Leicester City

Matthew Howarth
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester manager Steve Cooper said he would not shy away from criticism after Foxes fans were heard chanting "Cooper, sort it out" and "this is embarrassing" during Tuesday's EFL Cup victory at Walsall.

At half-time on Saturday, it looked like being another damaging afternoon for Cooper and his players, who trailed 2-0 and had offered minimal resistance against a dominant Arsenal side.

The second half was a totally different story.

James Justin equalised just over a minute after the restart before equalising with a stunning volley from Wilfred Ndidi's left-wing cross, his swerving shot striking the inside of the post on its way in.

Goalkeeper Mads Hermansen produced a string if magnificent saves towards the end of the game, denying Leandro Trossard, Kai Havertz, Riccardo Calafiori and second-half Arsenal substitute Ethan Nwaneri.

But something had to give and the Gunners eventually broke Foxes' hearts when Ndidi inadvertently turned in Trossard's close-range effort, with Havertz completing the scoring five minutes later.

Cooper will be proud of his players once the dust settles on this one - but that may take some time.

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester boss Steve Cooper, has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day following today's defeat: "Tough one to take to be fair. Proud of the second half performance particularly. If it's a team that's not together, they can really go under after the first-half but it was great to score as early as we did in the second half and then go to 2-2.

"You know you are going to suffer here at time against a really good time like Arsenal at the Emirates but I felt like we were coping really well. To have that deflection for the third goal is just a bit of where our luck is but then the fourth goal is against the run of play.

"It's another loss and the results always write the narrative but there was so much to be positive about, particularly in the second half and we've got to try and keep going keep capitalising on what is going okay and just improve."

On what was said at half-time: "Just to stick with it to be honest. It was disappointing with the way we concede the goals because they are typical Arsenal goals with the cut-backs, we've done a lot of work trying to deal with that.

"I don't want to make the headlines around referees because I'm trying to take responsibility for a team trying to do better in the Premier League but it's a clear foul on Jamie Vardy for the first goal and the left-back [Riccardo Calafiori] has to get sent off for a second yellow but there's so much more we could say, the whole game knows but I'm not going down that road today."

On James Justin's second goal: "Great goal, straight off one of the moves that we work on in terms of where we want people to get the ball. It's a brilliant finish. Good to see that come off. Just a pity that it didn't mean more in the game."

On Mads Hermansen's saves: "We're really happy with Mads, he's a talented young goalkeeper and he is on the right path. He didn't deserve to concede that third goal with the deflection but it can happen unfortunately. He didn't deserve to concede a goal like that, neither did the rest of the guys.

"You have to stand up, you have to keep believing in what you are doing. These are the demands of the Premier League. We fell on the wrong side today."

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BBC Radio 5 Live commentaries:

• Arsenal v Leicester

• Wolves v Liverpool

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week six, he takes on Maximo Park singer Paul Smith, whose latest album, Stream Of Life, is out on Friday.

Arsenal host Leicester at 15:00 BST on Saturday.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Are we going to see Arsenal park the bus again? It was more like a couple of buses than just one in front of their goal against Manchester City.

There is a lot of attention on Gunners boss Mikel Arteta and his approach, and whether people view his team as too negative - they were also very defensive against Atalanta in the Champions League last week - but it's what happens in the end that counts.

If this is all part of a long-term plan and Arsenal end up winning the Premier League, then you have to take your hat off to Arteta. In any case, I'm expecting them to be much more attack-minded here.

There was a bit of negativity towards Leicester boss Steve Cooper from Foxes fans when their side got past Walsall on penalties in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, but they need to be patient with him.

I always felt it was going to be very difficult for all three promoted clubs this season, and I predicted they would all go down, just like all three did last time.

Leicester have had great success in the Premier League previously, finishing fifth two seasons running in 2020-21 and 2021-22 after winning it in 2015-2016, but their circumstances are completely different now. Right now their season is all about their struggle to stay up.

Losing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea in the summer was a big blow because he knitted everything in midfield and, as a team, I would say they are a work in progress.

The problem for Leicester is you don't want to be playing Arsenal when you are a work in progress. This is going to be an extremely tough afternoon for them, and I can't see them getting anything at the Emirates.

Smith's prediction: 3-0

Leicester are up against it this season, for sure. Arsenal are going to be dominant and once one goal goes in, another couple will follow.

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown has been speaking to the Football News Show about the teams who have struggled to get points on the board so far.

Everton

"Sean Dyche understands the pressure. He is comfortable in his surroundings, he’s got broad shoulders but the pressure is starting to mount. The supporters are grumbling, but they need to try and relax.

"I think the next two home games [against Crystal Palace and Newcastle] are key."

Leicester City

"There is rumblings regarding the manager and the style he is going to have to try and play. It is a totally different ball game in the Premier League."

Wolves

"What is surprising everyone is how good Wolves were last season compared to their start this term. It was an incredible run from Gary O’Neil. He has lost players [over the summer] and I think he needed a bit more support in the transfer window. We can all see that he will be disappointed.

"They have a tough game against Liverpool next, so it does not get any easier."

West Ham

"Getting beat 5-1 by Liverpool is not a true reflection of them. Early on in the game they had several chances. Even into the second half when they were 2-1 down, there was a couple of good opportunities. They brought on Kudus, Paqueta and Antonio so there were several changes.

"But what was disappointing, is that they went down to 10 men with Alvarez having the second yellow card and then it was capitulation. That is what the manager did not need.

"They did not seem to have the gritty style what West Ham have had. Julen Lopetegui wants to be more attractive, more aggressive, at the top of the pitch and that is not coming to light at this moment in time. There is a lot of work to do and the pressure is mounting. West Ham fans wanted the change [of manager] but it is going to take him a little bit of time."

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Leicester City defender Conor Coady believes the Foxes will have to be "at the top of their game" when they come up against Arsenal and says the players "understand the challenge" ahead of them this season.

Speaking to BBC Radio Leicester about the Emirates trip, Coady said: "I think it's about refocusing ourselves. I think it's about understanding the challenge ahead.

"I've played in games before in the Premier League where coming up against opposition of that calibre, sometimes raises the bar and makes you up the concentration in the dressing room.

"We know that we've got to be at the top of our game, otherwise it is going to be a real tough afternoon for us. So we will make sure that we do that - the experienced boys will talk and we will get around the boys to make sure we are ready."

Former Leicester City goalkeeping coach Mike Stowell told the When You're Smiling podcast that Steve Cooper's side will have to put on a "real tough performance" to come away with any points.

"From what I have seen of Leicester this season, they can turn it on and they can put a first half performance in, but you can't be sporadic and just play for 45 minutes in the Premier League," he said.

"You will get found out, so you have to have a 90 minute performance at some stage.

"Arsenal are going to come at you, full of confidence. They are knocking around the top of the league, so you've got to go there and be strong from the first minute to the last minute."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

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There has been a lot of conversation this week about "dark arts" in football following the draw between Manchester City and Arsenal on Sunday.

Realistically, everyone who has watched football for longer than one game has seen things they would perceive as "dark arts"; whether it is a player always going down winning free-kicks to take the sting out of the game, kicking the ball into row Z when there was no multi-ball system or time-wasting on goal-kicks.

These are things we see all the time but our perception of it is dependent on the context of a game. You always see some version of it somewhere, and you hope your team would be doing the same thing if in the same situation - because why should you do something that would benefit the opposition you are against?

It is the same as going down a bit more easily to win penalties - some people will say "this guy is a cheat", but then on the other side of their mouth, if it is something that could benefit them, they say "he has tried too hard to stay up, he needed to go down there".

You can have rulings, Ifab can get involved to change this and that, but there will always be a way to push the rules to their limits.

What we saw with Arsenal in that game, where David Raya sat down to get some treatment while the teams gathered, we have seen those moments before. It is not just new to Arsenal - other teams do it.

It is always based on certain moments. You do get more frustrated if it happens against you, but when you need to do it, you encourage people to do it. That is one of the beauties of football - the way you see things is always going to be down to perception, context and just whether you think it is benefiting you or not.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Phil Cartwright

Leicester City boss Steve Cooper has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Arsenal (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Cooper has no fresh injury concerns after Tuesday's Carabao Cup match at Walsall but defender Jannik Vestergaard remains unavailable for selection.

• He said he "accepts" criticism from fans after some boos were heard after recent games: "I will always try to understand fans' perspectives and my initial reaction is not to be too defensive and see the rational of why the feeling is the way it is, and then try to do something about it. Supporters pay a lot of money and every supporter's reaction is authentic and you have to respect that."

• He sees it as a chance to respond: "I see it as a good opportunity to show the real me, to show how well I want to do here and how strong I am as a character, and how good I am as a coach. When feelings are not as we want them I will try and take responsibility to change that."

• On the challenge posed by Arsenal: "We're coming up against an incredible team who have been in great form for a number of years. In other seasons with the points they got they would have won the league. It's these games that you have to embrace with anticipation of succeeding and not fearing failure."

• Asked how the Foxes will approach the game, Cooper said: "Everything in our game has to be right - on the ball, off the ball, game management, set-pieces - they’ve scored some important goals from set-pieces. Everything has to be close to perfect, including the mentality and belief. We need to be mindful of where Arsenal's strengths are but we have to back ourselves to deal with that."

• On improving performances: "We know what it takes to play well. We know what it looks like tactically, technically. We're very clear on how the team plays, we train it every day. We've got to get consistency on our style of play. We do have a way of playing and sometimes we've not managed to reach the heights."

• Cooper says the core principles on what he wants from his team are: "We want to play with the ball, exciting attacking football. We want to create overloads in certain areas of the pitch that allow us to hit the hotspots in a game that can hurt the opponents. Players through the middle in midfielders and number 10s and offering width from high full-backs or wide wingers. When we get through the lines we want enough players to continue the attack."

Catch up on all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Image source, PA Media

Leicester are yet to win in the Premier League and some fans vented their anger towards manager Steve Cooper during the Foxes' Carabao Cup tie at Walsall, a game they won on penalties.

They lost Enzo Maresca, who was fundamentally changing the way the team played and what their team's culture was.

Then, to change to someone else who is coming from a rival - I thought it was strange. Appointing somebody whose last job was at Nottingham Forest to me does not necessarily give you the greatest foundation when you go to Leicester.

Some players have been unavailable and some players have left as well. It is a tough situation for them but results will count, results will matter, so if they can get them, this feeling will cease a little bit.

Ultimately for Cooper, the pressing thing is to make sure of staying in the Premier League and if you are one of those teams that is down there, that is the objective.

It does feel like it is going to be a dogfight down near the bottom and as a consequence it will not be too glamorous.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Phil Cartwright

Image source, Getty Images

The draw has been made for the Carabao Cup fourth round, with 12 Premier League clubs having made it through and Newcastle set to play their postponed tie against Wimbledon on 1 October.

There are four confirmed all-Premier League fixtures, including Tottenham hosting Manchester City and holders Liverpool travelling to Brighton.

Ties are scheduled to take place the week commencing 28 October.

All the fixtures featuring top-flight sides are shown below:

• Brentford v Sheffield Wednesday

• Southampton v Stoke

• Tottenham v Manchester City

• AFC Wimbledon/Newcastle v Chelsea

• Manchester United v Leicester

• Brighton v Liverpool

• Preston North End v Arsenal

• Aston Villa v Crystal Palace

See the full draw

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Tensions were laid bare for Leicester on Tuesday.

Their 3-0 penalty shootout win over Walsall, following a 0-0 draw, sent the Foxes through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Yet, struggling to break the League Two side down, a section of supporters directed negative chants towards boss Steve Cooper urging him to "sort it out" with a fan also running onto the pitch, gesturing at the dugout before being escorted off.

From his first day, when he wrote an open letter to supporters, Cooper has strived for unity, while he has invited legends like Matt Elliott and Gerry Taggart into the training ground to soak up their knowledge of the club.

He has looked to get under the skin of the Foxes but, after Tuesday, it appears he has yet to break the surface with some of the fanbase.

That is not something Cooper has ignored - he spoke following the shootout about needing to build credit with supporters and owning any chants at him.

Putting Saturday's visit to Arsenal aside, the next two home games against Bournemouth and Cooper's former side Nottingham Forest, either side of a trip to Southampton, are likely to go a long way to determining the opinion of the paying fans.

Regardless of this being a different era for Leicester - following their title winning and Champions League exploits - there is always an expectation to get results, even if Cooper has only had five league games with a new squad.

Few newly promoted sides fly up the league, especially ones who lost their manager and star man when both Enzo Maresca and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall left left for Chelsea.

Managers always need time, though it is the one commodity rarely afforded to them.

And Cooper is no different.

Image source, PA Media

Leicester City boss Steve Cooper says that he is seeing "positive signs" after his side's victory over Walsall in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

The Premier League side required a penalty shootout to overcome League Two opposition, with goalkeeper Danny Ward saving three spot kicks to spare an upset.

"A tough night but you didn't see anyone shying away from it," Cooper said. "There have been so many moments, times where we've gone down in games and come back, they are positive signs.

"We just have to do other things better to make sure we are whole in our performance and getting better results overall. We feel like we are doing a lot of good things but have to turn it into performances on match days."

Sections of the Foxes' travelling support voiced their frustrations during the match but Cooper hopes the victory will mark a turning point for the team.

"It's maybe nights like this we can look back and form a strong relationship," he said. "We are only a game or two away now from the quarter-final so we want to do well in this cup."

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Carabao Cup game between Walsall and Leicester.

Here are some of your comments:

Brian: We were awful for much of the game, a few bright spots but mostly not very good. I fear the game against Arsenal on Saturday.

Mark: Woeful performance. I'm at a loss to see what system/style they're trying to play. I get that it was a much changed team but these are Premier League players, including many internationals, facing a League Two team. You'd never have known it. Cooper has work to do if he wants to still be here at Christmas.

James: Hardly a performance worthy of silencing the doubters and the rumours of a possible dressing room mutiny. To barely lay a glove on lower-league opposition only raises more questions. That said, cup runs are a welcome distraction from early league struggles, so Steve Cooper can breathe an huge sigh of relief, for now. Up next? Arsenal away...ah.

Richard: Leicester very fortunate to get through in the end. Seemed to lack any cohesion and clearly crying out for a goal scorer and playmaker. The body language of the players was poor and left me wondering whether the camp is happy with how the coaching staff are asking them to play. It is clear without more quality we will struggle this season.

Andy: Going to be a long season. No fox in the box and no urgency when in front of goal. Danny Ward to the rescue.

Former Leicester City striker Matty Fryatt believes the Foxes have goalkeeper Danny Ward to thank for still being in the Carabao Cup following the penalty shoot-out victory away at League Two side Walsall.

Speaking on the latest episode of BBC Radio Leicester's When You're Smiling podcast, Fryatt said: "To think you've come away to a League Two side and your hero is your goalkeeper, it doesn't look great.

"The only one really is probably Danny Ward who can feel good about it. Steve Cooper in that it saves an embarrassment but in terms of the players out there it was really poor.

"The quality throughout was poor. The biggest compliment I can pay to Walsall is that you'd probably say they were the Premier League team.

"You can make excuses for Leicester with all the changes but it wasn't a good showing, it was far from convincing."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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Leicester manager Steve Cooper on his side's Carabao Cup third-round win over Walsall on penalties: "An average performance at best - we gave too much hope to Walsall and the crowd.

"For all the ball we had, we weren't enough of an attacking threat and didn't create enough dangerous moments in the game.

"You run the risk with changes but it was a very experienced team out there with high-level players."

On negative chants from the visiting supporters: "I'll own it and you'll never hear me having any disrespect to fans' opinions.

"We have to build some credit with the supporters to do the job, but I knew that anyway. It's things like that which will make me even more committed to do well, because I'm desperate to do that.

"I want to do well for this football club - I've bought into what it stands for, I take that responsibility seriously.

"Nobody said this season would be easy. It's going to be a challenging season but nobody is up for it more than me.

"We can definitely play better. I won't be hiding away from chants, no problem with it. I'm even more committed to that now than I have been before and even that was at its maximum."

Michael Beardmore
BBC Sport Journalist at Poundland Bescot Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

Mere weeks into his Leicester tenure, Steve Cooper heard his first real cat-calls – and vowed after the game he would not shy away from them.

Chants of ‘Cooper, sort it out’ and ‘this is embarrassing’ punctuated the second half at the Poundland Bescot Stadium as Leicester looked prime cup-shock material.

The boos at the final whistle were replaced by cheers after the penalty shootout triumph but Cooper admitted afterwards the outcome glossed over a display he termed “average at best”.

Rather than attempting to deflect the unrest, however, Cooper said he was determined to tackle it head on and “prove himself” to the Leicester support.

His vow to “own” the criticism made a refreshing change from so many bosses who either ignore fan unhappiness or wheel out excuses.

Cooper did none of that – but he did defend his decision to make 10 changes, insisting the team he put out should have been experienced enough to prevail.

Ultimately, they did – but the fact they needed penalties to eke past a League Two side will raise concerns about the depth of quality at his disposal.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Leicester’s performance, external

Come back to this page on Wednesday to find a selection of your replies

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton thinks Leicester, along with all the promoted teams, would take avoiding relegation from the Premier League "by any means".

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, Sutton believes Steve Cooper has "a really difficult job" and is "still striving to find out what his best first XI is."

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds