By Paul Stevens

Arsenal showed the exact response expected of a defending champion but boy did Leeds give the Gunners a mighty scare!

The visitors to the Emirates came into game week six in fine form. Having not lost a game so far this season, Leeds had taken nine points from a possible fifteen and are
one of the very best sides in the division when looking at teams who pressed their opponents.

This contributed to Arsenal’s undoing last time, when against an equally good pressing side in Brighton.

match recap

When evaluating this match, the first point must be to congratulate Leeds for a fantastic team performance in the opening hour of the match. The visitors’ press and work-rate made it incredibly tough for Arsenal to implement Arteta’s game plan.

The first 45 minutes felt like a carbon copy of the Brighton game, the only difference being Leeds lacking clinical finishers, which Brighton had in abundance when the two sides last met.

The visitors deservedly took the lead in the 55th minute when Leeds defender James Justin converted a fine cross from the right side provided by Gabriel Gudmundsson. It
felt as though the goal had been coming since the half time break and was a just reward for a fine start to the second period by the visitors.

Arsenal’s incredible left back – Ricardo Calafiori – found himself in the centre forward position and restored parity in the 62nd minute with a fine, close-range finish, following an intelligent header back across goal from the far post by Ben White.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta then changed the game directly after the Arsenal equaliser when he opted to make a triple change.

Ben White was smartly rotated with Jurien
Timber, coming on to share the load at right back.
The eventual man of the match, Bruno Guimaraes, replaced a tiring Myles Lewis-Skelly and Viktor Gyokeres replaced a completely ineffectual Kai Havertz to lead the line.

With the Arsenal changes made, Arsenal took control of the match and took the lead for the first time, just seven minutes after Arteta’s changes.

Arsenal’s second goal was a breath-taking display of attacking play which was the complete antithesis to any of the football displayed up to that point.

Arsenal surged forward down the left with Martin Odegaard scooping a ball forward from his midfield pocket, finding Bukayo who smartly chested a bouncing ball down before controlling the ball and spinning to his left.

In doing so, the Arsenal winger opened up the pitch,
which allowed a simple return pass to find an onrushing Odegaard. The Norwegian slid a forward pass to Declan Rice on the edge of the Leeds’ box, where the England
international provided a truly exquisite back heel.

This directed the ball into the path of an unmarked late run made by Bruno Guimaraes, who ate up the first five yards and met the ball with a first-time strike that flashed though a crowded Leeds penalty area, beating the diving James Trafford, before slamming into the side netting inside Leed’s goal.

2-1 to Arsenal and from that point the Gunners never looked back. There was a smattering of half chances for both sides as the second half drifted to its inevitable
conclusion.

None more inviting than the moment when a first-time flick from Gyokeres put Saka clear through in a 1 v 1 against Trafford, but as had happened in both the
Napoli Champions League game and Arsenal’s previous match vs Brighton, Saka didn’t have his shooting boots on and blazed rather wildly wide.

Stat Focus

In a tale of two halves the statistics of the match really highlighted each team’s performance during each 45-minute period.

In the first half, both teams had recorded the exact same XG (expected goals) with 0.41. Leeds led in both total shots and shots on target metrics, recording seven total shots
and three shots on target to Arsenals one shot on target from just four total shots.

Leeds also missed two big chances with just one coming from Arsenal, which was a rather tame header from Havertz. Arsenal led the overall possession statistics 60% to 40% and as a result also led the total touches in the oppositions box by thirteen to eight.

It was the second half where the game swung far more in favour of the home side. While Arsenal’s overall possession dropped slightly to 58%, the home team won every
other metric.

Arsenal recorded a total of 2.58 XG in the entire match, with Leeds only able to muster 0.68 in reply. The Gunners had six shots on target from thirteen total shots, while Leeds managed five on target from eleven in comparison.

Arsenal also managed to create four big chances, three of which were missed, with Leeds having three big chances, missing two.

Star Player

All three of Arteta’s first three substitutes, Gyokeres, Timber and Guimaraes impressed from the bench. Meanwhile, Noni Madueke’s surprise inclusion on the left wing in place of Eberechi Eze showed many promising moments and his performance certainly did
not harm his chances of starting Arsenal’s Champions League fixture midweek.

The back four and David Raya put in fine penances, but it was the introduction of Arsenal’s brilliant Brazilian midfielder who changed the game.

From the second he stepped onto the pitch, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard’s performances seemed to
lift.

Arsenal’s second goal came from a foul on Guimaraes in which he quickly got up and looked to get Arsenal onto the front foot. Then came the way he took his goal.

The Brazilian showed composure and a clinical edge on his finish that flashed into the bottom corner, before the diving James Trafford had hit the turf.

Brilliant Bruno was the catalyst for a much-improved Arsenal team performance. As well as scoring the match winning goal, Bruno Guimaraes is this week’s star player.

A Look Ahead

The win briefly Arsenal took the Gunners level with Manchester City at the top of the table, before Enzo Maresca’s men posted a statement win at Anfield on Sunday afternoon to continue their perfect start.

Five wins in six represents a great start for the reigning champions. Now, the fixtures begin to come thick and fast,
and the club only has a three day turn around before hosting French side Lille in game week two of the Champions League.

Arsenal then travel away to face Nottingham
Forrest for match week seven.