Eddie Nketiah floors Leeds to strengthen Arsenal’s grip on fourth - Guardian 8/5/22
Nick Ames at the Emirates Stadium
Was this evidence that Arsenal will breeze across the
finishing line and secure what, given the gloom around their prospects in
August, would be a sensational return to Champions League football? Or was it
fresh proof that they will make those who hold them dear chew anxiously until
the bitter end, nerves hanging by a thread until the dying moments of the final
day?
On Thursday night we may find out, given that three points
at Spurs, of all places, will confirm their top-four spot. If Mikel Arteta’s
side play as they did in the first half here, cutting through Leeds
relentlessly and doing their performance a disservice by failing to score more
than two, those doubts could well be settled beyond anyone’s expectations.
Turn in the kind of showing they managed in the final 25
minutes, when they somehow let an abject 10-man opposition back into the game
and could even have let it all slide in added time, and the rollercoaster ride
their manager so fears will become stomach-churning.
“We’re going to go for that match with the same enthusiasm
we always do, but knowing this can be a defining moment,” Arteta said of the
meeting with Spurs, who are four points behind them with three to play. “That
can be another layer of motivation for us to really go for it.”
Arsenal certainly went for Leeds, although they were aided
by one of the most shambolic openings any top-flight side has produced this
season. When Eddie Nketiah scored his second goal in the 10th minute there
appeared little doubt about the outcome; a quarter of an hour later the hapless
Luke Ayling had celebrated his 500th career appearance by scything into Gabriel
Martinelli, thus ending both his afternoon and campaign.
So the fact they were breathing a sigh of relief in the
final minute of injury time, when Rodrigo could not quite flick a header beyond
Aaron Ramsdale to equalise, was a mystery. Their football can be crisp, intense
and thrilling but Arsenal rarely fail to leave the door open at least a crack.
“The way we started, we were electric,” Arteta said.
Nketiah’s opener was testament to their tempo, which bizarrely appeared to
catch Leeds by surprise. Ayling made one of his few successful contributions in
passing back to Illan Meslier, but the keeper took a touch and let the ball run
across his body when the situation called for safety first. Nketiah, who had made
up a prodigious amount of ground, steamed in and swiped it into the net before
Meslier could set himself to clear.
Meslier had already flapped at one free-kick and his jitters
were of a piece with everything about Leeds’ display. They had got in Manchester
City’s faces eight days previously but here they stood off and let Arsenal
play. When the irrepressible Martinelli left Ayling chasing shadows down the
left, keeping control of the ball well before cutting back, an unmarked Nketiah
was stationed to clip in his second. A player who had been handed crumbs all
season until last month now has four in four; whether that compels him and
Arsenal to agree a new contract remains to be seen but his sharpness in the box
has proved decisive at a crucial time.
“He has been very consistent with his performances, and how
little he is giving away,” Arteta said of the 22-year-old’s future intentions.
“Let him enjoy the moment because he completely deserves it and things will
happen naturally.”
Nature continued to take its course as Martinelli roasted
Ayling twice more. Eventually, after the Brazilian kept a raking pass in near
the byline, Ayling cracked and ploughed through his tormentor, and, although
the ball came with him, his force was clearly excessive. Christopher Kavanagh
initially showed a yellow card; it did not take the most pedantic of VAR
reviews to turn it red, given the offender had leapt in with two feet.
Already depleted, Leeds now miss a vital component for their
own decisive series of matches. They are in the relegation zone and face
Chelsea next: it is a recipe for major trouble. “If we start playing blame
games with players, we’re screwed,” Jesse Marsch said. In fairness there would
have been plenty to go round. “We’ve got to stick together and fight for
points, it’s not time to point the finger.”
Leeds just about staggered to the interval without further
damage and, even though Martinelli went close three times, the margin remained
at two with 24 minutes left. Then Diego Llorente converted a corner at the far
post with their first goal attempt. Now the Emirates, almost somnolent in the
late-afternoon sun, felt angsty and the outcome remained in doubt when Martin
Ødegaard shot wide. Nicolas Pépé opted not to locate an open goal after Meslier
went up for a corner and, at the end, the roars were of relief that everything
remains squarely in Arsenal’s slippery hands.