Leeds United haunted by familiar spectre at the feast - Graham Smyth's Verdict on Arsenal defeat - YEP 17/10/22
It would not have been a Leeds United birthday party without drama befitting their storied 103 years of existence.
By Graham Smyth
Falling as it did on a day when they took on potential title
challengers Arsenal there was every chance that the fun would be spoiled and
that was certainly the expectation prior to kick-off. Eight wins from nine and
an ominous, almost inevitable front line, gave the Gunners the appearance of
the spectre at the feast, against a Leeds side winless in five and struggling
to find rhythm or consistency.
As it turned out, Arsenal did crash the party and they did
win, but they didn't deserve to. And how much credit you give to Jesse Marsch
and Leeds for that fact will be hotly debated between the glass half fulls and
their half empty counterparts.
Battering the division's leaders for such long spells in the
second half, having gone down a goal despite a largely solid first half, was
unexpected but welcome. They pressed, fought, created and entertained
sufficiently to walk off the pitch winners, by a margin, to an ovation. They
just didn't score. Their own finishing, rather than Mikel Arteta’s elite
operators, proved the spectre.
The biggest question begged by the performance, which owed
much to not only their tigerish defence but some clever, incisive football, was
perhaps where has it been? Had they played like this against Everton, Aston
Villa - prior to the red card - and Crystal Palace then the upcoming midweek
trip to Leicester City would not be taking on such a magnitude.
It also feels fair to wonder whether the quality of
opposition has played some part in Leeds' best two performances so far this
season. The side that beat Chelsea so handily rocked up again, albeit without
their finishing boots, just as the missing posters were starting to go up
around LS11. Arsenal came to win and they came to play, which perhaps lent
itself to Marsch's plan to force and then profit from errors in the opposition
half.
Leeds have looked well capable of doing the first part, at
least, against two 'big six' clubs now, but the grim reality in the top flight
is that beating the best of the rest is what is required to survive. They've
got to do both parts, well, against teams who might show no serious desire to
play out or will, as Palace did, simply take steps to counteract Marsch's plan.
If his intention was to hit Arsenal with chaos, the American
was given a helping hand by the bizarre sight of referee Chris Kavanagh taking
the teams off after 69 seconds after a power surge wiped out the officials'
headsets and Premier League systems. According to Marsch the 30-minute break
that ensued briefly gave rise to the possibility of the game going ahead
without VAR, a prospect made all the more fascinating given the game's
subsequent and significant incidents.
Leeds were out of the blocks quickly, at the second attempt,
Luis Sinisterra sending a shot just wide from a similar range to his previous
goals. He returned to the team after suspension, Patrick Bamford dropping out,
and with Jack Harrison as the 10, Rodrigo set out to show why he deserved the
nod up top. He was bright, lively and involved in promising moments early on.
For a player who has never found consistency at Leeds, the
last thing he needed was to self sabotage his and his team-mate's efforts with
a faulty switch that put Pascal Struijk under pressure and Arsenal on the front
foot. Martin Ødegaard got on the ball, slid it through to Bukayo Saka and he
made it 1-0. Tyler Adams' bewildered look in the direction of his
centre-forward, open palms failing to grasp an understanding of the pass, said
it all.
When Rodrigo then killed an attack with a ponderous release
of the ball that rendered Rasmus Kristensen offside, Marsch sent Bamford out to
warm up. The half-time switch appeared to pay instant dividends, Bamford
finding the net before Kavanagh pulled the plug on the celebrations, spotting a
foul on Gabriel.
But Leeds and Bamford were undeterred, the striker
intercepting a William Saliba pass to get in on goal only to shoot straight at
Aaron Ramsdale. His next big opportunity didn't even yield a shot but the
energy had been switched back on at Elland Road and it flowed between the team
and the fans.
A penalty, awarded after Kavanagh visited his now
functioning monitor, had the very air crackling with anticipation, which
Arsenal's barely-concealed attempts to delay only served to increase. Bamford's
nerve, though, did not hold up and his shot bolted wide.
Again, Leeds refused to let the lights go out. Sinisterra
missed a chance, Bamford ran through the middle and ignored a tug on his shirt
but was denied by Ramsdale once more, Brenden Aaronson saw one saved and
Crysencio Summerville scooped over the top.
Time and hope dwindled, before flickering back to life with
a red card for Gabriel, for kicking out at Bamford, and a second penalty, only
for VAR to bring Leeds back to earth. Kavanagh swapped the red for a yellow,
Arsenal took a free-kick and eventually turned out the lights on the result.
What felt so cruel was the lack of reward for performances
like that of Struijk, still a makeshift full-back in a league full of
incredible wingers, and others who played so well. Harrison was creative
throughout, Sinisterra was dangerous and Aaronson probed, poked and pestered
Arsenal to within inches of real damage.
Meslier becoming a spectator whose most noteworthy second
half involvement came as an attacker for a late corner at the opposite end, is
testament to the improvement in what Marsch was able to elicit from his side.
That much was recognised by the applause from a season-high crowd of 36,700 at
Elland Road at full-time, with Bamford’s name ringing out in a moment of
sympathetic support.
It was thrilling, it was better, but in the Premier League
you make your own fun and there will be, you would think, a chance of some
later this week. Leeds United at least have a spark, but they have to turn it
on again at Leicester.
