Relieved manager: Mikel Arteta punched the air as Arsenal held on to beat Leeds
(Picture: Getty Images)Mikel Arteta praised his Arsenal side for finding a way to win as they battled past Leeds despite being a long way off their best.
Bukayo Saka’s first-half strike was enough to give the Gunners a 1-0 win at Elland Road and maintain their place at the top of the Premier League, after a 40-minute delay at the start of the match following a power cut.
Arsenal lived an incredibly charmed life in the second-half, Patrick Bamford dragging his penalty wide after William Saliba had handled in the box, and Aaron Ramsdale was called upon a number of times to make important saves.
There was more drama in stoppage-time as Gabriel was sent-off and Leeds were awarded another penalty, but the referee overturned both decisions after a VAR review as the Gunners somehow heard the final whistle with their lead still intact.
“Hectic! It is always really intense here, we were exceptional in the first-half and should have been two or three up,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
“Credit to Leeds in the second-half, we made so many errors and did not generate momentum, but I just love the relentless passion the team played with and how we found a way to win.”
He added: “This is something special. This is not a coincidence it shows the willingness that I see in the eyes of the players to win, to compete.
“A lot of players played in Norway two and a half days ago, travelled back on Friday and were still willing to win so credit to them.”
The incident between Gabriel and Bamford in added-time proved to be a controversial one, with the Brazilian appearing to kick out at the Leeds striker off the ball after being shoved to the ground in the box.
The referee deemed it to be a foul initially from Bamford on the defender, meaning the penalty decision was overturned, but Gabriel was fortunate that his red card was also downgraded to a yellow.
Arteta was relieved that the earlier power cut did not impact VAR’s ability to intervene.
“I have not seen it but everyone is saying the decision was clear,” Arteta said.
“Thank God they made the system to work, that delay was worth it because without VAR I don’t know what would have happened!
