Back to the drawing board for Leicester and Arsenal

If the famous old sporting cliché ‘you’re only as good as your last game’ still holds weight, then last season’s Premier League top two, Leicester City and Arsenal are in a spot of bother.  Both were left red-faced after humbling defeats on the opening weekend, and they meet tonight at the King Power Stadium in a contest that gives each a chance to salvage much-needed pride. Our Premier League tactics expert Adrian Clarke (sports [at] mediacorp.com.sg) runs the rule over two teams that wish they could start 2016-17 all over again…

Leicester City: What Went Wrong?

Photo: Reuters

Complacency

You do not win titles with bad players, but the Foxes wouldn’t have been anywhere near top spot if they hadn’t grafted their socks off for one another game in, game out.

They seemed to forget that when limply succumbing to Hull City at the KCOM Stadium.

Maybe they were still heavy-legged after travelling the globe in pre-season? Maybe it was just an off day?

Whatever it was, an “edge” was missing from their effort last weekend. Hull City outran them.

The forwards lacked sharpness, midfielders looked weary, and at the back, there was a casualness we never saw en route to that fairytale crown. There was subconscious complacency.

For a team like Leicester City to upset the odds, all 11 have to be on the same page, fighting for every ball and covering one another’s backs. Five or six went missing on Humberside.

New Partnerships Faltered

Photo: Reuters

Kind-hearted Claudio Ranieri rewarded his title winners with a start at Wembley in the Community Shield, but that was an error of judgment.

If the Italian intended revamping his line-up for the new season, (which he did), then he should have been more ruthless.

Captain Wes Morgan was partnered with Luis Hernandez — in for the suspended Robert Huth — and they played like strangers. Rarely on the same wavelength, often getting in each other’s way, it made for some distinctly uncomfortable viewing.

Those chemistry issues should have been ironed out against Manchester United six days earlier.

Elsewhere, Andy King came in for the departed N’Golo Kante, Demarai Gray pipped Marc Albrighton to a place, and the rapid Ahmed Musa was preferred to Shinji Okazaki.

All the tweaks made sense, but the foundation of Leicester’s harmonious football last season was continuity. Having four newbies in the XI, all at once, led to a disjointed performance.

Arsenal:What Went Wrong?

Photo: Reuters

Short At The Back

A surprising lack of urgency in the transfer market, coupled with a reluctance to ask Laurent Koscielny to cut his holiday short by a few days, meant the Gunners started against Liverpool with rookies Calum Chambers and Rob Holding in central defence.

A duo with that inexperience needed a solid 90 minutes’ worth of protection from the players in front of them, but they didn’t get it — and that was why Arsenal shipped four goals.

Arsene Wenger’s side played aggressively on the front foot for 45 minutes, stemming the service to Liverpool’s front men, but they couldn’t maintain it. The pressing slowed down, holes appeared in midfield, and defenders were suddenly asked serious questions.

Breathing heavy amid the rampant onslaught, the Gunners quickly crumbled.

Until a full set of first-team-ready defenders are available, Arsenal cannot afford to leave their back four that exposed.

Lacking a Target

Alexis Sanchez (Above. Photo: AP) is an excellent footballer, but using him as a false nine striker was a call that backfired for Wenger.

Lacking match fitness (he had only one pre-season game), the Chilean’s movement was bereft of its usual spark, and the midfielders around him were not sure where he wanted the ball either. They had nobody to bounce passes into.

This restricted their ability to pin Liverpool back, and it is one reason why they could not apply periods of sustained pressure.

The Gunners supporters will justifiably ask why a new centre-forward has not already been signed, but at least they have the returning Olivier Giroud as an option tonight.

The likes of Walcott and Sanchez can do a job up top, but Wenger’s men are better when a specialist striker leads the line.

Prediction

The pressure is on, and I expect both teams to produce better performances on Match Day 2.

Ranieri and Wenger will be tempted to make changes — and I think they will — but that is not the be all and end all.

Teamwork is the watchword tonight. The side that pulls together the most effectively will be smiling at the final whistle.

Knowing a second straight loss would send their club into a mini-crisis, I am backing Arsenal to nick it.

Arsenal to win 1-2.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Raheem Sterling (above. Photo: AP)  called himself #TheHatedOne during Euro 2016, but his new boss seems to think the exact opposite.

Playing a starring role against Sunderland and Steaua Bucharest, the 21-year-old is an early success story of the Spaniard’s regime.

City’s new tactics suit him down to the ground.

With his right-back told to sit infield, and Sterling urged get to white chalk on his boots by hugging the touchline, the £49million man has found himself in acres of space. Isolating his markers in a 1v1, the winger’s made hay.

Buying into Guardiola’s pressing game, he has also regained possession an impressive 14 times in two games.

Raheem Sterling’s regression at the Etihad might be a thing of the past.

BIG MATCH PREDICTIONS

Stoke City v Manchester City

I have been impressed by Pep Guardiola’s radical five up front, five at the back, tactical set-up — and their all-star attack’s unusual movement has the potential to bamboozle a dubious Potters defence. Stoke could end up chasing shadows. (Photo of Manchester City. Reuters)

Prediction: 1-3

Burnley v Liverpool

If Liverpool match Burnley’s application (and they should do, as last weekend they ran 7km further than Arsenal’s players), they will win this match. The low-spending Clarets are industrious, but I am not convinced they can handle Jurgen Klopp’s side when they are at full tilt, even without the injured Sadio Mane. (Photo of Philippe Coutinho. AP)

Prediction: 0-3

Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace

Andros Townsend (above. Photo: Reuters) would love to make Spurs pay for offloading him, but I suspect the Eagles will find the going too tough at White Hart Lane. I would like to see Vincent Janssen start up front alongside Harry Kane, as that is a partnership of serious promise for Spurs.

Prediction: 2-0

Watford v Chelsea

Walter Mazzarri’s Watford will be rugged opponents for Chelsea, and I expect them to spoil for a fight at Vicarage Road. Will that be enough to tame Antonio Conte’s Blues? I don’t think so. Wide men Eden Hazard (above. Photo: Reuters) and Willian are looking sharp, and can be the difference.

Prediction: 0-2

TODAY EPL analyst Adrian Clarke is a former Arsenal midfielder who has played at every level of the English game. Now an experienced sports journalist, he writes for several well-known football websites. Follow him @adrianjclarke

LIVE ON TV

Tonight

Stoke v Man City (Singtel Ch102 and StarHub Ch227; 7.30pm)

Watford v Chelsea (Ch102 and Ch227; 10pm)

Burnley v Liverpool (Ch103 and Ch228; 10pm)

Swansea City v Hull City (Ch104 and Ch229; 9.55pm)

Tottenham v Crystal Palace (Ch105 and Ch230; 9.55pm)

West Brom v Everton (Ch106 and Ch231; 9.55pm)

Tomorrow

Leicester City v Arsenal (Ch102 and Ch227; 12.30am)

Sunderland v Middlesbrough (Ch102 and Ch227; 8.30pm)

West Ham v Bournemouth (Ch103 and Ch228; 11pm)