Leeds United legend Jermaine Beckford has reflected on their brutal demolition at the hands of Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Despite holding their own in the opening exchanges against the Premier League title contenders, Leeds were put to the sword by Arsenal as Daniel Farke watched his side fall to a heavy defeat.
Leeds fans criticised Lucas Perri after the game as the goalkeeper had a torrid night, with his distribution getting Farke’s side into trouble on several occasions.
However, Anton Stach received praise from Jamie Redknapp after the game, as he was one of the few players to escape from the clash with credit in the bank.
The defeat is a reality check for the Whites, who were riding high after an opening-round win over Everton. According to Beckford, the players will need to dust themselves off quickly after a chastening evening in North London.
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Jermaine Beckford reflects on ‘baptism of fire’ for Leeds United
Speaking on TalkSPORT Breakfast shortly after 8 am on the morning of the 24th August, former Leeds forward Jermaine Beckford reflected on their heavy defeat against Arsenal.
Gary Neville criticised Leeds for their attempts to build out from the back in the first half, and Beckford believes Farke’s side need to learn from their “baptism of fire”.
The former Leeds man said: “[Arsenal] gave Leeds no opportunities to get the ball under control and dominate any type of section of that match.
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“It was an incredible Arsenal performance, and it was quite frustrating from a Leeds perspective. It was like a baptism of fire. So it was quickly back down to reality for Leeds.”
He added: “It doesn’t matter if you lose so much against a team like Arsenal or Liverpool or, you know, City or someone, it’s the manner in which you lose. Now, if you lose 2-0, 3-0, at a push 3-0, you could argue, do you know what, it’s still respectable. Five hurts”.
Before concluding: “Every one of the players tried their hardest, they were just outclassed by a phenomenal footballing side. On to Sheffield Wednesday to kind of hopefully get a little bit of confidence back and then onto Newcastle on the weekend.”
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Arsenal dominated Leeds in a key area of the game
All the talk in pre-season centred around Leeds’ strategy of bringing physically powerful players to the club with the hope of competing with the big sides.
However, Arsenal are one of the most aerially dominant teams in the top flight and that showed in their win over Leeds, as the visitors struggled to compete.
According to the stats from FotMob, Arsenal won 76% of the aerial duels in the game, with Leeds winning just four, as Joel Piroe became an increasingly peripheral figure in the Leeds attack.
Arsenal – 13 Aerial Duels won – 76%
Leeds – 4 Aerial Duels won – 24%
Having disrupted Perri’s short passing, the goalkeeper was forced to play long more frequently. This played right into Arsenal’s hands, as they dominated the game in the air.