Arsenal cruised to a 4-0 win at Leeds United to temporarily re-establish a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
Noni Madueke, a late replacement for the injured Bukayo Saka, teed up Martin Zubimendi for the opener before forcing Karl Darlow into an own goal with a brilliant corner. After riding out some early pressure, Viktor Gyokeres and substitute Gabriel Jesus added further gloss in an ideal response to last weekend’s defeat to Manchester United.
Here’s what the managers, players, pundits and stattos made of the action…
Mikel Arteta on an important win…
To win 0-4 here, it’s very, very difficult. Let’s see when is the next time that this happens. So, big credit to the boys. Obviously, we had a few games without a win in the Premier League. We had a great win a few days ago in the Champions League to close that phase. And, in three days, we have a semi-final, and if we win, we’re in Wembley. I think the team showed a real dominance, resilience, character and then obviously quality. So, we had the moments to punish them. We certainly did that. And everybody, the starters, the finishers, I really like the attitude of the team.
Source: BBC Match of the Day
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Daniel Farke on his side being outclassed…
Congratulations to Arsenal. Deserved win today. We have to accept the better team won this game. We were also realistic before, we faced the best side currently in Europe. There’s a reason why this team is sitting top of the Premier League, with eight wins out of eight in the Champions League. You need a perfect day, but also a bit of luck. We did not have our very best day. They were on it from first to last second. We have to accept their quality today, there’s not too much to interpret from today.
Source: Sky Sports
Ethan Ampadu on a humbling day for Leeds…
We have got to put this one to bed now, learn from the mistakes. I believe when you play against top teams, you have to say that they have got a lot of quality. But for us, it is about dusting that off and then we have got a good game on Friday now. We reflect, we learn from whatever result that has happened and we try to put it into good use for the next game.
Source: LeedsUnited.com
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Noni Madueke on the win…
Today we were excellent, to be fair. In all phases of play, set pieces, in possession, out of possession, today was a top performance from us. we know it’s a tough atmosphere, it’s a tough ground. They’re a tough team to play against, they’ve been in good form recently, but it was an amazing performance from us. We deserved everything we got.
Source: Sky Sports
Declan Rice on how Arsenal cope with the noise and pressure during the final months…
The boys, we look at it, and we have a bit of perspective. So far, we’re top in the Premier League, we won eight out of eight in the Champions League, we won the first game of the [Carabao Cup] semi-final, and we’re in the next round of the cup. So, we can’t complain about where we are, if you’d asked any Arsenal fan about where we’d be at this stage of the season, someone would have bit your hand off. We’re in a really strong position, we know as players we have a really good squad, and it’s about utilising that and realising that every game is a cup final. If you want to be a winner, if you want to give everything, you’ve got to win these games. We have a long four months ahead, but ones we’re prepared for, and if you want to win with Arsenal and leave a legacy, this is your chance to do it in the next four months.
Source: Sky Sports – transcript here
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Madueke on Arsenal’s depth…
We have great squad depth, great players in every single position, probably one of the only teams that has 22 players that can really play every single game, so I think that’s the strength of ours. Today it was on show with the impact of the substitutes coming onto the pitch Gabby [Jesus] scoring, and Martinelli with the assist for Viktor’s goal. We’ve just gotta keep going like this, and we’ll be good.
Source: Viaplay Fotball
Ray Parlour on Arsenal’s set-piece prowess…
That’s maybe why Havertz has come in as well, the big guys come up from the back. They really do practice a lot the corners. It’s all about the delivery, where that ball goes, you’ve got Saka when he’s playing, Madueke’s taken over, and Declan Rice can really whip them in.
Source: Stan Sports
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Paul Merson on the win…
At times, it was like boys vs men. Arsenal just brushed them aside. They were A+. I can’t emphasise how good a result and performance it was. Elland Road was rocking, but once Arsenal got into the game, they were dominant all over the pitch. The squad is just phenomenal. Noni Madueke comes in for Bukayo Saka and gets two assists. There were five players that came on in Martinelli, Eze, Odegaard, Jesus and Calafiori – what team don’t they get in? That was the game that won Arsenal the Premier League.
Source: Sky Sports