Leeds United were expected to lose to Arsenal but some will be concerned by the leakage of goals in yesterday’s 5-0 win. Daniel Farke suggested everything aligned for the Gunners with all five shots on target going in.
But the wider context of a lack of a distinctive fallback plan from the normal blueprint may worry some. Arsenal were clearly in a different sphere yet Leeds will be disappointed by the manner in which some goals were conceded.
Credit must go to the Leeds faithful, who were loud and impassioned in the away end even with their side five goals down at full-time. Marching On Together could be heard after the final whistle. Below are some moments onlookers may have missed.
Farke’s midfield orchestrating
Throughout the first half, Farke was clearly unhappy with what he saw from the midfield. He was up from his seat, directing Ao Tanaka and Anton Stach for the first 20 or so minutes up until a break in play.
As Martin Odegaard was getting treated, Farke was seen in deep chats with both midfielders about what he wanted to see. Leeds conceded twice afterwards, though neither came as a result of Tanaka or Stach - but instead Ilia Gruev, who lost the ball.
He told media afterwards that he played Gruev in place of the injured Ethan Ampadu as he saw him as the better defensive option. It seems he is the de facto replacement for Ampadu - for now.
Ramazani’s spcial media decision
One notable moment came before the game. Largie Ramazani’s omission from the matchday squad raised eyebrows with a lack of clarity thrown over his future at the club. There has been speculation about a loan exit.
The winger removed his Instagram profile picture earlier on Saturday, replacing it with a blank, black image. It’s a growing theme among footballers whose future appears up in the air, a trend seen multiple times this season. Leeds United is still tagged in his bio.
Speaking to Leeds Live over the summer, Ramazani said he was “more than ready” for the Premier League. He has yet to make his English top flight debut.
Farke explained his squad's omission was purely down to numbers, with new signing Noah Okafor coming in. “It’s not against Largie,” he insisted.
Other things spotted
Lucas Perri was practicing goal-kicks in the warm-up. Goalkeepers always practice their kicking pre-match but to do so from the six-yard box itself is not always commonplace. At one point, he overhit the ball and it was heading towards the club’s cameraman before Alex Cairns saved the day with a claw.
As he came off following the warm up, David Raya shared a warm embrace with Cairns. The goalkeeper’s union, and all that.
During the game there were a lot of gesticulations from players. After the fourth goal, Joe Rodon let out a loud scream of frustration, having had the ball nipped off his knee by Jurrien Timber. Daniel James tried to show good intentions by jogging back into position.
Rodon and Jayden Bogle had a back and forth about positioning halfway through the second half, Rodon not knowing whether to push up to mark the striker or drop back and fall into the back line.
Before his penalty foul, Stach was seen with his hands on his knees, completely worn out by the pace. A steep learning curve for him, and everyone else, frankly.