3 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s win over Leeds

Whewww, that was a scary one.

Arsenal remain at the top of the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over Leeds at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon. It was far from a pretty performance, but Bukayo Saka’s beautiful finish was the decider in this dramatic game.

3 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s win over Leeds

Here are the good and the bad of the victory.

Positive #1: Winning ugly

Leeds deserved something from the match, but it was a testament to Arsenal’s mentality to be able to hold on to the result.

It was by no means a good performance, but these are the kinds of games that must be won if you’re legit, and Arsenal are legit. We know how good this team is and Sunday was just an anomaly.

It’s a very good sign for the mentality of this team to beat a Leeds side that had not lost at home to start the season. Credit to Jesse Marsch’s side, they were unfortunate to not get a result here.

Negative #1: Leeds press

Leeds’ press suffocated Arsenal and they did not allow the Gunners to grab control of the match.

Their attacking force of Brenden Aaronson, Luis Sinisterra, Patrick Bamford, and Rodrigo was very tough to deal with on and off the ball. Ben White had his worst match of the season against Sinisterra, and when Aaronson came over to the left to overload it was terrifying.

There was a reason why Arteta opted to bring on Rob Holding to form a back five in the last ten minutes of the 90. Arsenal was unable to gain control and pass their way to a win. The emergency protocol, which we’ve rarely seen this season, was required.

Continued on the next slide…