Leicester exposed

No sooner had Leicester stopped congratulating themselves on their promising four-point start to their new life in the Premiership than they were brusquely reminded of some of the harsher realities of life at the top by a side whose gnarled defence has ground out many an undeserved win over the years.

The final score may have flattered Arsenal - Kasey Keller's last-minute aberration gifted substitute Ian Wright with a simple goal - but Leicester found themselves outwitted by the visitors' defence. The Arsenal offside trap has not had such naive prey for many a season.

By contrast, Leicester were rightly wary of Dennis Bergkamp, allotting Neil Lennon to help out Steve Walsh with the tight marking. The Dutchman still played a vital role, scoring Arsenal's first from the penalty spot in the 26th minute. Walsh's hot breath on his neck did get to Bergkamp, however, and he was booked in the 55th minute before being replaced by David Hillier eight minutes from time.

Leicester were certainly aggrieved by the penalty award. Bergkamp had slipped past Walsh's tackle just outside the area, but he grabbed at the Dutchman as he spun into the box. The linesman flagged, referee Graham Barber concurred and Bergkamp struck the ball past Keller from the spot.

The confused attempts by the home side to find a way through almost bore fruit in the 64th minute, when Walsh got his head to a cross from Scott Taylor, forcing David Seaman into his first real save of the day. Thus energised, Leicester then hustled into their most promising 10 minutes of the game - Emile Heskey's left-foot shot brought another superb save from Seaman, Walsh was inches too high with a powerful header from the corner, and Mustafa Izett nodded a downward header the wrong side of the left-hand post.

However, all that freshly focused energy went for nought. Seconds from the final whistle, Nigel Winterburn ran into the opposing penalty area to confront Keller as he tried to clear a back-pass. The goalkeeper found the Arsenal full-back charging down his clearance which ran to the unmarked Wright. The Arsenal striker will never score a more simple goal, rolling the ball into an empty net.