Leeds United's run of three games unbeaten came to a quick halt against Premier League leaders Arsenal on Saturday afternoon.
The Gunners put Daniel Farke's side to the sword, running out 4-0 victors at Elland Road.
It was a game that the visitors dominated from start to finish. They took the lead inside the first half an hour, with Martin Zubimendi heading home a wonderful cross from Noni Madueke.
A blunder from Karl Darlow gave the North Londoners their second goal. Leeds’ goalkeeper tried to punch away a corner, but simply pushed the ball straight into his own net.
Arsenal’s third goal came with 20 minutes or so remaining and was another disappointing one to concede. It was a rare goal for Viktor Gyokeres, who got in front of Jayden Bogle at the back post and deflected his effort goalwards. Again, Darlow could have done better with the shot, which was straight at him.
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke looks dejected after the match
The Gunners’ three points were capped off by a fourth goal. This time it was from Gabriel Jesus, who received the ball in the box and was able to find space for a shot. Darlow was left with no chance on this occasion.
It was a poor day at the office for Leeds, who will be disappointed to not put up more of a fight.
Did Farke get it wrong vs. Arsenal?
Today was another game where you might have assumed Farke’s newly implemented back-three system could have had a positive effect on the result for the Whites. They may have looked to sit deep and be harder to break down for the Gunners.
daniel-farke-leeds
Yet, there felt like a bit more of a possession focus from Leeds, with Farke’s men having 48% of the ball, more than what you may have expected. This is perhaps due to playing with two number 10s in behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin rather than two number nines.
The Leeds boss was complimentary of Arsenal, who obviously have lots of quality, but you could argue that he did get the system wrong.
Calvert-Lewin was described as “isolated” by the Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth.
There wasn’t much help for their talismanic striker, who did struggle to get into the game despite fighting hard. There is certainly a case to be made that the German manager should have played with another attacker to give him more support.
Indeed, one of those number 10s really struggled to have an effect on the game.
The Leeds player who struggled vs. Arsenal
Despite some better performances of late, it was a tough day at the office for Brenden Aaronson. The American was playing as the left number 10, but was outclassed by Arsenal’s right side of defence, which consisted of William Saliba at centre-back and Jurrien Timber at right-back.
Aaronson-1
Perhaps his afternoon’s work was summed up best by Smyth, who gave him a 5/10 rating for his performance. He said Aaronson worked hard but ultimately 'couldn't be dangerous or tidy enough to make something happen' against the league leaders.
That is well summed up by his stats from the game. The attacking midfielder had just 34 touches of the ball, fewer even than Darlow, who had 55.
He only completed one out of five dribbles, lost ten duels and failed to create a chance.
Aaronson stats vs. Arsenal
Stat
Touches
Passes completed
Number of times ball lost
Duels won
Dribbles completed
Key passes
Stats from Sofascore
After such a poor performance, it would not be a shock to see Aaronson omitted from the lineup for Leeds’ next game, a relegation six-pointer against Nottingham Forest next Friday night. That is a must-win game for the West Yorkshire side.
There are options to replace him, too, and Farke might end up switching his system to bring in more support for Calvert-Lewin. If that was the case, it would put Noah Okafor or Joel Piroe in the frame to start against the East Midlands side.
noah-okafor-leeds
Alternatively, the likes of Facundo Buonanotte could get the nod if the system stays as it is. Regardless, it would be no surprise to see Aaronson drop out of the lineup, for someone who might be able to have more of an impact in the final third.
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