There are certain afternoons when fate seems destined to conspire in one direction. On this occasion, it was instigated by the relentless running of Eddie Nketiah within just five minutes and made permanent by a Leeds capitulation of such astounding conviction in the first half, it was as though they were intent on writing their own relegation obituary.
After Tottenham dropped points against Liverpool yesterday, there ought to have been a degree of pressure on Mikel Arteta’s side, one that in the past they’ve struggled at times to shoulder. But there was a buoyancy to the Emirates on an idyllic spring afternoon, a sense of opportunity and optimism aided by Arteta’s signing of a new three-year contract, and the first hour of this 2-1 victory often felt like an exhibition of his vision.
