Arsenal routed Leeds United 5-0 to start their home slate off in style. Jurrien Timber and Viktor Gyökeres each scored a brace with Bukayo Saka getting the other goal in the thoroughly one-sided affair. Unfortunately, both Saka and Martin Ødegaard were forced off with injuries — it looked like left hamstring for Saka and a shoulder problem for the captain. With a trip to Anfield next weekend, their statuses will be top of the list of concerns.
UPDATE – Said Mikel Arteta after the match, “Yeah, Martin
looked like a shoulder. So we have to scan tomorrow and understand how bad this is. And Bukayo, he has to come off when he was sprinting and wrestling with the defender. He felt something in his hamstring, I think. Different hamstring though, I think, which hopefully is good news. It’s the other side, but yeah, not great news.”
The injuries take a bit of the shine off the apple for what would otherwise have been a five-star day for Arsenal. The celebrations started before the match with the club announcing Eberechi Eze and him coming out to greet the crowd. The Gunners took the lead in the 34th minute from a corner when Jurrien Timber expertly guided his header into the bottom corner of the net from yet another whipped in ball from Declan Rice.
Bukyao Saka doubled the Arsenal lead just before halftime, blasting the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle. Kudos to Rice for winning the ball back so quickly after Ethan Nwaneri had lost it. The Arsenal midfielder covered 15-20 yards of space in about three strides to regain possession and turn the play around.
Arsenal had played pretty well at 0-0 but things still looked a bit out of sync. David Raya made a brilliant save from a corner to keep it level at 0’s before goal settled things down. Other than that, the Gunners shut Leeds down almost completely. The visitors had just 7 deep touches, 11 final third entries, and created 0.0 xG after the 20th minute.
I commented at halftime that it would be great if Arsenal could score early in the second half, put the match to bed, and perhaps turn it into a rout. Top teams do that — they put matches out of reach and use the remaining time to rotate players and get the bench guys into form. The Gunners did exactly that.
Viktor Gyökeres willed his way to a goal, showing the combination of strength, determination, and skill that has people so excited. He carried the ball down the left, cut into the box, held off his defender, found a bit of space, and ripped it home. It was a lovely individual effort. Take that, all the idiots who were flapping their gums about his quality and him not scoring with just a bit over 90 minutes of PL action to his name. Viktor emphatically shut those doofuses up.
Jurrien Timber scored the fourth Arsenal goal, knocking home a bouncing ball in the box from a corner. Gyökeres got the fifth, converting a Max Dowman-won penalty kick. Big Vik absolutely blasted the ball into the side netting. He’s 28 of 29 on penalties in his career. And he’s got a bit of banter about him, too. Apparently during the week, people were yapping about him having more touches of his hair than of the ball against Manchester United. So after doing his Bane celebration, he touched up his hair for the camera. Love that.
Noni Madueke was excellent for Arsenal on the left side, if not for the goal-scorers, he’d be the MOTM. Ethan Nwaneri was quietly solid, too. He didn’t really dazzle like he can (although he had a moment or two) but he made good decisions and kept the play moving.
Max Dowman became the second-youngest senior player in Arsenal history with his substitute appearance. Ethan Nwaneri has him beat by some 100-odd days or so. The 15-year-old was excellent. He wants the ball and makes things happen when he gets it. He drew a yellow card and then a penalty. Arsenal ended the match with three teenagers on the pitch, all of whom came through Hale End. But please, tell me again how Mikel Arteta hates young players and blocks their development. I guess making guys the youngest and second-youngest player to appear for the club is bad.
After a wobbly, unconvincing win at Old Trafford, a cracking win was exactly what the doctor ordered for Arsenal. All eyes turn to Liverpool next weekend. Hopefully Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka are available. I’m not optimistic about the latter, unfortunately. But Arsenal will have Eberechi Eze.
