October 27, (THEWILL) – Arsenal qualified for the EFL Cup quarter-finals after a 2-0 win over Leeds United, thanks to goals from Calum Chambers and Eddie Nketiah.
Chambers headed Arsenal in the lead 10 minutes into the second half. The second goal came 14 minutes later, when Nketiah took advantage of a poor ball back to Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier.
Leeds, who had chances of their own in the first half, were unable to respond, and Mikel Arteta’s side were able to finish the game without incident.
Arsenal made an early statement, with Nketiah’s drive going just wide and Sead Kolasinac’s low angled attempt hitting the side netting.
Leeds survived the onslaught and had two chances before the half-hour mark: Daniel James tamely fired at Bernd Leno when sent clean, before the German made a brilliant diving stop to keep away Jack Harrison’s rasping half-volley.
In the second half, Leno was the busier of the two goalkeepers, saving a low deflected shot from James and was relieved to see a Tyler Roberts shot flutter wide.
Arsenal were handed a blow shortly after the break when Ben White hobbled off with an injury, but they had reason to cheer soon after when Chambers, his replacement, scored with his first touch.
Nicolas Pepe headed Smith Rowe’s corner kick back over to Chambers, who had his header blocked by Meslier, but goal-line technology determined the ball had crossed the line.
With little over 20 minutes remaining, Nketiah added a second when he grabbed on to a backward header from Liam Cooper, tipped the ball over the outrushing Meslier, and shinned it into the empty net.
Mikel Arteta’s side saw out the remainder of the game and booked their place in the final eight.
Arsenal may be forgiven for being nervous after being ousted by Premier League teams at home in three of their past five EFL Cup outings.
However, in their first encounter with Leeds in the competition since September 1979, Arsenal advanced to the last eight with a clinical Emirates display, leaving Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa winless in all four of his meetings with Arsenal in all competitions, having drawn one and lost three.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
