It wouldn’t be right to say Saturday’s clash at league leaders Arsenal was a free hit for Leeds United. There are no free hits in a relegation battle with every Premier League outing providing the opportunity for Leeds to strengthen their position in the top flight under Javi Gracia.
Every Premier League point should be cherished and Leeds made the journey to north London with every intention of adding to their tally. Unfortunately, despite an encouraging first-half showing at the Emirates Stadium, the Whites were comfortably dispatched by Arsenal, who came on strong in the second half to blow their visitors away, as many would have expected them to.
It was a forgettable showing in the end but Leeds would be right not to dwell on it as they enter the final 10 games of the season with just one point standing between themselves and the drop zone. The defeat to Arsenal won’t define their season, nor will it shape Gracia’s reign at Elland Road, but the next week could.
The turnaround is a short one as Leeds return to West Yorkshire to host Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night and the visit of Crystal Palace follows just a few days after, as Roy Hodgson’s Eagles, fresh from their win over Leicester City, travel north. Both sides are embroiled in the relegation battle alongside Leeds and that ensures that as far as weeks go, they don’t come much bigger.
Gracia was resistant to the idea of looking beyond the challenge of Arsenal when he spoke in his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon. However, given Leeds’ standing, he will have found it hard to ignore the importance of this coming week and it may even have crept into his thinking during the inactivity of the international break.
On the face of it, there are six huge points at stake and both games will be played out on home soil, where Leeds have picked up almost two-thirds of their points this season. Those points would give Leeds the breathing space above the bottom three they’ve been craving all season.
They’ll seldom have a better opportunity to make such rapid progress in such a small amount of time and as the run-in gathers pace and the end of the season approaches, it’s one they simply cannot afford to pass up. There’s more than just competition points on the line, though, with Leeds’ ability to remain in the top flight to come under real scrutiny should they fail to make the most of the week.
Leeds would almost certainly drop back into the bottom three and with five top 10 teams to play in their final eight games, there would be doubt about their ability to record the points they need. Such a situation would leave themselves at serious risk of undermining all their hard work over the last few years to prove themselves in the top flight.
It’s not an exaggeration to say, then, that this is Leeds’ biggest week of the season so far and it’s certainly Gracia’s biggest week in the post, as he strives to complete the task he was brought to Leeds to do in the short-term and establish himself at Elland Road in the long-term. The Spaniard has already shown himself to be the man for these type of occasions, though.
The pressure was on when he arrived at United back in February, but after spending just a couple of days with his Leeds squad he was able to inspire them to a morale-boosting win over bottom-of-the-table Southampton. He was able to follow that up with a couple of weeks later with an encouraging draw against Brighton before leading the Whites out of the bottom three at Wolves before the international break.
When it comes to claiming wins over relegation rivals, Gracia has a 100 per cent record at Leeds and if he can make it to next Sunday night with that intact, the job of keeping the Whites up will look at lot easier. It wouldn’t be insurmountable if he were to falter but it would become a steep uphill battle.
Leeds slipped down the ladder on Saturday, but taking the opportunity to bounce back emphatically this week could be absolutely pivotal.
READ NEXT:
Summerville grasps Leeds United chance as trio must bounce back for season's critical phase
Angus Kinnear explains Leeds United's Elland Road plan and makes 'not fit for purpose' admission
How Javi Gracia dealt with Leeds United's difficult international break at Thorp Arch
Mateusz Bogusz's Leeds United exit confirmed as permanent deal completed
Pressure building on Weston McKennie at Leeds United following Juventus verdict
