
Arsenal continued its excellent start to the season with a 1-0 win away against Leeds United. While this wasn’t Arsenal’s most convincing performance, it was enough to secure all three points. Let’s get into the Arsenal week 10 match review for Arsenal vs. Leeds.
Arsenal Week 10 Match Review: The Positives
Arsenal played quite well in the first half. They dominated possession and created a number of chances. Saka played well and scored excellently after a through ball by Martin Odegaard. Saka was a constant menace for the Leeds United defense.
Odegaard also had an excellent game and picked up another assist. He created several chances and demonstrated his creativity in the middle of the pitch. It was another good performance by the Norwegian midfielder.
Thomas Partey also had an excellent game. He shielded the back four well and helped Arsenal progress from defense to attack on many occasions. He also resisted Leeds United’s aggressive press well and helped Arsenal maintain possession of the ball, particularly in the first half.
The biggest positive from this match was Aaron Ramsdale. He had an excellent game, recording four saves in a MOTM performance. Ramsdale had his best game of the season so far and played a major part in ensuring Arsenal left Elland Road with all three points.
Gabriel Magalhaes also played well, despite a concerning moment at the end of the game involving Bamford. He completed 90% of his passes, made three tackles, and won eight duels. He did nearly give away a penalty to Leeds United against Bamford, but that was overturned following a VAR review.
Arsenal Week 10 Match Review: The Negatives
Saliba did not have a great game against Leeds United. He gave away a penalty to Leeds due to a clear handball in the penalty box. He was fortunate that Bamford missed the penalty, so his mistake did not cost Arsenal all three points.
Additionally, Arsenal struggled to maintain possession of the ball in the second half. This allowed Leeds United to attack Arsenal’s defense and create a number of chances. However, some stout defending and excellent goalkeeping from Arsenal prevented Leeds United from capitalizing on these chances.
Gabriel Jesus also did not have his best game, either. He did not seem to be too involved in the action in the second half. However, given how little possession Arsenal had in the second half, that’s not entirely his fault. Still, it was a quiet game for Jesus.
Tomiyasu at left-back was also a strange choice. It did not really pay off in this case. Tomiyasu struggled to get into the game at times and Arteta later changed his formation. This was a questionable decision from Arteta.
Manager Rating: 7.5
Arteta’s substitutes were fine, but his choice to start Tomiyasu at left-back was puzzling. Tomiyasu played well against Liverpool at left-back, but it is clearly not his best position. I think it’s unlikely that Tomiyasu will start many more games at left-back this season. Additionally, Arsenal failed to follow up their strong first-half performance with a similar second-half performance.
Arsenal Did Enough to Get All Three Points
This was far from the Gunners’ best performance of the season. However, they did enough to secure all three points. Elland Road can be a tricky fixture and Arsenal showed resilience in order to win the match. Arsenal next face Southampton away in the Premier League and I would bet Arsenal wins again, especially given how the Saints have started the season.
Check back next week for our match review of Arsenal vs. Southampton.