Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta gave huge praise to Leeds after his side edged the game, which was full of incidents at Elland Road.
The Gunners have now taken 27 points out of a possible 30 in their best-ever start to a top-flight campaign. They were made to work extremely hard for the points, especially in the second half as Jesse Marsch’s side battled to get something out of the game. On reflection, the Whites deserved at least a point from the game, which was a great advertisement for the Premier League.
Arteta said, “We made it very difficult for ourselves because we didn’t close the game in the first half and we should have done, In the second half, we made too many mistakes that just gave opportunities and belief to Leeds.”
“Credit to them. [In] the second half, they were really, really good, incredible atmosphere, and deserves credit for that as well.”
“Credit to them. [In] the second half, they were really, really good, incredible atmosphere, and deserves credit for that as well.” #lufc https://t.co/e8BrrYFCKz
— Leeds United Live (@liveleedsunited) October 16, 2022
He added, “We expected periods where it became really chaotic, the game and we have to handle that situation. [In] the first half we had some really, really good moments [in which] we should outplay them and then score two or three and we didn’t.”
“We left the game open and from the beginning, from the first whistle in the second half we started not at the rhythm and not making the right decisions time after time and we put ourselves in big trouble. Even when you get in those moments, I love the resilience, the fight, the character and the courage the team showed to win the game.”
Leeds must take some positives, for large periods of the game they were the better side and considering Arsenal have only lost once all season, it’s a massive step in the right direction for Marsch and his side. The Whites now travel to Leicester on Thursday hoping to pick up a crucial three points in the bottom half of the table. Arsenal’s next game is a trip to Saint Mary’s Stadium to face Southampton on Sunday.
What did fans make of the performance against Arsenal? Let us know in the comments.