Jamie Vardy Scores Late Equaliser to Deny Arsenal Victory
Jamie Vardy’s late equaliser gave Leicester City a vital point to keep their Champions League hopes on track and end Arsenal’s recent winning streak. The Gunners looked on course for a fifth successive victory to maintain their own outside chance of a place in Europe’s elite competition next season after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang swept in his 20th league goal of the season in the first half.
Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel kept Arsenal at bay with a string of fine saves before the interval, twice denying Alexandre Lacazette as well as Bukayo Saka and it proved to be a vital contribution. Saka, however, provided an assist for Gunnars skipper Aubameyang in the first half of the game to hand the team first half win.
Arsenal was reduced to 10 men with 15 minutes left when Eddie Nketiah was sent off four minutes after coming on as a substitute for a high challenge on James Justin. Then, Leicester capitalised on the card and pressed in until Jamie Vardy slid home Demarai Gray’s cross into the net with just six minutes to go, the goal finally awarded after a lengthy VAR check for offside.
The goal was Jamie Vardy’s 22nd league strike of the season and restored his two-goal advantage over Aubameyang at the top of the Premier League scoring charts. The result means Leicester City has dropped to fourth place position following Chelsea’s 3-2 win over Crystal Palace. They are now four points ahead of Manchester United having played a game more, but this was an important point that left Arsenal frustrated in seventh.