Leeds United suffered a heavy defeat at Arsenal in their first away game of the new Premier League season
Former Leeds United striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has pointed to one key shortcoming after his old club fell to a heavy defeat in Saturday’s visit to Arsenal.
The Whites made their way to North London on the back of their 1-0 home win against Everton as Premier League football made a successful return to Elland Road after a two-year absence. Daniel Farke handed debuts to a number of his summer signings during the win against the Toffees and that continued at the Emirates Stadium as former AC Milan forward Noah Okafor came off the bench during the last 25 minutes of the defeat against Mikel Arteta’s men.
Much has been made of the physicality of the summer additions at Elland Road with the likes of Sean Longstaff, Anton Stach, Lucas Perri and Jaka Bijol all standing at over six foot tall. There has been a hope a new look Whites squad will be able to stand up to the rigours of competing against clubs across the Premier League and ensure Farke’s men become a difficult test to face for opposing sides.
However, Saturday’s trip to Arsenal showed just how far the Whites have to go as braces from Viktor Gyokeres and Jurrien Timber and a Bukayo Saka goal condemned Farke and his players to a heavy defeat. There was frustration that two of those goals came from set-pieces and that appeared to lead former Whites striker Hasselbaink to question the decisions taken during the summer.
What did Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink say about Leeds United’s defeat at Arsenal?
Former footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink played for Holland, Leeds United, Atlético Madrid and Chelsea. He now works as a pundit, as well as being an assistant coach for the England football team.placeholder image
Former footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink played for Holland, Leeds United, Atlético Madrid and Chelsea. He now works as a pundit, as well as being an assistant coach for the England football team. | Getty Images
He told Premier League Productions: “It was always going to be a difficult match. This is not the kind of match where they would have hoped to pick up points. There is a way of losing. They [Arsenal] are strong at set-pieces, don’t give them away. You have brought people in to get better at defending set-pieces, but it is still an issue. Daniel Farke says it is not a defining moment, true, but you still have to be competitive in these. You want to be competitive, they were only competitive until the set-piece, then all the plans went away and that was a pity.”
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