Arsenal show Man City rivalry is here to stay with last-gasp win over Leicester

War was declared this week on Arsenal, in a manner of speaking, although none expected the conflict would feature the beleaguered troops of Leicester City fighting to the very end.

There is precious little margin for error in the pursuit of Manchester City – and perhaps Liverpool too this season – although Arsenal trespassed as close to the line as might be considered sensible before they rescued it all in the 94th minute. That was when Leandro Trossard’s deflected shot crept over the line to make it 3-2 and an unusual game against a stubbornly persistent opponent was finally settled.

Two goals up, and then back at 2-2, Arsenal pursued the opportunity to the very end. City had stumbled at Newcastle United, their second draw after the battle with Arsenal six days earlier. “This is the Premier League,” Arteta said when it came to how close they came to losing, “and the quality of the opposition”. “Don’t feel sorry for yourself,” had been his message to the team, although as the seven minutes of time added on expired there were no guarantees.

Arsenal were dominant but after a somewhat lacklustre first half from Steve Cooper’s side they conjured a remarkable comeback with two goals from their full-back James Justin. His second was a strike of the highest quality taken on the full with the outside of his right foot from a cross and swatted in off the far post. This was not what the home crowd had expected and yet this is what the Premier League can do to even its best sides.

There were other aspects to this – a fine performance from the Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, although arguably his best save came moments after he had given Declan Rice the ball on the edge of the Leicester area. Justin was inspired in front of goal for Leicester, who outscored their expected goals of 0.27, and they too could point to some major moments that went against them.

The referee Sam Barrott hesitated when Riccardo Calafiori clearly looked, in the 70th minute, to have picked up his second yellow card of the game. Instead the referee gave only a free-kick and booked the recipient of the foul, Facundo Buonanotte, for waving his own imaginary card around in the aftermath. On the touchline Cooper was furious, having been booked earlier himself for protesting about a foul not given against William Saliba in the turnover that began the sequence for the first Arsenal goal.

“Why he hasn’t sent off the Arsenal left-back is beyond belief,” Cooper said. “I’m trying not to let referees’ poor decisions be the headlines. I’m trying to take responsibility for the team getting better results but it’s more or less been the first question. We felt they were two very poor decisions.”

Even Arteta admitted to being worried when the foul was committed. It would have changed the balance of the game, and by the time Oliver Skipp fouled Bukayo Saka for what was a clear second yellow for the Leicester midfielder, and an Arsenal free-kick in a central position, one suspected the Calafiori decision was playing on Barrott’s mind. He played a bad advantage and when play broke down he declined to go back and give Skipp the second yellow card he deserved. That appeared to be the best recompense he could offer Leicester.

Amid all the excitement there was a thrilling cameo from Ethan Nwaneri, the 17-year-old Arsenal midfielder whose first touch was a run cutting from right to left and a shot that forced Hermansen to reach full stretch to save. Arteta could also call on Raheem Sterling in those final moments and yet Leicester were very close to getting there. Trossard’s second goal, Arsenal’s third, took a big deflection off Wilfred Ndidi who had been excellent in midfield.

It had looked bleak for Leicester when Gabriel Martinelli scored the first, after Saliba had won that contested challenge with Jamie Vardy. The ball had come right via Saka to Jurrien Timber before being cut back to Martinelli. Leicester barely emerged from their own half after that, right up until the break and when Trossard turned in Martinelli’s cross in the first minute of time added on it seemed to be over. Arsenal would go on to have 36 shots, and 16 on target.

Leicester scored almost immediately after half-time with Bounanotte’s free-kick headed goalwards by Justin and having clipped Kai Havertz on the way in. Even after that Leicester were under pressure but Justin’s second goal, hit from Ndidi’s cross was remarkable. Another 30 tense minutes passed before Trossard would get the third and Hermansen would be called upon many more times. The fourth came from Havertz as the game broke down at 3-2 and Leicester threw everything in pursuit of an equaliser.

There was just time for Arteta to address the most recent comments from his old friend and colleague Pep Guardiola on Friday afternoon. The City manager had said that if it was a war that Arsenal wanted – figuratively speaking – then a war they had got. “I can repeat it very clearly,” Arteta said. “I love Pep, I’ve admired him since I was 10 years old. I respect him profoundly. I am so grateful for everything he did for me and continues to do for me and I consider him a friend.”

He tried to make a distinction between the personal relationship and the professional rivalry – although history tells us they are ultimately indivisible. There was even a suggestion from Arteta that others were seeking to damage the relationship. We have to take him at his word when it comes to his friendship, although another Arsenal comeback suggested they are in this rivalry for the long term.