An 87th-minute own-goal by Robert Huth gave Arsenal a 1-0 win against Leicester City in their Premier League encounter at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, writes MARSHALL GOUTS.

Arsene Wenger made four changes to the team that defeated Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final and maintained their three-man defence with Kieran Gibbs, Francis Coquelin, Hector Bellerin and Theo Walcott all being restored to the line-up.

Craig Shakespeare made two changes from the team that played to a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, with Robert Huth and Leonardo Ulloa replacing Wes Morgan and Shinji Okazaki.

Arsenal got off to a bright start and saw more possession of the ball in the opening exchanges.

The visitors were presented with an opportunity to take the lead in the eighth minute, when a failed free-kick routine saw the ball fall kindly to Jamie Vardy, but he directed his effort into the side-netting.

Leicester were content with letting Arsenal have most of the ball in their attacking third due to the lack of danger posed to Kasper Schmeichel’s goal.

Petr Cech pulled off a fine save to keep his side at bay in the 22nd minute when a long-throw was headed on by Ulloa which fell to Riyaad Mahrez on the half volley, but the Arsenal goalkeeper did well to tip the effort over the bar.

The Gunners gradually started to find their rhythm, but struggled to carve out the Leicester defence, largely due to their lack of numbers up front.

Theo Walcott almost gave his side the lead against the run of play in the 28th minute when he wriggled free in a crowded area, but his poked effort was parried away for a corner.

Leicester came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock in the 39th minute when a counter-attacking move saw Mahrez leave Gabriel planted before firing into the side-netting.

The two teams went into the half-time deadlocked at 0-0.

The second-half continued in similar vein to the first, with Arsenal failing to create any clear-cut chances while the visitors looked to attack when on the break.

Frustrated by his side’s inability to break down the visitors defence, Wenger reverted back to his normal 4-4-2 formation and introduced Danny Welbeck for Gibbs in the 69th minute.

Arsenal continued to probe with no avail and it was Leicester who almost took the lead in the 80th minute, but a last-ditch block by Gabriel prevented Okazaki.

The home side found the opener in the 87th minute, after a wave of attacks, when Nacho Monreal’s effort deflected off Huth’s chest to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead.

Leicester failed to find an equaliser in the remaining minutes as Arsenal secured a 1-0 victory to keep their Champions League hopes alive.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur secured a 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park with Christian Eriksen netting the only goal of the game, to reduce Chelsea’s lead at the top of the table back to four points.

Middlesbrough secured a vital three points in their bid to survive the drop with a 1-0 victory against bottom-placed Sunderland at the Riverside Stadium with Marten de Roon’s solitary strseparatingting the two teams.

Photo: EPA/Will Oliver