EPL: Arsenal v Leicester preview


Arsenal v Leicester preview

Arsenal will be without Alexis Sanchez for Friday's season opener against Leicester City


Arsene Wenger's men finished outside the top four in the Premier League for the first time since 1996 last season.

However, Wenger salvaged the season by winning the FA Cup at Wembley and he starts this campaign having signed a new two-year contract extension in the summer.

Installed as fifth favourites to win the Premier League, Arsenal will be looking to end a poor run of opening day results in recent years. The Gunners have won only one of their last seven opening day Premier League fixtures, losing three of the last four.

Meanwhile, Leicester, who start a campaign for the first time under Craig Shakespeare, are on a 21-game winless run against Arsenal in the Premier League (D7 L14), with their only win against the Gunners coming in their first ever Premier League encounter in November 1994.

Arsenal will be without Alexis Sanchez for Friday's season opener after the Chilean sustained an abdominal strain in training, while speculation over his future continues.

Aside from Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Per Mertesacker and Shkodran Mustafi are all doubts while Gabriel Paulista and Santi Cazorla are longer-term absentees.

Laurent Koscielny will also be unavailable through suspension, but new arrivals Sead Kolasinac and Alexandre Lacazette are in line for their Premier League debuts.

However, an injury to Leicester summer signing Vicente Iborra will prevent him from making his maiden league appearance for the Foxes.

The Spanish midfielder, a £12.75m buy from Sevilla, sustained a groin problem in training this week and the club are waiting for the results of a scan to determine the length of his absence. His absence is a blow with Danny Drinkwater (thigh) also out.

Fellow new recruit Kelechi Iheanacho has recovered from the toe injury he suffered against Borussia Monchengladbach last week and is available to make his debut alongside Harry Maguire, with Robert Huth recovering from ankle surgery.

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