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Key Arsenal man pinpoints main strength of Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United

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Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has heaped praise on Leeds United after his side somehow managed to escape Elland Road with a point on Sunday evening.

The international break gave both Marcelo Bielsa and Mikel Arteta food for thought after their sides lost heavily a fortnight ago, and came into this hoping to get back on track.

We saw in January’s FA Cup clash that Leeds are more than capable of going toe-to-toe with sides occupying the top end of the table, and were actually quite comfortable in controlling the match against Arsenal, despite losing.

Elland Road was the setting for the first league meeting between Leeds and the Gunners since the visitors were in the midst of their invincible season and Leeds were relegated.

However, the Whites were the dominant force from start to finish, limiting Arsenal to one chance of any real threat when Bukayo Saka raced through in the second half, to be denied by an immense Illan Meslier.

While that was Arsenal’s big chance, Leeds had a number as Rodrigo, Patrick Bamford and Raphinha all hit the woodwork in the second half.

We’ve seen it for two full seasons under Bielsa in the Championship but the Premier League is finally getting a taste of this intense pressing style where our incredible fitness is on display and demonstrably greater than our opponents’ most weeks.

What didn’t help Arsenal was a stupid red card for Nicolas Pepe for a headbutt on Gjanni Alioski, meaning they had to do an extra player’s running for nearly a full half, and Hector Bellerin wasn’t enjoying his night at Elland Road.

Leeds ended the completely on top of the stats, with 66% possession, 14 more shots, 300 more passes, highlighting how lucky Arsenal can be considered for their draw.

Tasked with tracking the relentless runs of Jack Harrison, and then Raphinha, Bellerin was keen to highlight the fitness levels and organisation of Leeds after the game. He had this to say (via LeedsLive)

“I don’t know if people at home realise how difficult it is to play against a team like this. They’ve been working really hard and this is their third year [under Marcelo Bielsa]. They know how they want to play. They literally don’t rest in the whole game and for us it is a challenge.

“Sometimes we are going to have teams that are going to wait for us, sometimes we are going to have teams that are going to press high and sometimes we are going to have teams like Leeds – who are all over the pitch. So for us it is important to adapt to every single situation.”

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