Arsenal overcame a horrible 51st-minute red card by Nicolas Pepe to hold for a point at Elland Road against the high-flying Leeds attack, showing tremendous defensive discipline in the process. They were held without a goal yet again, however, pushing their incredible scoreless streak from open-play to over seven hours of Premier League play. This kind of offensive inadequacy is simply unacceptable for a team trying to challenge for the Champions League, and individual errors like that of Pepe will only exacerbate the offensive woes the Gunners are currently facing. Below are the player ratings from the match:
Player Ratings (1 – 10)
G – Bernd Leno – 8 (MOTM)
Arsenal’s most important player on the evening, Leno, had a terrific game under difficult circumstances. Leeds fired away 25 shots, thankfully only four of which were on target, and all dealt with well by the German. One particularly impressive save to high right in the second half personified his performance perfectly.
DF – Kieran Tierney – 7
After playing over 300 minutes of football over the international break, one would have expected some tired legs from the Scot in this one. However, there were no signs of fatigue from Tierney, who worked hard and did his defensive work diligently. Didn’t get forward as much as he would have liked, but did make a few excellent runs to put pressure on the Leeds back line when he could.
DF – Rob Holding – 8
Holding and Gabriel continued their strong play together as a center back pairing, with Holding, in particular, doing a terrific job aerily and with the ball at his feet. Made many important clearances under duress and ensured Arsenal escaped with a point. Job well done.
DF – Gabriel – 7.5
Gabriel continues his seamless adaptation to the Premier League with another excellent performance and clean sheet. A little shakier than usual at moments on the ball, but overall was excellent dealing with the threat of Patrick Bamford and the shifty Leeds front line. What a great signing he is proving to be.
DF – Hector Bellerin – 7
Another good performance from Bellerin, who continues to be largely excellent this season on the right side of the defense. His positional awareness was much better today after some lapses last time out against Aston Villa and did well to limit the effectiveness of the right side of Leeds’ attack. He also struggled to get forward at times, but that was more due to Arsenal being down a man.
MF – Dani Ceballos – 7
Worked incredibly hard, dribbling out of tight areas and relieving pressure on many occasions. He always tried his best to drive Arsenal forward, even after going down a man. Always so willing to dig in and do the defensive work as well, which was desperately needed as Arsenal closed out the game. Solid performance.
MF – Granit Xhaka – 5.5
This might be a bit harsh on Xhaka as he did a wonderful job defensively in the second half, but he is just so slow and laborious at times that you cannot help but get frustrated watching him. He was beaten too easily a few times in the first half when Leeds were on the front foot and struggled to find any invasive passing lanes going forward. Kudos for shielding the back line late.
MF – Joe Willock – 6
It was nice to see Willock get the start, as Arsenal desperately need a midfielder who isn’t afraid to attack the opposition’s defense. Showed his usual good drive and willingness to get forward, but as so often happens, he struggled with his final ball and decision making in the final third. Good experience getting a start in a big Premier League game such as this, but didn’t fully grasp the chance like Mikel Arteta would have liked. He sacrificed for tactical reasons after the red card.
RW – Pepe – 1
Unacceptable. That is how Mikel Arteta described Pepe’s red card in the 51st minute that effectively ended any chance at three points for the Gunners. Pure idiocy is probably a better way to put it. A moment of sheer madness from Pepe right after getting the start that he has been crying out for. It will take a tremendous amount to drag himself out of Arteta’s dog house, and we might not see the Ivorian again for quite some time.
LW – Willian – 5.5
It still just isn’t coming off for Willian right now. The willingness and work rate are there, but the end product continues to be lacking ever since the fantastic debut match against Fulham. Unfortunately, he suffered a slight muscle injury and had to be taken off at halftime, but on his current form, he probably should be out of the side for a bit anyway.
FW – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6
Finally given a start at his preferred center forward position, but was again largely anonymous for large portions of the match. Showed good movement and popped up in good areas, but Arsenal simply wasn’t able to generate a consistent attack in the second half. Had one good half chance fall to him that he blasted over but continues to be stuck in a goalscoring rut with the rest of the squad.
Substitutes
LW – Reiss Nelson – 6
He came on for Willian in the second half but was robbed of a chance to make any real impact shortly after with Pepe’s sending off. Showed tremendous energy and great dribbling skills in his limited touches and should be in line for a run of important starts now with Pepe suspended and Willian injured.
MF – Bukayo Saka – 7.5
He is clearly Arsenal’s best forward-minded player at the moment. It came on in the 57th minute and instantly provided a spark as the Gunners’ only source of attacking creativity. Had the best chance of the match when he was played in clean by Hector Bellerin, only to be denied by a terrific save by the keeper. Unfortunately was injured himself by a clumsy challenge, and Arsenal will be holding their breath that it is not as bad as feared.
MF – Ainsley Maitland-Niles – NR
Replaced the injured Saka late and didn’t have ample time to contribute much. Saw the game out well.
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