Arsenal 1-0 Leeds United: 3 Reasons Why The Gunners Won
Arsenal welcomed a rampant Leeds United side to the Emirates, in the FA Cup third-round fixture on Monday night. Marco Bielsa's men boast an impressive joint 9-point lead at the top of the Championship and have amassed many plaudits for their football. As for Arsenal, they were coming off an impressive win against Manchester United and held high hopes for a win.
To much of everyone’s surprise, Leeds completely dominated the opening 45 minutes, passing the ball around the Emirates like it was Elland Road. However, in spite of all their domination, Leeds would find themselves 1-0 down early in the second half. A scuffed Reiss Nelson tap-in 10 minutes into the half gave Arsenal a precious lead. The game would stay this way, seeing Arsenal through to a 4th round match up with Bournemouth.
Here are three reasons why Arsenal beat Leeds United 1-0.
#3 Wasteful Leeds
Marco Bielsa's team lived up to the hype beyond expectations. When the likes of Pep Guardiola have called the Argentine the best coach in the world, a lot is to be expected of his team. In the first half, Leeds United displayed ‘Bielsa ball’. They pressed Arsenal in packs, deprived them of space, passed through their defense & midfield and completely dominated possession at the back. Leeds limited Arsenal to only 36% possession in the first half as Arteta’s men looked completely powerless to stop them.
The Peacocks attempted an impressive 15 shots on goal in the opening 45 minutes, however out of those 15, only 3 were on target. Leeds penned the Gunners into their penalty box, but only managed a handful of clear-cut chances. Perhaps if they still had Eddie Nketiah in their squad, their finishing could have been much better. Leeds will live to rue the chances they missed against an Arsenal side they dominated for one half.