After what feels like a very long summer without competitive club football, the Premier League finally returns and what a fixture to start with. The 2015/16 champions, Leicester City, visit the Emirates Stadium to face an Arsenal that missed out on Champions League qualification for the first time in 19 years last season. The Gunners finished 5^th last term which means they will have to settle for Europa League football while the Foxes’ finished 12^th in their title defence so they’ll be hoping for better this season.

STATS

• Even though they fell short in their pursuit of a top four place, Arsenal finished the league season in very good form. They won all five of their last five games but it was too little too late after their yearly dip in form around the midway stage. At the end of the season, they beat Chelsea 2-1 in the final of the FA Cup and have since beat them in the Community Shield, so they have won all seven of their last seven games.
• After Claudio Ranieri was sacked with the Foxes in the relegation zone, Leicester’s form improved drastically as Craig Shakespeare was given the job. They finished the season in decent form as they won two, lost two and drew one after confirming that they couldn’t be relegated. Their last game was a boring 1-1 draw with Bournemouth as the season ended on quite a sour note.
• Alexandre Lacazette is one of the biggest signings of the summer transfer window so far and he’ll be hoping to hit the ground running for Arsenal and a goal against Leicester would be perfect.
• There’s no doubt that Jamie Vardy is the Foxes’ biggest goal threat but the £25 million signing of Kelechi Iheanacho provides a new edge to the attack, he’ll be desperate for a debut goal.

HEAD TO HEAD

Leicester have a rotten run of form against Arsenal and the last time they beat the Gunners was back in 1994 which is a run that lasts for 21 games. And the last time that Leicester won away at Arsenal was all the way back in 1973 so the stats are against Shakespeare’s Foxes. Both teams have scored in seven of the last nine meetings.

ARSENAL NEWS

Even though they have had a whole summer to rest, there are several Arsenal players unavailable for the clash with Leicester, most notably Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil. They are joined by Aaron Ramsey, Gabriel and Santi Cazorla on the injury table while Laurent Koscielny misses out through a suspension he picked up as a result of a sending off on the last day of the season.

Latest matches: Arsenal FC

06.08.2017	Comm	Arsenal FC	Chelsea FC	5:2	W
30.07.2017	Emir	Arsenal FC	Sevilla FC	1:2	L
29.07.2017	Emir	Arsenal FC	Benfica Lisbon	5:2	W
22.07.2017	Club	Chelsea FC	Arsenal FC	3:0	L
19.07.2017	Club	Bayern Munich	Arsenal FC	1:1	D

LEICESTER NEWS

Leicester have some injury worries themselves as Robert Huth is likely to miss the game with new signing, Vicente Iborra also unavailable through injury. Danny Drinkwater has been ruled out with a knock to his thigh. Harry Maguire could make his debut for the Foxes as could Iheanacho.

Latest matches: Leicester City

04.08.2017	Club	Leicester City	Monchengladbach	2:1	W
01.08.2017	Club	Burton Albion	Leicester City	2:1	L
29.07.2017	Club	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Leicester City	1:0	L
28.07.2017	Club	Milton Keynes Dons	Leicester City	0:0	D
26.07.2017	Club	Luton Town	Leicester City	0:1	W

SUMMARY

Going into the first game of the season, there aren’t many teams who are stronger than Arsenal which is why they are favourites to pick up the first three points of the season. However, with the number of injuries to their players, it gives Leicester a great chance to take advantage and go top of the table before Saturday’s fixtures. Arsenal should have enough quality to take the win but a draw is possible depending on how the hosts line up. Both teams should score.