Who dominated at Emirates?
“I remember the first half when we scored and there was a bad tackle from [Aaron] Ramsey and it was a yellow card but it is not the same yellow card when Simpson stopped the other player. You have to stay calm, my players, but also the referee. I think there were two kinds of reaction. The first half was strong. But in the second half maybe because the crowd push a lot and put him under pressure.”
Of Welbeck’s late winner, Ranieri added: “Sometimes the referee stopped the time. Four minutes extra time [and] there was five minutes when they scored. Sometimes they stopped when it was a corner or a free-kick. If you watch the goal there was Welbeck and another in front of the near post. In that moment you need to kill them. But they [the Leicester players] are young.”
Arsenal attacking stats
Ranieri, though, was still adamant that he does not think there is any wider bias in favour of the biggest clubs. “No,” he said. “The referee is OK, but a little severe with us. It's OK. We continue to fight. I am very proud of my players. They showed a fantastic performance – the same performance as at Manchester City. A draw should have been the result.”
Leicester do not now play again until Feb 27 against Norwich City and Ranieri will keep to his plan of giving the players a full week off and the opportunity to take a holiday.
Leicester attacking stats
“I said to them ‘Don't worry, its OK, we are top of the league, two points more,” said Ranieri.
“The performance was good. We make a little gamble and the players say to me, ‘If we make nine points [from games against Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal] will you give us one week away?’ We make just six points but in my mind I said 'OK. Go home and we will see you next Monday because you deserve it’. They can go wherever they want.”
Ranieri himself will spend some time in Rome and is adamant that the pressure to win the Premier League remains on others. “We know we aren’t the best team,” he said. “Arsenal have so many players who can score in every moment, and they have to win the Premier League. Our players are very sad today. Me too. My reaction is to laugh with you because I am strong and I want my players to follow me.”
- Telegraph