Substitutes Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud scored as Arsenal twice came from behind to beat Leicester City 4-3 on Friday in a dizzily entertaining opening Premier League game. Record signing Alexandre Lacazette put Arsenal ahead after only 85 seconds at the Emirates Stadium, before a Shinji Okazaki header and a Jamie Vardy brace saw 2016 champions Leicester go 2-1 and then 3-2 up.
But Arsene Wenger's double change turned the game, FA Cup final hero Ramsey drilling in an 83rd-minute equaliser and Giroud notching the winner two minutes later with a header that hit the bar and bounced over the line. "We kept going and the spirit of the team was absolutely outstanding," said Wenger.
"Overall we could say we were punished on every single mistake by a Leicester team who were very efficient going forward. "We conceded three goals, yes, but we scored four goals as well and the game was of quality." The Ramsey-Giroud rescue act spared Arsenal from a fourth season-opening defeat in five campaigns and enabled Wenger to start the season with victory for only the second time in eight years.
The Arsenal manager faced open dissent from fans last season as his side missed out on a place in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. But after winning a record seventh FA Cup with victory over Chelsea, he penned a new two-year contract and his side's Houdini act against Leicester means that late-season momentum remains intact, albeit only just. The fans at the Emirates were getting their first glimpse of Lacazette in a competitive game and the £46.5 million ($60.3 million, 51.1 million euros) man needed less than two minutes to find the net.
From Hector Bellerin's lay-off, Mohamed Elneny swept a first-time cross into the box and Lacazette deftly glanced a header past Kasper Schmeichel before spreading his arms to take the acclaim of the crowd. Within three minutes Leicester were level. Following a short corner on the left, Marc Albrighton's deep cross was headed back across goal by Harry Maguire and Okazaki leapt to nod a header past Petr Cech.