A sign of things to come or did everything just fall into place on the day?

Arsenal enjoyed a midweek relief from the angst of the Premier League. They played out a closer game than expected against Kairat Almaty, but they got the win. They finished top of the Champions League table, won all eight fixtures, scored the most goals and conceded the least. With January coming to a close it was all about the competitions away from the Premiership. The EFL Cup semi final first leg was a triumph at Stamford Bridge and the Gunners managed to overcome a potential banana skin against Portsmouth in the FA Cup. Four wins from four games away from the Premier League, but it was only one win in four in the domestic division. Leeds were up next, at Elland Road, and that presented a difficult challenge for Arsenal. Leeds have only lost once in 10 games. Within those 10 games they’ve hosted Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United. They didn’t lose a single one of those, even beating Chelsea. Arsenal’s task was massive, but they knew what they had to do.

First Half

It was a very cagey opening 20 minutes. Leeds pressed Arsenal high and the away side struggled to deal with it. Leeds had the first shot of the game with Ethan Ampadu firing over from the edge of the box. A few minutes later Arsenal followed up with their first shot. A well worked move found Martin Zubimendi on the edge of the box, but his effort lacked any power and it rolled harmlessly into Karl Darlow’s arms. For the 10 minutes following that effort, the Gunners began to take over possession and started stringing together some decent moves. None of which resulted in anything, but it was important to get a foot on the ball. They were rewarded for weathering the early storm by breaking the deadlock. A corner was swung in, but was dealt with by the Leeds defence. Arsenal were able to retain possession and funnelled the ball out wide to Noni Madueke, after some twisting and turning, he delivered a pinpoint cross that found Zubimendi’s head. The Spaniard guided his effort beyond the keeper. 1-0 Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s men were cruising, but knew they needed a second to calm the nerves. That arrived 10 minutes after the first. Madueke whipped in a corner that ended up catching out Darlow in the goal, he fumbled the ball and it dropped into the net. 2-0 Arsenal. That was it for the first half, a total of three shots tells the story.

Second Half

The second half had shades of the first half about it. Arsenal didn’t need to aggressively hunt for more goals, but they certainly wouldn’t have passed up any opportunity. It was Leeds that had the first chance of the half, but Pascal Struijk’s header was saved by David Raya. After that chance, it was all Arsenal. It took a little while for the chances to flow, but Jurrien Timber did see a header flash over the bar a little while before the real chances landed. The next big chance Arsenal had, they scored. Viktor Gyokeres found some space between the defenders and managed to turn in Gabriel Martinelli’s cross. 3-0 Arsenal. Gabriel Jesus then tried to get in on the action, but sent his chance wide of the bottom right. Jesus again found some space for a headed chance, but Darlow was equal to it. Riccardo Calafiori saw a header fly wide of the post. In the 86th minute, Jesus found the goal that his chances had been begging for. Martin Odegaard slipped a ball into the box and found the Brazilian striker. Jesus held the ball and attempted to try and work an angle despite having his back facing the goal. Then, with a clever bit of play with the ball, he found a yard and curled a shot well out of Darlow’s reach. 4-0 Arsenal. The Gunners were relentless after that point and came close to a fifth on numerous occasions. Martinelli fired in a shot on target, Jesus had another header saved, Gabriel also had a header kept out and Zubimendi finished the game by sending yet another header off target. A fantastic afternoon of football for the Gunners.

Statistics

The reality is that Arsenal controlled the game and the statistics support that. The Gunners had 14 shots with 8 on target. This generated an xG of 2.19, 6 big chances were created. Leeds only had 3 shots with just 1 on target. This created an xG of 0.15 and no big chances created.

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Raya – 7 – He had one save to make and not much else. Always an option for the team to use to recycle possession. He will be very happy with another clean sheet.

Timber – 7 – Got himself a yellow card, but I enjoyed his performance. After a few weeks of disappointment, the week off might have done him some good. Defensively solid and made an impact going forward

Saliba – 8 – His standard is so high that we forget how good he actually is. He was up against Dominic Calvert-Lewin who has been one of the best strikers in the league over the last couple of months. He dealt with him expertly, to the point where he didn’t even have a shot.

Gabriel – 8 – There was a period in the game where Leeds were taking the game by the scruff of the neck and Gabriel needed to remain strong. He cleared everything thrown at him and helped preserve the clean sheet.

Hincapie – 7 – He’s been getting a bit of stick recently, especially since returning from injury, but he was quite impressive. He did let anything past him in defence and looked a bit more fluid on the ball.

Zubimendi – 8 – After such a gut-wrenching mistake last weekend, he was a man on a mission to prove his worth. He did just that by scoring the opening goal. He had numerous other chances, but he just felt so much more secure than last week.

Rice – 7 – Potentially a change in tactics on the horizon, but he certainly took a backseat to allow Zubimendi to roam higher. He’s always present when the team needs him and his ability to carry the ball quickly over a distance really helped in the 2nd half.

Havertz – 6 – On the ball it wasn’t so impressive, but that’s bound to happen when you’re still adjusting your body after spending a year out. What he brings is a real physical element that we lack when Odegaard plays ahead of him. He’s a duel winning monster, but can provide that extra bit of skill on the ball.

Madueke – 9 (MOTM) – He replaced Bukayo Saka in the starting lineup, due to injury, but he made sure we didn’t miss him. Noni was electric on the right and played a big part in our first two goals. It was a mature performance, but he paired it with a bit of flair. With a tad more polishing on his final ball, he can be even more of a danger for us.

Gyokeres – 8 – I think this was one of his most complete performances, even if he did miss a couple of big chances. He held the ball up better than ever and linked well with Havertz. He got his goal and his tally is increasing with regularity.

Trossard – 7 – A quiet afternoon for the Belgian, but still provided moments of quality. The through ball for Gyokeres was the pick of the bunch.

Substitutes

Martinelli – 8 – He was a huge threat when he came on. When the game opened up, he thrived. He provided the assist for Gyokeres and created other chances. A really positive performance.

Odegaard – 7 – I’ve been very critical of Odegaard recently and I feel justified in that, however, I will always recognise a good game. He made a couple of little errors, but overall he was fine. He provided an assist for Jesus and generally helped Arsenal sustain our late pressure.

Calafiori – 7 – We’ve certainly missed him and his direct play. His pass to Odegaard triggered the fourth goal. Maintained defensive discipline and helped Arsenal over the line.

Jesus – 8 – He was a hub for chances after his arrival onto the pitch. He maybe could’ve done better with a couple of them, but his goal was superb. The way he gave himself a yard of space was exceptional.

Eze – N/A

Summary

After a trio of disappointing Premier League results, this was absolutely needed. I actually think Arsenal have needed a statement win away from home all season. Too many times we’ve gone to grounds and escaped with one or two goals, but this was the battering that we needed. It shows that we won’t roll over and we won’t let the occasion get to us. It took a while to get going and set pieces have helped us again, but champions don’t care how they win. We’ve tried to win by playing the best football and fell short, I don’t think these players will tolerate that anymore. I’m writing this before Manchester City and Aston Villa finish their games, but we’re seven points clear again with a nice home fixture next weekend. If City slip up here, then we could be 9/10 points ahead of them before they even kick a ball, they’ll also be playing Liverpool away. Before all that, we have an EFL Cup semi final to win. The first leg we won 3-2 at Stamford Bridge, now we’re at the Emirates to host Chelsea. Here’s how I think we should lineup

Arsenal Predicted Lineup

There will be some rotation, but it won’t be major. We don’t know how Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino are doing in terms of injury, but I’ll assume they won’t be fit. Noni will have to start in place of Saka until he returns, could be one game or could end up being five or six. Cristian Mosquera is clearly competent enough to step in for Saliba, but you’ll need one of Gabriel/Saliba to remain in the lineup. White is certainly ready to deputise Timber, to keep him fresh. In order to increase workload, Calafiori can get the nod, even if it’s just until the hour mark. Eberechi Eze, Jesus and Martinelli all saw reduced minutes against Leeds, so we should expect them to start. I can see Havertz dropping to the bench to make sure we’re not overdoing it for him. It’s sensible rotation, but we have the depth to rotate during the game depending on what happens. Let’s get it!