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Arsenal versus Leicester City preview: 5 key points to watch

By Rucker Haringey

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 02 : Jamie Vardy of Leicester City celebrates after scoring to make it 1-0 during the Barclays Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool at the King Power Stadium on February 02 , 2016 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 02 : Jamie Vardy of Leicester City celebrates after scoring to make it 1-0 during the Barclays Premier League match between Leicester City and Liverpool at the King Power Stadium on February 02 , 2016 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images) /
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Leicester City’s German defender Robert Huth and Leicester City’s English defender Wes Morgan (centre right) embrace after the English Premier League football match between Leicester City and Manchester City at King Power Stadium in Leicester, central England on December 29, 2015. The game finished 0-0. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS
Leicester City’s German defender Robert Huth and Leicester City’s English defender Wes Morgan (centre right) embrace after the English Premier League football match between Leicester City and Manchester City at King Power Stadium in Leicester, central England on December 29, 2015. The game finished 0-0. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS /

5. Can Olivier Giroud out-muscle Leicester’s centre backs?

Robert Huth and Wes Morgan might not be the most stylish centre back pairing in the Premier League, but they are one of the toughest. If Arsenal elects to, as expected, deploy Olivier Giroud as their sole striker, it could be a real wrestling match between those three men for superiority.

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Arsene Wenger should throw the Foxes a curve ball and start Theo Walcott up top, but I don’t think the French manager is that brave. I strongly suspect he’ll stick to his normal script and play Giroud as a stand-alone striker. That will play right into Claudio Ranieri’s hands.

The Foxes’ manager will be happy to see the bruising Giroud try his luck against Huth and Morgan. Those two struggle with pace, not with brawn. Count on Arsenal to have a lot of the ball, and Giroud will even get to touch it a fair amount. That doesn’t mean he’ll do anything productive with it though.

If, by some chance, Giroud manages to win the battle against Huth and Morgan than Leicester have no chance to win this match. They have to completely neutralize the French man so they can focus on the more talented duo of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. If Giroud proves to be too much for Leicester, it is going to be along day for the Premier League leaders.

Next: 4.The battle between N'Golo Kante and Mesut Ozil

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