Arsenal left it late, but substitute Mikel Merino scored a brace to send the Gunners to within four points of leaders Liverpool.
After a first half with little attacking threat, the Gunners took the lead in the 81st minute. The inspired substitution of Merino paid dividends when the Spaniard fired Arsenalahead as he headed home an Ethan Nwanericross.
Nwaneri, arguably the best player on the pitch, was the only real attacking threat until the introduction of Merino.
The former Real Sociedad midfielder scored a second six minutes later when he fired a Leandro Trossard cross past Mads Hermansen.
The Foxes looked shellshocked from there on out and Arsenal cruised to a comfortable win and closed the gap to leaders Liverpool ahead of their game against Wolves.
Arsenal player ratings:
Raya was not tested much but when called upon he made some good stops. The save from Wilfried Ndidi kept the game level at the interval.
Another solid display from the Hale Endgraduate. Lewis-Skelly’s most important intervention came before he was substituted when he prodded a Jordan Ayew away from the lurking Bobby Reid. The Jamaican winger had a certain tap-in if it wasn’t for the young left-back’s efforts.
Gabriel was an aerial threat from set-pieces but when is he not? The former Lille defender had little to do in terms of defensive work.
William Saliba – 7
The Frenchman dealt with the pace of Jamie Vardy well. Vardy had a quiet game and rarely threatened the Arsenal defence.
Jurrien Timber – 7
Timber was solid all around today. The Dutch defender was an attacking threat and also solid when the Foxes made a rare venture into the Arsenal half.
Thomas Partey – 6
Partey put up a decent showing against Leicester but made a few sloppy passes when looking to progress the ball.
Declan Rice – 7
Rice was decent in the No.8 role and carried the ball well. The English midfielder was one of the larger attacking threats in a game lacking quality.
Martin Odegaard – 6
Leicester did a good job in nullifying Odegaard’s threat on the ball. Apart from a few incisive passes, the midfielder was quiet for large parts of the encounter.
Raheem Sterling – 3
Sterling put in a low-quality display. When he was in possession, he failed to beat a man and lost the ball on multiple occasions. The Chelsea loanee is bereft of confidence and needs to pick up form if he is to remain at a top club.
Leandro Trossard – 6
Trossard had little service as the striker but did pull off a fine assist for Merino’s second goal. As the saying goes; if you cannot score, make sure you are still providing goals.
Ethan Nwaneri – 8
Nwaneri put in a performance of the highest quality against the Foxes. The Hale Endgraduate was by far the most threatening player, hitting the woodwork on two occasions. His cross for Merino’s opening goal was simply world-class.
Substitutes:
Mikel Merino – 8
Merino put in a superb performance as a makeshift striker. The Spaniard attacker the space in behind well and produced two good finishes to fire the Gunners to all three points.
The Italian was solid defensively when called upon in his short spell on the pitch.
Jorginho – 6
The former Chelsea man did not have time to impact the game, but did make a few key passes to help Arsenal keep the ball.
Kieran Tierney – N/A
The Scot did not have time to impact the game.
Arsenal take on West Ham next weekend as they look to continue their 15-game unbeaten Premier League run.