Leeds United fell to defeat away to Arsenal on Saturday afternoon as the Gunners fought back to cancel out James Justin’s deserved opener.
The Whites returned from the international break with our toughest fixture of the season waiting for us. A trip to Arsenal looked a potential write-off, but Leeds’ performance indicates there can be no such games like that this season.
For an hour, it was an incredible performance that saw Leeds rightly take the lead as James Justin arrived to lash home Gabriel Gudmundsson’s cross.
Ally McCoist wowed by Leeds United as he names Arsenal Man of the Match
Until Ricardo Calafiori’s equaliser, Leeds were good value for our goal lead. Chances for Anton Stach, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Noah Okafor and others went begging in the first half as the final ball was the ojly thing stopping Leeds from truly putting the champions to the sword.
However, a spirited performance wasn’t enough for Leeds to come away with anything. From Nico Elvedi’s expert handling of Kai Havertz, Gudmundsson’s marauding runs and defensive work, Justin’s goal, Ao Tanaka’s confidence in midfield, or Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s superb hold-up play – Leeds had so much to like in that performance.
So much so, that TNT Sports co-commentator Ally McCoist was on the verge of giving his Player of the Match award to a United player. However, he sided with the game-changing sub Bruno Guimaraes for understanble reasons.
“You could make a serious case for three or four of the Leeds United players. Terrific,” McCoist said before picking the Brazilian.
So many positives to take despite Leeds United’s defeat to Arsenal
It’s weird to come out of a game where Leeds have lost and feel more confident about the season ahead.
But, the evidence on show there from the Emirates suggests that Leeds are in a position to mix it with the best. That’s something we didn’t do last season, in fact we were embarrassingly bad against the same side in 25/26.
So, you’ve got to focus on the positives despite our unbeaten run coming to an end. And McCoist’s commentary, along with the typically frustrating Joe Cole also giving us our flowers.
It’s a loss, but it’s not the same as last season’s losses against the Gunners.
