more Premier League goals at Emirates Stadium than Jamie Vardy (5 – level with Harry Kane).
Match officials
It will be a first appearance at Emirates Stadium for Samuel Barrott, who has overseen us twice since his elevation to the Premier League’s list of referees - the goal-heavy victories at Luton Town and Sheffield United.
Leicester also boast an unbeaten record under his watch, winning one and drawing four times. His six and a half yellow cards across his four Premier League outings this term is the highest in the division.
Referee: Sam Barrott
Assistants: Scott Ledger, Wade Smith
Fourth official: Dean Whitestone
VAR: Paul Tierney
Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis
Recent visits from the Foxes
It’s been over two years since Leicester last arrived in N5, when we ran our 4-2 victors in an entertaining affair that saw Gabriel Jesus net his first two Gunners goals, and Grabit Xhaka and Gabriel Martinelli also getting on the scoresheet in our first home game of the 2022/23 campaign.
The previous March saw us claim a 2-0 success with Thomas Partey and Alexandre Lacazette getting the goals, and our only defeat in our last 17 home league games against the Foxes came in October 2020 when Vardy netted 10 minutes from time. That was also the only time we have failed to score at home against Leicester in the competition.
Live coverage
Our new matchday show is back on Saturday, with Nicole Holliday and Frimmy hosting Live from N5 - packed with special guests and features to get you hyped for the big game!
Former Gunner and Fox Alan Smith will be in the studio to discuss the big game, as well as Hollywood actor Will Poulter, DJ and music producer Diplo, plus rapper Knucks.
We’ll be getting the verdict on the best goal celebrations from our squad and supporters in Question of the Day, while Frimmy will be put on the spot with the Best of Colney Carpool followed by What Happened Next?
After a look back at our Carabao Cup debutants' appearances on our academy documentary Inside Hale End, live commentary of the game will come from Dan Roebuck and Nigel Winterburn - so make sure you tune in!
You can also find out which broadcasters are showing the action live wherever you are in the world
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