Arsenal 2 Leicester 1: Nigel Pearson warns Leicester City owners they must be careful what they wish for

Manager nearly lost his job on Sunday

Nigel Pearson reacts after Leicester's loss at Arsenal (GETTY IMAGES)

Nigel Pearson has warned the Leicester City owners to be careful what they wish for after a week in which he nearly lost his job.

Having grappled with Crystal Palace’s James McArthur on Saturday, Pearson was widely believed to have been dismissed on Sunday but stayed in charge and managed Leicester in last night’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal. Reflecting on a difficult few days, in which he spoke to McArthur and had lunch with the club owners, Pearson said that it would not be easy to replace with someone who could guide Leicester City to safety. They are bottom of the Premier League and five points adrift.

“I’m in a results business and our results haven’t been what we would like, so that brings pressure on people’s situations,” Pearson said after the game. “But then you’ve got to find a replacement who’s better, and who will wave a magic wand. You’ve got to be careful what you wish for sometimes.”

Pearson sat with the owners for the first half of this game before moving down to the touchline and nearly inspiring a comeback from 2-0 down to draw 2-2. Pearson was impressed with how his players performed but denied that they had played well on his behalf.

“The players have remained very single-minded and their ability to deal with criticism of themselves and destabilising news has been exceptionally good all season,” Pearson said. “It has been an unusual few days. It is the type of scrutiny that you can be at this level and whether I like it or not, the scrutiny is there and you have to deal with it.”

“We have shared goals,” Pearson said of his squad, “and I am not somebody who needs a vote of confidence so to speak.”

Pearson revealed that he spoke to McArthur on the phone following Saturday’s altercation, talks which had cleared the air. “Things happen quickly in games,” Pearson explained. “I was scythed down and we had a little bit of banter. I actually spoke to him last night. He texted me and I rang him. it was a friendly chat and I think the lad comes out of it with an awful lot of credit in terms of diffusing the situation.”