Arsenal 5-0 Leeds Player Rating and Match Reaction

[HCZ_Reborn]

Raya 7.5 - Only had the really one big save to make and he made it well


Timber 9.5 - Two goals and solid performance enough said


Saliba 7.5 - Untroubled


Gabriel 8 - Like he’s never been away


Calafiori 7 - Better going forward than at the back


Zubimendi 7.5 - Tidy distribution


Rice 8 - Good set piece deliveries


Madueke 7.5 - Looked far better when he switched to the right hand side


Odegaard 7 - Tidy performance prior to injury


Saka 8.5 - Was looking close to his old self, made his injury all the more galling


Gyokeres 9 - Proved he can deliver when given service



Subs


Dowman 9 - As noted in pre-season not only technically gifted but more than capable of holding his own with the physicality of the league


Trossard 6.5 - Muted somewhat but most attacks were coming down the right


Lewis-Skelly 7.5 - Made a couple of driving runs into central midfield


Nwaneri 7.5 - Proved more than capable of stepping up to replace Odegaard


Mosquera 7 - Didn’t have a great deal to do as Leeds were dead and buried by time he came on



Putting to one side the injuries and I thought once we got our noses in front we looked confident and looked to enjoy our football, I liked that there seemed to be a great deal of effort from his team mates to help Max Dowman to score his first senior goal, and I have no doubt that he will get it sooner rather than later.


There’s not much to say other than that, the injuries did sour things a bit for me. I’m hoping that none of these are long term. Fair to say none of Havertz, Odegaard or Saka likely to be at Anfield. But hopefully at least one or two of them back for Man City (might be tad optimistic though)

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

From my now defunct thread:

Starting with player ratings, I think everyone was generally ok, but MOTM IMO was Raya, who didn't put a foot wrong with his flawless distribution and some incredible saves to deflate the opposition quite early on.

As for the match, I fully expected us to comfortably beat Leeds but not in the manner it happened. I thought we would create a lot of opportunities and show some progress in beating the low block...that did not occur IMO.

Instead we ended up scoring with all attempts on target apparently and mainly through set pieces and fortunate breaks/steals.

As analysed on MOTD, we starved our striker of obvious opportunities to play the ball to him, and it wasn't soley an Odegaard issue as I tend to believe.

So in short, we still don't have a proper answer to the low block which was what I was really looking forward to finding out yesterday.

We probably won't have that same problem with the next opposition, however it is a bit worrying that out of 6 goals we've scored so far we haven't seen a proper executed team goal ( this excludes setpieces of course).

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

Nwaneri 7.5 - Proved more than capable of stepping up to replace Odegaard

Now I think this is a bit of an issue.

I wasn't bowled away at all by Nwaneri's performance in the middle, but TBH this is something I've noticed for a while, he just doesn't seem to make an adequate claim to being able to orchestrate our plays.

I am not saying he won't turn out to be an adequate CM sometime in the future, but currently I don't see what he gives us when it comes to setting up plays or passes that break lines, as he seems far more comfortable trying to beat everyone that comes his way.

I think his best performances in the main team have come from playing in the Saka role, and at this point in his development (just like Dowman) , I believe that role suits him better.

As for the Liverpool game, I hope Eze could be ready to fill in if Odegaard is still injured. However, I think Arteta will go with Merino which would disappoint me slightly, as I'd prefer an attacking mindset to take advantage of the glaring weakness that Liverpool have.

[The Wengerbabies]

Good win.

[Chippy]

Max Dowman looks like an amazing prospect. I guess we can only sign him on a professional contract when he turns 16?

[Marc Overmars]

Saka out for a month.

Not too bad given there’s an international break but these type of injures aren’t really showing signs of getting better for us.

I guess that means Madueke can play in his preferred position for the time being.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

Saka out for a month.

Not too bad given there’s an international break but these type of injures aren’t really showing signs of getting better for us.

I guess that means Madueke can play in his preferred position for the time being.

To think most sources yesterday kept saying it wasn't as bad as it looked and their was a slight chance he might even make the Liverpool game

[HCZ_Reborn]

To think most sources yesterday kept saying it wasn't as bad as it looked and their was a slight chance he might even make the Liverpool game

I didn’t see it being said anywhere that he might make the Liverpool game, that was said of Odegaard

Plus It isn’t as bad as it first looked, 3-4 weeks given he’s done his hammy is pretty good. I was worried it was going to be 2-3 months

[IBK]

From my now defunct thread:

Starting with player ratings, I think everyone was generally ok, but MOTM IMO was Raya, who didn't put a foot wrong with his flawless distribution and some incredible saves to deflate the opposition quite early on.

As for the match, I fully expected us to comfortably beat Leeds but not in the manner it happened. I thought we would create a lot of opportunities and show some progress in beating the low block...that did not occur IMO.

Instead we ended up scoring with all attempts on target apparently and mainly through set pieces and fortunate breaks/steals.

As analysed on MOTD, we starved our striker of obvious opportunities to play the ball to him, and it wasn't soley an Odegaard issue as I tend to believe.

So in short, we still don't have a proper answer to the low block which was what I was really looking forward to finding out yesterday.

We probably won't have that same problem with the next opposition, however it is a bit worrying that out of 6 goals we've scored so far we haven't seen a proper executed team goal ( this excludes setpieces of course).

Delighted with the performance and the result. But yes I agree that we are very much a work in progress changing to a more transitional side. I'm hoping that the way that Gyok scored his open play goal was a real signpost to the fact that to get the best out of him we need to drop deeper at times to lure the opposition into making space, and pass the ball into his runs. I'm happy with set pieces as a reliable plan B, but we have still used them as plan A in our first 2 games. We have discussed on here in the past that we need to be a bit more brave and a little less obsesssed with keeping possession when passing forwards (and less 'U' shaped passing sideways and backwards - that allows the opposition to get into defensive shape). This will lead to turnovers, but then if we can win the ball back there will be space in front of us.

It's amazing, now we learn that Saka and Odegard's injuries may be shorter term than we had feared - to remember that we now have proper back up for previously essential first team players. Having such squad depth feels like a new, and comforting thing - and it's nice to be going to Anfield without feeling that our player absences make dropped points almost inevitable. As for Ethan - he was tidy but needs to work on being a fulchrum. It'll come, but I think that Eze - far from impeding his progress - insulates him a bit while he learns a complex and demanding role.

[KSE Comedy Club]

I was a few drinks in when the game started so overall the result was brilliant, the performance was night & day compared to the Utd game.

Well chuffed with the team all round.