The England striker came off the bench for his first appearance of the season to drag Arsenal back into the title race
Danny Welbeck returned to head home a dramatic winner for Arsenal against Leicester.
Jamie Vardy put Leicester ahead on the stroke of half-time from the penalty spot after referee Martin Atkinson ruled the Leicester striker had been tripped by Nacho Monreal.
Leicester were reduced to 10 men in the 54th minute after DannySimpson was shown two yellow cards in five minutes.
Arsenal finally made their advantage count in the 70th minute when Walcott converted Olivier Giroud's knockdown to equalise nine minutes after coming on.
It was all Arsenal for the final 12 minutes and they finally won it at the death through Welbeck.
Here are five things we learned.
1. Kante superb in the middle
You can add N'Golo Kante to the length list of players that Arsene Wenger let get away.
Wenger revealed he has known about him since he was 10 but never made a move for the midfielder.
At the Emirates he provided more evidence he would add to most teams in the Premier League with another tireless, all-action performance.
At times it felt like there was more than one Kante on the pitch.
2. Both sides won't want to see Martin Atkinson again
You know a referee has had a bad day when he has managed to upset both sides.
The referee angered Arsenal in the first half by not giving them anything and then ignoring a Wes Morgan foul on Mesut Ozil before controversially awarding Leicester a penalty Jamie Vardy scored after he tumbled over Nacho Monreal's leg.
Then he evened things after the break by going card crazy, showing Leicester four yellows in 12 minutes, including two to Danny Simpson.
3. Chamberlain needs consistency
A goal last week followed up by a display featuring some more bright moments for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Belatedly, finally he might be making a case for an extended run down the right.
His decision-making was suspect on a couple of occasions when he failed to deliver from promising crossing but there were some signs of hope before he moved inside to a more central position.
4. Majestic Morgan
Top scorers Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez usually take a lot of the plaudits for Leicester but this was a day for their unsung heroes.
And alongside Kante, captain Wes Morgan was one of their main men.
This backs-to-the-wall situation Leicester were in for much of this match was just his type of game and he put his body on the line to help them nearly claim a point.
5. Arsenal's title credentials
Arsenal faced a huge test of their title credentials and mettle and passed it at the Emirates.
A goal down at half-time and everything going against them, they could easily have accepted this was not going to be their day.
But they kept plugging away and were rewarded by Theo Walcott's equaliser and then Danny Welbeck's winner deep into injury time.
After 12 years without a title the questions will be asked until Arsenal finally end the drought but their second-half response suggests they do have what it takes to do it this year.
ARSENAL 2-1 LEICESTER – PLAYER RATINGS
Who doesn’t love a late winner? I’ll tell you who, mad people, that’s who. Danny Welbeck’s late, great goal secured a 2-1 win over 10 man Leicester, and closed the gap at the top to 2 points.
Here are the player ratings.
Arsenal 2-1 Leicester player ratings: Who was YOUR man of the match at the Emirates?
Danny Welbeck's last-gasp header threw momentum behind the Gunners' title challenge on a pulsating afternoon at the Emirates
The returning Danny Welbeck was the toast of the Emirates as he headed in a late Mesut Ozil free kick to move Arsenal within two points of opponents Leicester at the top of the Premier League.
Jamie Vardy's 19th league goal of the season had earlier given the Foxes the lead from the penalty spot before the break, before Danny Simpson saw red for two bookings in the second half.
Theo Walcott got the Gunners level, before a clutch of spurned opportunities meant it looked like Claudio Ranieri's side would take a point back to the East Midlands.
However, Welbeck, making his first appearance of the season, had different ideas to send the stadium into ecstasy.
N'Golo Kante caught the eye of our man Dave Kidd, but who was your man of the match?
Here are the full player ratings.
Arsenal
Cech 7 - Couple of fine saves and some nifty footwork at times.
Bellerin 6 - Nice cross before equaliser but not at his best.
Mertesacker 5 - Shaky under pressure when it was 11 v 11, solid later.
Koscielny 5 - Booked. Pulled out of position before penalty, taken off with dead leg.
Monreal 6 - Booked. Allowed Vardy to buy penalty but otherwise classy and threatening on counter.
Coquelin 6 - Booked. First league start after injury, not at his biting best.
Ramsey 5 - Good workrate but very off-beam with his shooting.
Oxlade-Chamberlain 6 - Wasteful out wide, pinged it nicely when moved centrally.
Ozil 8 - Some beautiful passing – and fine free-kick delivery for winner.
Sanchez 6 - Majestic at times but not enough end product.
Giroud 6 - Classy headed assist, grafted selflessly, finishing average.
Subs: Chambers (for Koscielny, 46 min, 7), Walcott (for Coquelin, 60 min, 7), Welbeck (for Oxlade-Chamberlain, 83 min, 7)
Leicester
Schmeichel 7 - One great tackle outside area, one great save from Giroud.
Simpson 5 - Sent off. Two cynical bookings in five minutes changed game.
Huth 7 - Never buckled, big ugly and mightily effective.
Morgan 7 - Won countless headers, good old-fashioned centre-half.
Fuchs 6 - Booked. Found wanting in first half but knuckled down when Leicester down to ten.
Drinkwater 7 - Fine passing and bullish tackling – occasionally too bullish.
Kante 8 MOTM - Booked. Must have ran a marathon, immense performance from the little fella.
Mahrez 6 - Some great footwork but a shockiing dive which should have earn booking.
Okazaki 6 - Tireless working until he was sacrificed in post-red card reshuffle
Albrighton 7 - You will rarely see a winger tackle this well.
Vardy 7 - Streetwise, predatory, must be a nightmare to defend against.
Subs: Wasilewski (for Mahrez, 57 min, 5, Gray (for Okazaki, 60 min, 5), King (for Albrighton, 83 min, 5)
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