'It's happened again!' - Vardy frustrated by another Leicester defeat to Arsenal

Dom Farrell

'It's happened again!' - Vardy frustrated by another Leicester defeat to Arsenal image

Jamie Vardy rued a familiar feeling of frustration at Arsenal after his brace could not stop Leicester City falling to an opening-day 4-3 defeat in the Premier League.

England striker Vardy claimed a goal either side of Danny Welbeck's equaliser at Emirates Stadium after strike partner Shinji Okazaki cancelled out Alexandre Lacazette's second-minute header.

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But Leicester collapsed as substitutes Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud scored inside the final seven minutes to snatch a dramatic three points for Arsene Wenger's men.

Vardy terrorised a makeshift Arsenal defence throughout but was left to reflect on a last-gasp loss to the Gunners in north London for the third time in as many seasons.

"This has happened to us the last three seasons here," he told Sky Sports. "We put ourselves in a commanding position and a few lapses in concentration have cost us.

"We had quite a few chances. Unfortunately they didn't go in but we can take a lot of positives.

"Scoring three goals away from home is a positive and we'll get back on the training field to make sure we sort the problems out."

Replays showed Mesut Ozil handled the ball in the build-up to the corner that resulted in Ramsey's 83rd-minute equaliser but Foxes boss Craig Shakespeare refused to let his team off the hook.

"I'm disappointed with the handball in the build-up, but once the corner's given you have to defend it better," he said.

"I don't know whether it was lack of concentration or game management."

Shakespeare praised Vardy, as well Harry Maguire after the close-season recruit from Hull City turned in an all-action debut from centre-back.

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"I've been impressed with Harry Maguire since he came in. I wanted some Premier League, British experience," Shakespeare added. "He's young and will only get better.

"Jamie Vardy is back to his old self. We want him to be a nuisance.

"We're not going to be too down-hearted. We have to be positive as it's the first game."

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.