First thoughts: Leeds United (H)
My reaction to Arsenal vs Leeds United vs Arsenal
I hope it won’t get lost in the reaction to the big win here today but my Debrief post on Eberechi Eze was published as the deal became official before kickoff. It was great for the vibes to have him announced at the stadium and the media team put together a great announcement video on short notice.
Eberechi Eze: The Debrief
There are few things that will get a fanbase gassed and excited quite like the signing of an attacking player. That gets ramped up even higher when that player has the flare and variety of skills that make you stop and go wow. When you can hijack the move from a rival and the player is a boyhood fan and member of the academy it is just that much more sp…
Let’s get into it now.
Main takeaway: Arsenal’s attack is still a work in progress but it looks like it could be scary
The five goals here might flatter Arsenal a bit here but like we saw during the second half of the 2023/24 season and at times last year if Arsenal start building up a head of steam they can score in bunches.
It took a while to get going here but once the damn broke Arsenal looked quite strong and that is even with the team changing pretty significantly over the course of the game with subs at 38’, 53’, and the final three coming on 64’.
Arsenal had a couple of good looks early, Odegaard had a shot fly just wide of the post, Gabriel had a decent look from a set play, Gyokeres had a MASSIVE opportunity following an error but they could convert them.
It took until the 34th minute to break thing open and from there it was all Arsenal. The stats here show Arsenal in full control and playing as good as anyone will all season.
Leeds are obviously not going to be the sternest challenge that Arsenal will face this season, but I feel pretty good in saying that they won’t be the worst team in the Premier League either.
After seeing the glimpses of what could be against Manchester United, we got to see a bit more actual execution for Arsenal creating transition moments. Arsenal created three shots from transitions/direct attacks in this match including the second goal that Saka put into the roof of the net.
That goal was started from winning the ball at 45:38 39 yards from goal and having the ball in the net 6 seconds later.
This was something that Arsenal struggled with last season and while it wasn’t perfect today (they also missed a huge chance winning the ball high) I am going to take the positives where I can.
There is still obvious work in progress being done here in the team and when in settled possession the team still can settle into the horseshoe at times but being able to establish the balance will be key for this team.
It is good to get three points, have some stuff to clean up but not be saying it was winning ugly!
Positives:
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