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Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Arsenal returned to club football with a victory after they came from behind to beat Leeds United 2-1 at the Emirates.
Arsenal returned to club football with a victory after coming from behind to beat Leeds United 2-1 at the Emirates.
Bruno Guimarães and Riccardo Calafiori scored to complete the comeback after James Justin had put Leeds in front, as the visitors suffered their first defeat of the season.
As it happened
Although both sides were relatively well organised at the start, the impact of three weeks away from club football was clear.
Leeds were shaky in midfield, losing simple passes, while Arsenal were caught offside several times early on. Arsenal were dominant on the ball for much of the first half, but there was little to trouble James Trafford in the Leeds goal. Leeds did create more chances, occasionally troubling David Raya.
Their most notable opportunity of the first half came from a free-kick, as Raya ran out to punch a lofted delivery that fell to Ethan Ampadu. This left the Arsenal keeper scrambling back to catch the ball just before it crossed the line.
Leeds broke the deadlock in the 55th minute after Gabriel Gudmundsson made a long run down the left wing and played a high ball into James Justin. Scrappy Arsenal defending left Raya on the floor when Justin took his shot from the right side of the box, slotting it into the top-left corner to put Daniel Farke’s side 1-0 up.
Arsenal responded almost immediately. A simple ball from the left wing, delivered on Noni Madueke’s weaker right foot, found Ben White at the far post. White nodded the ball back across goal towards Riccardo Calafiori, who got just enough contact on it with his head to guide it past Trafford and level the score six minutes later.
The home side went ahead just eight minutes later as a superb team move involving Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and a sublime flick from Declan Rice found Bruno Guimarães in the centre of the box. He finished with complete composure to score his first Arsenal goal at the Emirates.
Rice was unlucky not to give his side a two-goal cushion after an excellent piece of skill in the box set up Ødegaard, whose effort was miraculously saved by Trafford.
Viktor Gyökeres also missed a golden opportunity in the 91st minute as Trafford came well out of his goal at a risky moment. However, the Swede took too long to shoot, giving the Leeds goalkeeper a huge moment of respite.
Despite the game’s slow start, it came to life in the second half. It was a convincing win for Mikel Arteta’s side, whose well-worked goals and quick response to going behind showed the true mark of champions.
Arsenal are now level on points with league leaders Manchester City before the leaders travel to Liverpool tomorrow, while Leeds sit fifth with nine points.