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

Arsenal FC v Leeds United - FA Cup Third Round

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.

#2 Quality in the final third

For all the possession and chances Leeds had in the first half, it only took 10 minutes of Arsenal pressure to break the deadlock. Once the Gunners started to commit more men to attack and play quicker passes, the Championship leaders couldn’t handle it. All of a sudden gaps in the Leeds defence were appearing and Arsenal’s final third quality began to shine through.

Mesut Ozil began to find more space in the final third, using his deft flicks to progress play quicker. Alexandre Lacazette also began to improve his hold up play, bringing Reiss Nelson and Nicolas Pepe into the game as they drifted into central areas. Arsenal ended the game with 16 attempts on goal, 5 of which were on target. The Gunners were also able to complete 230 passes, most of which came in the second half.

#1 Alexandre Lacazette’s hold up play

Alexandre Lacazette put in a man of the match performance against Leeds. Despite not scoring and only having two shots on target, the Frenchman put in a workman-like center-forward display. He put in the hard work that a lot of today’s modern strikers do not. Forwards like Harry Kane and Mauro Icardi save their bursts of energy for the final third, not Lacazette, he works in all phases of the pitch.

In a tireless performance, the 28-year-old won 3 tackles, 2 aerial duels, completed 2 successful take ons, 23 passes, created 2 chances and attempted 3 shots. The stats clearly show the Frenchman put in a holistic display on the pitch, not scared to get his hands dirty. As captain of the side, Lacazette led from the front and took on the manager’s demanding instructions at half time.

Edited by Joseph Solomon