Mikel Arteta proved to be an improvisation teacher as he went out of his scarcity of striker by turning a midfielder into his winner of the party and keeping Arsenal in the race for the title.
With Kai Havertz left aside for the rest of the season and Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesús also lost due to injury, Arteta launched those given in the middle of the second half. With his team struggling to knock Leicester, the chief of the Gunners caused Raheem Sterling and sent Mikel Merino. Athletic Bilbao's summer firm responded with two goals to sink Leicester.
Although Merino was decisive, Ethan Nwaneri was a party man. The 17 -year -old produced an exhibition of spells, creating the starter and underlining why he is one of the best prospects on the planet.
Liverpool will hope to extend its advantage at the top of seven points when they face the wolves on Sunday, but if the arsenal had failed here, the reds would have felt how they start their celebrations three months before. Leicester showed enough here to believe that they can remain awake, although fans organized a protest against football director Jon Rudkin before and during the game.
It is worth noting that before this game, Leicester had granted 53 goals in the League and near the end of the first half, he had to bring Woyo Coulibaly for his debut at home after an injury on the right side James Justin.
They had also lost eight of their previous nine games and should have been there to take Arsenal. Even without Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal should still have threatened more than in the first half.
Mikel Merino left the bank to fire Arsenal to the victory against Leicester at the King Power Stadium
Spanish was deployed as an improvised center in the middle of the club's injury crisis
But Merino proved to be more than capable on paper, obtaining twice in the final stages to seal the victory
This was Raheem Sterling's opportunity to shine, but only in his fourth start league for the Gunners since his loan moved from Chelsea, the 30 -year -old player seemed oxidized. He had little joy against Justin, who has had a hard campaign himself, and was then surpassed by Coulibaly at the beginning of the second half when trying to face Leicester's only winter firm.
Just before the interval, the local team, which had shown an excellent defensive organization, was desperately close to taking the lead. Victor Kristiansen crossed from the left and Wilfred Ndidi, who had escaped from Myles Lewis-Skelly, found him 12 yards but his header passed through the post.
Before the break, Arsenal seemed agitated and made simple mistakes. During a break in the game for Justin to be treated, Declan Rice tried to urge Thomas Party and Leandro Trosssard to give more.
Sterling picked up the ball in a dangerous area inside the box just to lose balance. Lewis-Skelly let a return pass from a slip under his foot and off.
Ethan Nwaneri was his brightest attacker and approached at the time. Rice won a vital backle in the central field, which allows party to find Martin Odegaard. Nwaneri ran to Norwegian's pass, stabilized and was just outside the target from 20 yards.
Now Arteta was starting to feel the tension. When Ndidi was not punished for a great challenge in Trosssard near the edge of the box, Arteta and two of his coaches howl in the official room. Moments later, Rice won another important duel to prevent Kristianen from heading in the distant post.
Although the arsenal was moving through the gears, Ruud Van Nistelrooy men kept their shape well and Mads Hermansen, a man of the game when the arsenal beat Leicester in northern London at the beginning of the season, was relatively without problems .
With a little more than 20 minutes to the end, Arteta dragged Sterling, transferred Trosssard to the left and sent the Sterling replacement, midfielder Mikel Merino, to play in the middle.
Ethan Nwaneri was a brilliant spark for gunners at all times and set Merino's first game
The gunners fought to create an opening before Arteta was turned on late.
Lewis-Skellly later denied Bobby de Cordova-Reid a certain goal with a fabulous sliding intervention to cut the Ayew cross, with David Raya Varado and Leicester's man waiting for a rowing touch.
The Gunners approached even more when Nwaneri, who had been excellent all afternoon, passed through Kristiansen on the outside and hit the post with a fierce effort on the right.
Nwaneri always looked like the man who could unlock the door and demonstrated it. Rice gathered another loose ball and found Jurrien Timber.
A beat later, Nwaneri had it and was delivering a sweet cross that Merino nodded beyond Hermansen from a short distance.
The Spaniard did two with three remaining minutes when he found space in the distant post to direct the cross of Trosard from the left.