Arsenal came away with all three points against a depleted Leeds United side in a crucial Premier League encounter on Saturday afternoon.
The Gunners beat Marcelo Bielsa’s side by 4-1 and were already 3-0 up before the interval. Courtesy of the contributions from Gabriel Martinelli’s brace and Bukayo Saka’s deflected strike. Mikel Arteta’s side took a record 11 shots in the first half.
In the second half, the visitors went to the game management mood and slowed down the game. In the end, Raphinha scored one back from the penalty spot. But substitute Emile Smith Rowe scored the fourth to earn all three points.
Following this victory, Arsenal have now distanced themselves from the fourth-placed West Ham United. The Gunners are now six points behind the third-placed Chelsea with 32 points from 18 games. On the other hand, Leeds are sitting in 16th with 16 points in as many games.
Leeds United 1-4 Arsenal:
Arsenal is unbeaten in their last seven games at Elland Road against Leeds. And the Peacocks have now accumulated the joint lowest points tally in their history with only 16 points.
After the game, speaking with the club’s website, Arteta said that he was delighted with his team’s performance and accepted that it was easier to play against a weakened Leeds side. Arteta said:
“I am very, very happy with the performance and the result, the week that we had and the direction that this team is moving forwards in. Yes. It’s always very difficult to play against them when you look at any game that they’ve played. Obviously, at the Etihad, it was a different story but when they played at Stamford Bridge… Opponents they play this season know the game that they are going to face. It wasn’t any different [today]. They never gave up in the second half and it’s a team that I really like and I’m pleased because it’s not easy to play the way that we have done today, in this atmosphere and against this opponent, so I think it was a very strong statement from the team.”
The upcoming fixtures for both teams:
The Premier League clubs have organized a meeting to discuss if the fixtures should continue in this pandemic situation or not. Nevertheless, if the games take place according to their schedule. Then Arsenal will welcome Sunderland in their next game in Carabao Cup on Tuesday night and Leeds United will travel to Anfield to encounter Liverpool on boxing day in the Premier League.
