Game of two halves
Sometimes you can get the sense of a game right from the first whistle. This was not one of those occasions...
Arsenal's clash with Leeds got off to a frenetic start. Within the first two minutes, Luis Sinisterra and Gabriel Martinelli had both fashioned presentable shooting opportunities, and Granit Xhaka had had a shout from a penalty. From that moment on though the game seemed to retreat into a dull, uninspiring affair, befitting of the grey skies that hovered above it.
Key to that was Leeds' approach. Up until kick off it was not exactly clear how they was going to set up, as Javi Gracia, sensing this was something a free hit for his side, decided to go for broke with an unusual team selection. For a while it worked.
READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Gabriel Jesus comeback, Ben White and Leandro Trossard's form
Rasmus Kristensen and Jack Harrison - usually a right back and left winger respectively - were both pulled into the middle of the pitch, while Crycensio Summerville, Brenden Aaronson and Sinisterra shared centre forward duties in a relatively narrow system. Arsenal couldn't really cope. Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard, the Gunners' two flaming cannonballs who have been catapulted through enemy barricades to break down tight defences from deep this season, were submerged in a sea of white as Arsenal surrendered key ground in the midfield battle. Playing their first Premier League match without Bukayo Saka starting since December of 2021, the Gunners looked as though they were missing his trickery in the wide areas desperately.
Chances were few and far between and it was only through a fortunate penalty that Arsenal found themselves in front. Perhaps you could have spun 'winning ugly' in this way a sign of champions, but in reality it was far from the response to Manchester City's emphatic lunchtime win over Liverpool that the doctor ordered. In the second half though, the Gunners' title-winning calibre really came to the fore.
The Emirates Stadium floodlights were turned on, and under the blinding glare, Arsenal seemed to wake up. Within two minutes Ben White had doubled the lead with a confident finish to Martinelli's cross, and not too long after that Gabriel Jesus made the game safe. Not even a deflected Kristensen shot could give Leeds the faintest glimmer of hope for comeback, and Granit Xhaka's header six minutes from time rendered a scoreline far more befitting the dominance Arsenal had showed in the second half.
Perhaps it might have been easy for the Gunners to lean into the anxiety brought about by the stakes of this match, It was, after all, the first game of the official title run in. Mikel Arteta's half time team talk though, was far less emotional.
"A few things that we had to improve," the Spaniard said when asked by football.london what he had told his players at the break. "The way they set up they were really man marking our attacking midfielders. They were playing a back six, they were playing four really quick players, they caught us on transition and we started to lose the ball in areas that you can’t do against teams that want to defend like that. We improved that a lot, we explored other spaces and started to change the positions of a few players, and were more fluent. Then we went attacking in the box with more numbers and good positions and we looked a threat."
It does seem as though, while others around them continue to turn up the dial on their nerves, Arsenal are doing a good job of keeping the needle steady. No matter the circumstances the Gunners seem to find a way to win. Who knows how far this could take them.
'Fighter' Ben White surpasses scare
The tremors of pre-match anxiety among the Arsenal fans shook into a full blown earthquake as news emerged that Ben White had left the Gunners warm up early with medical staff ahead of kick off. It's at the point in the season where it won't take much for the simmer of nerves to boil over. Throw in Manchester City's earlier result and the fact that Takehiro Tomiyasu's absence means there is no obvious senior replacement for White right now, you had a perfect recipe for pre-match pandemonium.
Despite his relatively understated demeanour though, there is an undeniable steeliness to his character, and it turned out that this was what helped him to be ready to start the match. "He had some issues in the last few days but he’s a big fighter and he wanted to be here," Arteta told football.london in his post-match press conference. "With the injury of Tomi we are a bit short in that position. He scored a goal as well which is good news for him and he was very good again."
Whatever illness, White was dealing with did seem to impact him a little in the first half as he was not quite at the standards he's set for himself so far this season. Crycensio Summerville was a thorn in his side and took advantage of a few spaces left in behind as Leeds looked to counter.
But like the rest of the Arsenal team, he came out for the second half showing that fighting spirit. Feeling under the weather can make you act out of character and that was certainly the case as White popped up with just his second goal of the season moments after the restart.
To dismiss his goal is probably a little unfair though as this is clearly something the 25-year-old has been working on. It's only last season that he was playing centre back, but now it's relatively common to see White steaming in at the back post to great effect. He did against Bournemouth to spark that memorable comeback, and was on hand again here.
"As a manager when he puts the ball in the back of the net it’s great," Mikel Arteta said of White's new adventurous tendencies. "If he doesn’t and then we have an open space on the counter not so much. But he’s timing those runs really well. He’s a threat there and on set pieces he’s improved so much, to bring attention and drag spaces from the opponent. I’m really happy with him."
By the end of the game, White looked well and truly back to himself as he was taunting Illan Meslier with a smile on his face in the dying seconds. The 25-year-old is undoubtedly a fighter as his manager says, and this quality will be key if Arsenal are to get over the line in the title race.
Arsenal's agent of chaos
Prior to the Leeds game, Gabriel Jesus revealed that he would be wearing a set of boots with the words 'back stronger' inscribed onto them. He seems to be living up to that.
The Brazilian's two goals were of course the highlights from the game. The first, a cutely won penalty and the second a more stereotypical number nine's finish. But getting Jesus back into the Arsenal line up has never really been about finding the net more often. Instead Arteta was keen to highlight something that else that the Brazilian offers as a sign that he's back to his best.
"In the last 10 days he has really made a big step forward," the Spaniard said of Jesus' work in training over the international break. "You can see that he is looser and not thinking about it, he is creating the chaos in training that he is capable of, he is in a really good place now."
It's the chaos that Arteta craves. The Arsenal boss knows that Jesus is the perfect weapon to send in behind enemy lines to corrupt tightly packed defences like the ones Leeds put up today. Look at the penalty he won for example. Yes it was soft, but how often do you see a number nine on the left edge of the box troubling the opposition right back? He may wear number nine, but he's so much more.
This is the reason Arsenal's squad are so delighted to have him back, and after the game Arteta revealed how the team showed their appreciation. "We were all clapping for him," the Spaniard said in his post-match press conference. "He’s been working so hard for the last for or five months with a lot of support from the team and the staff. Today he deserved the chance to start. He grabbed the opportunity with a lot of conviction and with two goals."
It's been a collective effort to get Jesus back to this point and after the full time whistle he was keen to recognise that. After completing his lap of appreciation the Brazilian shared an embrace with Arsenal's strength and conditioning coach Sam Wilson who has been a key part of his recovery.
The 25-year-old's return couldn't have come at a much better time. As Arsenal look to pull off a miracle and win Anfield for the first time in over a decade next week, having an in-form Jesus to call on will be more than welcome.
Trossard makes Arsenal's wildest dreams come true
Mikel Arteta can be pretty serious in press conferences, but after the Leeds game he seemed in a pretty jovial mood. The reason for that? Leandro Trossard.
"I have some wild dreams," the Spaniard quipped when asked if he could have predicted the impact the Belgian has had since January. His assist for Gabriel Jesus' second goal takes his tally for Arsenal to seven. For context, that's the same amount as the entire Manchester United squad, and more than nine Premier League teams since his signing from Brighton.
Like Jesus though, it is his unpredictability that is his greatest weapon. Today Trossard start on the right, ended up as a false nine, and spent plenty of time on the left too. No matter where he is on the pitch the Belgian's ability to link with teammates and control in tight spaces is phenomenal. He is the exact kind of Swiss army knife forward that Arteta wanted in January, and it's no surprise that the Spaniard is pleased with the results.
As Arsenal have got better, they have come up against deeper lying oppositions. By Javi Gracia's own admission, he sent his side out with the Gunners' record of scoring three or more in six of their seven home games against bottom half Premier League sides in the back of their minds. It is here that Arteta believes the rotational capabilities of his front three has given them a new edge.
"We have players now that need a little bit more space and freedom," the Spaniard said of the movement in his front line. "Those interactions, I think, contribute for the team and for the opponent to be more conscious and worried about the opponent and I think it’s more difficult to defend. They like it, they feel freer, they feel better doing it, and obviously they have our blessing to do that."
If Arsenal are to win this Premier League title, sometimes they will need a sledgehammer to break down opposition defences, and on other occasions they will need a chisel. Arteta may be keen to deny that his side have nine finals still to go this season, but he can't refute the fact that Trossard gives him the ability to pull the latter out of his ever-expanding toolkit.
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