Leicester City

Were you at Emirates Stadium today or following along elsewhere?

Either way, give us your thoughts on the game here

Tim Oscroft, BBC Sport

Leicester's only signing of the summer so far came in the week leading up to this match, but the arrival of Alex Smithies on a free transfer as third-choice goalkeeper is not a move that will have set the hearts of Foxes fans racing.

The signs at Emirates Stadium were that Brendan Rodgers' squad needs bolstering urgently, especially with rumours linking Wesley Fofana and James Maddison to Chelsea and Newcastle respectively.

And when Youri Tielemans was substituted after an hour, some Arsenal fans greeted his departure with a cheeky chant of "we'll see you next week".

But the starting line-up, unchanged from the draw with Brentford six days earlier, suggests this is just about Leicester's first-choice selection - and if that is the case then they will need to improve to avoid a struggle this season.

The confirmed Arsenal and Leicester team news is now in, with kick-off at Emierates Stadium less than an hour away.

Follow the action, plus the rest of the Saturday's Premier League matches here

Owynn Palmer-Atkin, BBC Radio Leicester

Leicester City are no longer the only club in Europe's top five divisions not to make a signing, after it was confirmed experienced goalkeeper Alex Smithies is joining the Foxes.

Brendan Rodgers has been dealing with a squad size too big for the 25-man Premier League squad rules, as well as a sustainable model for finances and recruitment which has meant players needed to leave the club before they could move in the market.

Smithies undoubtedly arrives as the third-choice goalkeeper, replacing Eldin Jakupovic who's contract expired in June. He'll sit behind Danny Ward and Daniel Iversen, who are battling it out for possession of the number-one shirt.

Smithies is though aware of his new duties after joining on a free transfer, stating: "My role here might be a little different. I might be more of a team player, supporting and being ready to step in as soon as I’m asked to." 

What this transfer will allow is for young Polish goalkeeper Jakub Storlarcyzk to leave the club on-loan and go and gain some much-needed experience in the lower levels of the footballing pyramid. He's rated highly on Filbert Way, but is in need of regular playing time to further develop into a goalkeeper who can also lay a glove into the claims to be City's number one.

This won't be where Leicester City are finished in the transfer window, with the club still looking at opportunities to move Bouba Soumare and Jannik Vestergaard out of the club. Plus, questions over the heads of Ayoze Perez and Caglar Soyuncu remain.

BBC pundit Chris Sutton is taking on the challenge from Mark Lawrenson for the 2022-23 campaign and will try to pick the correct scores for every top-flight game against a variety of guests - and this season you can get involved too.

For this weekend's fixtures, he is up against Kasabian frontman and Leicester City fan Serge Pizzorno.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

All does not seem well at Leicester, who have still not made any signings this summer.

They have still got some very good players but I get the sense Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers is not entirely happy with the situation and, on the pitch, they blew a two-goal lead against Brentford last week.

In contrast, everything seems rosy at Arsenal at the moment. Their fans are getting very excited about what they could do this season.

I don't want to jump on that bandwagon because I think their bubble will eventually burst a little bit, but I like what Gabriel Jesus has brought to their attack and, at home, I think they should edge this one.

Serge's prediction: 0-1

I'm going with my heart here as you would imagine - we are going to nick it after about 82 minutes and it is going to be Jamie Vardy with a back-post header. It will be pure Dick Turpin, and we will get out with the three points.

Find out how Sutton and Pizzorno think the rest of the weekend's action will go and vote on the result you expect here

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will provide a team news update later on Friday.

Takehiro Tomiyasu, Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira are all working their way back to full fitness.

Leicester City have no new injury concerns ahead of the trip to Arsenal.

Full-back Ricardo Pereira is expected to be out for six months because of a ruptured Achilles, while Harvey Barnes and Ryan Bertrand remain out with knee problems.

Will the new signings continue to start for Arsenal? Predict your XI here

Will Danny Ward keep his spot in goal for Leicester? Predict the line-up

As you may well have seen, the Premier League is turning 30.

So as it's a time for nostalgia we asked you to send in your best football memorabilia.

Vas Patel has sent us this image of his room dedicated to the Foxes.

To send us more memorabilia, click here

Image source, Vas Patel

Image source, Kasabian

Joining Chris Sutton for this week's predictions is Kasabian front man and Leicester City fan Serge Pizzorno.

An avid football fan, Pizzorno was also a decent youth player and had aspirations of playing for Leicester.

Ahead of making his predictions he had his say on how he thinks the Foxes' season will go.

"What a difference a couple of weeks makes," he told BBC Sport.

"I knew we might see some people leave this summer - even someone as good as Youri Tielemans has only got a year left on his contract, so it felt like this might be the time we sell him and then use that money to bring in a couple of fresh faces.

"We've got a massive squad because we were in Europe last season. We haven't got that this time, so getting rid of a few fringe players wouldn't be a problem.

"The way it was looking, I would have said we've got a good chance of the top six, and maybe a good cup run. That's job done.

"All of a sudden though, Kasper Schmeichel has gone to Nice - which just feels weird. Everyone thought he would end his career with us.

"Then I'm hearing that Wesley Fofana is going to Chelsea, Jamie Vardy is going to Manchester United and James Maddison is going to Newcastle.

"Obviously none of those are done deals apart from Kasper, but it just felt like we very quickly went from cruising a bit to possibly losing the backbone of a very good side, especially now they are not injured."

Read more from Serge and find out how he thinks the weekend's fixtures will go here

The latest Fantasy 606 podcast has dropped before the gameweek two deadline.

Alistair Bruce-Ball, Chris Sutton and Statman Dave discuss how their first teams of the season got on.

You'll find out whether Clough and Taylor tinkered with their starting XI ahead of the first deadline and they ask whether you should switch onto Erling Haaland this week.

Plus listener Robbo pops by to discuss the changes to the listeners' team and comedian Luke Kempner joins the pod to play a game of Sutton Death.

Listen to Fantasy 606 on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Leicester City defender Jonny Evans has said he's "the happiest he's been" and wants to "lead by example" after being named captain of the Foxes.

He also admitted there will be a void in the dressing room after former skipper Kasper Schmeichel left for Nice this summer.

“The happiest I have been in a long time, I think was the manager called me and asked me to be captain,” Evans told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Ian Dennis. 

“I feel like it's a natural progression for me. And that's something I'm looking forward to doing; representing the team and my team-mates.

“I like to try and lead by example, I wouldn't say I'm the most vocal.”

The former Manchester United and West Brom centre-back added it was “very strange” when Schmeichel departed the club after 11 years at the King Power.

“Being around the training ground it was a different atmosphere," he added. "When he said his goodbyes it was a surreal moment.”

Image source, Reuters

Brendan Rodgers said there are no guarantees Leicester City will bring in any new players this summer.

When asked about the Foxes not yet making a signing this transfer window, Rodgers said: "The club needs to move some players on and then we'll see what that releases. We have no guarantees at this stage."

One player who could be making his way out of the East Midlands is Wesley Fofana.

Speaking about interest in the defender, Rodgers added: "The message to all of the squad is keep your eye on the ball and focus on your football. There’s lots of speculation around but it’s something I haven’t seen affecting the group. For Wesley himself, he's a very talented player. He knows our thoughts on him.”

Rodgers said “there were two" bids for Fofana; but he said the bids were "nowhere near what the club would consider," adding, "we’re not looking to sell."

Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers has been speaking to the media ahead of the trip to Arsenal on Saturday.

Here is what he had to say:

• Rodgers said any incoming transfers are reliant on the club selling players first.

• He said “there have been two" bids for defender Wesley Fofana.

• Rodgers added the bids were "nowhere near what the club would consider," adding, "we’re not looking to sell."

• The Northern Irishman said "we don’t have a specific time" on when Harvey Barnes will return to training after the midfielder picked up a knee injury last weekend.

• He praised Saturday's opponents Arsenal saying: "They have gone to a new level with the three players who have come into the team."

You can be across all of this week's news conferences here

Image source, Reuters

Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers has said his side will try to "balance the books" this season, and he has not "set any targets" as to where the Foxes will finish in the Premier League.

"If you think where we’ve finished in the last three seasons, where we’ve finished fifth (twice) and eighth, that’s been three of the top four finishes in the club’s history," Rodgers told the BBC's Kammy & Ben's Proper Football Podcast. "The other one was the iconic [league title win].

"Now the expectation is so high that eighth doesn’t seem where we should be.

"We will continue to push but we don’t have the resources. This season will be a season for us where we try to balance the books.

"Most big teams, you can see they go out and are able to spend big again. We haven’t been able to do that, we are trying to balance our books.

"My concentration is on the players we have. Players are developing and improving and then we’ll see how far up the table we get. We’ll not set any targets now but we’ll enjoy the journey and see where it takes us."

Listen to the podcast in full here.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has been sharing tales with Chris Kamara and Ben Shephard on Kammy & Ben's Proper Football Podcast.

You can watch a snippet below, and listen to the full episode by clicking here.

Arsenal: Charlene Smith, AFTV, external

Leicester City winning a major trophy before Arsenal... I cannot see that happening (but I guess we did not see them winning the league in 2015-16 season).

I give Brendan Rodgers credit, I think he is a great manager, however, Mikel Arteta is a tactical genius with a plan for winning things.

The board is backing Arteta every step of the way and believing in him. As we can see, Arsenal are strengthening and so are other teams. When we compare this to Leicester City it seems Leicester are more on a decline than strengthening phase at this present moment.

They have sold club legend Kasper Schmeichel, Wesley Fofana appears to want a move away from the club and a few of their other key players are being linked with moves.

The Foxes have not bought any players in this transfer window, it does not seem their ambitions are to win anything. If I was a Leicester fan I would be concerned.

At Arsenal, we have a winning mentality, we want more from our club and are striving to achieve this. This season we are going to do something special, we are going to win something!

Leicester: Sam Holloway, LeicesterFanTV, external

Honestly, I can see Leicester winning the next trophy.

Arsenal have developed themselves over the last couple of seasons into a consistent team, but with Leicester having no other competitions to focus on other than the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup, I think we will win one first and it could be this year.

If we keep hold of the team we have, I can see us going all the way in the League Cup or FA Cup again, while Arsenal are probably more focused on competing for a top-four spot and they have European commitments. That means, I think we have the front running.

Don't get me wrong, Arsenal could have a great season, but personally I think they will do nothing. A top-six finish, maybe a semi-final in one of the competitions, but I'm backing the boys in blue to win another major trophy.

More isn't always best in some cases, and I think it might help us that we focus more on the players we have.

Have your say and check out the rest of this weekend's debates here

Image source, Getty Images

Owynn Palmer-Atkin, BBC Radio Leicester

Hamza Choudhury leaving Leicester City on loan until the end of the season marks the end of a drawn-out saga on his future.

Following interest from Newcastle in several of the past windows – the Loughborough-born midfielder now has a chance to go out and play regular football as the days tick down on his contract at King Power Stadium, which expires next June.

A bright spark from Leicester’s academy, Choudhury was touted as being the general of the club’s midfield for years to come - but the arrival of Wilfred Ndidi halted any hopes of that. Now, Choudhury may have played his last game for the Foxes.

More importantly to City fans though, this takes the club one step further towards being able to bring in new recruits, after becoming the only side in Europe’s top five leagues that haven’t made a new signing.

Brendan Rodgers has a squad of 25 senior players plus Luke Thomas, who fits into the U21 category and doesn’t count towards the 25-man squad rules in the Premier League.

Add into that the academy graduates, who haven’t been given a shirt number of; Callum Wright, Lewis Brunt, Thanawat Suengchitthawon, George Hirst & Josh Eppiah – and there’s still some trimming to be done before any incomings are a possibility.

Chelsea are continuing to pursue a deal for Leicester City's French defender Wesley Fofana, 21. (Times - subscription required), external

Want more transfer news? Read Thursday's full gossip column