Brendan Rodgers lauded “game changers” Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko ahead of Leicester City’s match against Premier League leaders Arsenal.
The Gunners lead the table by two points, with a game in hand on second-place Manchester City, as they enter the final 15 games of the season.
The performances of former Manchester City duo Jesus and Zinchenko, who arrived at the Emirates Stadium in pre-season, have aided their quest for their first domestic title in 19 years.
Jesus scored twice and assisted twice in Arsenal’s 4-2 win over Leicester in August, but the Brazil international will miss the rematch at the King Power Stadium on Saturday as he recuperates from a knee injury.
Meanwhile, this season, the versatile Zinchenko has played 20 times under Mikel Arteta, and Rodgers has praised both players’ contributions.
“I think Arsenal have had a fantastic season up until now,” the Foxes head coach said. “I think that you sensed right at the very beginning of the season when we played [them], they’d signed the two players that were a game changer for them in terms of mentality.
“When you’ve got the likes of Kieran Tierney on the bench – who’s an outstanding player – because of Zinchenko playing, then it really shows you the quality of the squad that they have.
“But I think Zinchenko and Jesus coming in really will have helped, and given [them] that mindset. [William] Saliba coming in at the back and obviously the other players then improve, and so I think that they played very well on that day.
“Whenever we got close to them, we made mistakes, which gave them a cushion in the game. But you could see in that early part of the season that there was a good feeling around the place and that’s continued through the season.
“I think Mikel [Arteta] has done a fantastic job with them, and, okay, still a long way to go – 15 games to go – but they’ve had a very, very good season so far.”
