December 18, (THEWILL) – It got worse for Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United as their struggles this season were compounded when they were thrashed 4-1 at Elland Road by Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
The Gunners came close to scoring several times in the first few minutes of the game. After just three minutes, Bukayo Saka produced a miss-of-the-season contender, before Illan Meslier saved Thomas Partey’s low drive.
But, the deserved opening goal came 16 minutes in, when sloppy defence allowed the ball to fall to a grateful Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazilian thundered home the lead, and, with Leeds making mistake after mistake, the Brazilian lobbed home a wonderful second just before the half-hour mark.
In the 42nd minute of the first half, Saka’s deflected attempt arrowed past Meslier to give Arsenal a 3-0 half-time advantage, which could easily have been six, seven, or eight goals given how dreadful Leeds were at the back. Arsenal’s 11 shots on target in the first half set a new record for the club since statistics began to be kept.
The visitors came out for the second half trying to suck the life out of the game and pushed forward at the slightest opportunity. But, that gifted Leeds a route back in and they started enjoying the kind of possession they had been lacking in the first period.
Leeds’ improvement was rewarded with a penalty in the 74th minute when Ben White lunged in on Joe Gelhardt, and Raphinha made no mistake from 12 yards.
Against the run of play in the second half, Arsenal killed the game off with a fourth as Emile Smith Rowe smashed home with six minutes to go to ensure the unlikeliest of comebacks was not going to happen at Elland Road.
Despite their team’s frustrating performance, the Leeds fans continued to chant Marcelo Bielsa’s name right up to the final whistle in a huge show of support to the boss, who is trying his utmost to make do with the hand the club has been dealt.
The Whites were missing a number of first-team players due to injury, including Kalvin Phillips, Patrick Bamford, Dan James, Jamie Shackleton, Liam Cooper, Rodrigo Moreno, and Pascal Struijk, and had only won one of their previous seven games. However, it was inspiring to see the fans’ faith.
Following their win, Arsenal remain in the top four, while Leeds are in 16th place, five points clear of the relegation zone.
And, it only gets more gruelling for Leeds on Boxing Day, when they travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool. Arsenal will face Sunderland in the EFL Cup quarterfinals at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
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.
