Leeds United captain Liam Cooper says his side must take the positives from the loss and use that as a catalyst for the rest of the season.
Leeds lost out narrowly to league leaders Arsenal at Elland Road, but the result didn’t show the dominance that the Yorkshire club had in the game, especially in the second half. Leeds will feel very unlucky not to get anything out of the game despite having the lion’s share of the chances and also Patrick Bamford missing a penalty kick at a crucial time in the match.
In a first half that was expansive from both sides, it was the visitors who went in front after a wayward cross-field switch from Rodrigo was snatched up by Martin Odegaard and slid into Bukayo Saka who smashed an effort into the roof of the net from the angle. Just after the hour-mark, Leeds were given a reward for their endeavours but Bamford dragged his spot kick wide. The hosts rallied late on but Arsenal held on to make it 27 points from a possible 30.
Speaking after the game Cooper said, “I think both teams did well and made it a very good spectacle throughout the game. I thought we deserved a lot more and [I am] disappointed to come away with nothing again.”
“It’s difficult. We were in the ascendency, I can’t really remember Arsenal having too many chances and we’ve got to take our chances when they come. That’s the level we’re at.”
The Leeds captain shared his thoughts on the Arsenal defeat, Patrick Bamford and Gabriel's red which wasn't. | #LUFC https://t.co/GsADTjSLTq
— Leeds United Live (@liveleedsunited) October 16, 2022
He added, “I think Bukayo Saka’s chance was even a half chance and it shows what we’re up against in this league but I hope that that is the catalyst to turn our season and our efforts into more points.”
“Hopefully we can do that. It’s a quick turnaround and we’ve got a massive game against Leicester on Thursday.”
“Jesse has been asking a lot of Pat [Bamford],” Cooper added. “He’s had a rough year and there is nobody that works harder and strikers have these patches of form.”
“When we got the second penalty which then wasn’t, Pat was the first one who said, ‘no I’m having it’ and that’s credit to him. That’s the type of characters we need in the team and we had that today. Everyone to a man was good and it’s just heart breaking and absolutely gutting to come away with nothing.”
“He [Kavanagh] said that Gabriel has been pushed before but I still don’t think that affects the kicking out. I think he [Gabriel] knows what he’s doing and speaking to their players, I won’t name names, but they thought exactly the same.”
What did you make of the game against Arsenal? Did Leeds deserve something from the game? Let us know in the comments.