Koscielny impresses but Arsenal's attackers struggle at Leicester

Both sides sat deep to offset the pace on offer at both ends. It was a midfield war of attrition and, although Arsenal had twice as many shots, they can count themselves lucky they didn't concede a late penalty. Hector Bellerin's challenge on Ahmed Musa was clumsy, and after referee Mark Clattenburg got another penalty call right in the first half, the Gunners can be thankful he got this one wrong.

Positives

The return of Laurent Koscielny was very welcome; the Frenchman was imperious at the back and brought out the best in new signing Rob Holding. The fact that Arsenal kept a clean sheet after shipping four goals last weekend also has to be a positive.

Negatives

After Arsene Wenger espoused the ability of Alexis Sanchez to play as the team's main striker, he was hopelessly off the pace today. Arsenal had 10 attempts on goal but rarely looked like scoring. It's almost as if they need to buy a striker...

Manager rating out of 10

5 -- Wenger made changes from the team that lost against Liverpool and defensively Arsenal were much more solid. However, it was clear quite early that Sanchez was struggling and Walcott was wasteful on the right. If he didn't have many options, that's down to his transfer policy this summer.

Player ratings (1-10; 10=best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating):

GK, Petr Cech, 7 -- Made a couple of good, brave saves and turned Jamie Vardy inside out with a crafty drag-back in the area.

DF, Hector Bellerin, 6 -- He's so quick going forward but he and Walcott don't really seem to have much of an understanding. Got away with the late challenge on Musa but generally solid.

DF, Rob Holding, 7 -- The 20-year-old suffered a traumatic debut vs. Liverpool but was given the nod ahead of the more experienced Calum Chambers. With Koscielny alongside him he put in an accomplished performance.

DF, Laurent Koscielny, 8 -- Still short of fitness but turned in a fantastic performance from the Arsenal captain. He was strong and alert, which was necessary as the defence was left exposed a couple of times by the midfield.

In his first appearance of the season, Laurent Koscielny was excellent for Arsenal.

DF Nacho Monreal, 7 -- Kept Riyad Marrez mostly quiet and, late on, his experience was important as Leicester got crosses in, only to find the Spanish international at the end of almost all of them.

MF Granit Xhaka, 6 -- Handed his first start by Wenger, the Swiss international was tidy enough but looks a bit short fitness-wise and seemed a little unsure of what his role was.

MF Francis Coquelin, 6 -- Walked a bit of a tightrope late on and was perhaps a little fortunate not to pick up a second yellow card. He coped well, though, and did some excellent defensive work as the game opened up late on.

MF Santi Cazorla, 6 -- Did fine but is coming back from a relatively long injury absence and it might take him some time to get up to speed. Not helped by an Arsenal front three, who were far too static.

MF Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 6 -- There were some positives to his performance, particularly in the first half when he did try and make things happen, but the midfield only opened up when he went off.

MF Theo Walcott, 6 -- He was quite lively and did some defensive work that isn't normally a feature of his game. Offered little going forward, though, and his decision to ignore a simple pass to Olivier Giroud late on speaks to his poor decision making.

Substitutes:

MF Jack Wilshere, NR -- You could see that Wenger put him on to try and unlock the defence but too often chose the most difficult pass.

MF Mesut Ozil, NR -- His class was evident the moment he came on and Arsenal looked more dangerous as he tried to make things happen.

FW Olivier Giroud, NR -- Found it hard to get involved but the team's decision to stop crossing the ball from wide positions as soon as they put on an actual centre-forward was frustrating.