Partey and Lacazette strengthen Arsenal’s grip on fourth in Leicester win

On a mild, peppy, boisterous afternoon at the Emirates Stadium Arsenal made it five Premier League wins in a row to reclaim fourth spot ahead of Manchester United.*

Thomas Partey was assertive in central midfield, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli hugely impressive as the wide players in that voraciously hungry press-and-move attack.

It is a mark of Arsenal’s progress since the turn of the year that there were times during this 2-0 defeat of an under-strength Leicester where they almost seemed to be having too much fun with those attacking combinations, trying to dance the ball into the net in the grand modern-day Arsenal tradition.

This is, after all, the youngest squad in the Premier League. They probably deserve to have a little fun, and that quality that has been key to Arsenal’s surge of form, the sense that Mikel Arteta has created both a clear tactical system, and more importantly, a vibe, a feeling of something juiced with its own youthful energy. The past no longer lingers around this place. Or at least, not while they continue to win. And this was the start of a key period in the slog towards the season’s end game.

Arsenal have benefited from the combined effects of a pared-back schedule and a young, biddable squad. One game a week. Time to groove and drill. People under the age of 25 who actually listen to you. What more could a furiously meticulous details-manager want? That favourable terrain has now ramped up into an intense triple-header: this game, Wednesday and Saturday, with Liverpool and Aston Villa respectively a genuine test for what is still a sparse-looking squad.

Leicester may have had their thoughts elsewhere, resting Youri Tielemans and Wilfred Ndidi from the start for Rennes on Thursday.