Leicester 0-2 Arsenal: Player ratings as Merino saves the day at striker | OneFootball

Arsenal had stand-in striker Mikel Merino to thank as they snatched an unconvincing 2-0 victory away at Leicester City on Saturday.

With so many key forwards missing through injury, it came as no surprise to see Arsenal's front line struggle for fluidity. Starting striker Leandro Trossard had a handful of half-chances before the interval, but perhaps the best chance of the first half came with the penultimate kick as Wilfred Ndidi steered agonisingly wide.

There was definitely more energy about the Gunners in the second half. The lively Ethan Nwaneri struck the woodwork twice but Arsenal continued to struggle to create chances, with midfielder Merino brought off the bench to help fill the void in attack.

With ten minutes to go, it was Merino who saved the day, popping up with a header to guide Nwaneri's cross into the back of Mads Hermansen's net, and the Spaniard added a second in the dying embers with a smart tap-in at the back post to remove any doubt about the result.

Leicester City lost Justin to injury / Michael Regan/GettyImages

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

Subs not used: Jakub Stolarczyk (GK), Conor Coady, Jannik Vestergaard, Harry Winks, Oliver Skipp

Arsenal player ratings (4-3-3)

Nwaneri was Arsenal's bright spark / JUSTIN TALLIS/GettyImages

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

Subs not used: Neto (GK), Ben White, Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji