Coach of Leicester City Craig Shakespeare has reacted to his side 3-4 loss to Arsenal in the first game of the 2017/2018 English Premier League season.
Leicester City were twice ahead but conceded two late goals to lose 3-4, a defeat which former Manchester City defender Phil Neville say was made easy for Arsenal due to the changes made by coach Shakespeare.
Neville said substitute Kelechi Iheanacho disrupted the game plan of the Foxes following his introduction for Matty James in the 82nd minute as Arsenal drew level a minute after he was introduced.
” You have to look at the substitute who was brought in at that time. Iheanacho was just came on when they conceded the corner kick that lead to the leveller by Aaron Ramsey. Players coming into to games of that level need time to settle in to the rhythm”, Neville said during the live broadcast of the game.
” The introduction of Iheanacho affected Leicester City defensive shape and Arsenal took advantage of the disorganisation to score the late goals that handed them all three point”.
Coach Shakespeare agreed with the former assistant coach of Everton and Manchester United, when he was asked what lead to his team conceding the equaliser that helped Arsenal claw their way back into the contest.
He made this known during the on-pitch interview after the game, saying Iheanacho didn’t have enough time to settle, which according to him is normal for substitutes coming on at such a time when the pace of the game has increased.
Arsenal according to Shakespeare capitalised on their lack of organisation caused by the change to draw level, but insisted that his team should be proud of the way they have started the season after scoring three goals in their first game of the season away from home.
Michael James
