Arsenal defeated Leeds United 5–0 at home in a rollercoaster day at Emirates Stadium.
The afternoon began with a bang as Eberechi Eze was announced and presented in front of the home crowd. Mikel Arteta made a big call in attack bringing Noni Madueke in as the left-sided forward seeing a lot of the ball early.
Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard operated in more of a roaming role getting involved across the attacking third as opposed to his usual camping on the right side. Yet the Gunners continued to struggle with creating clear cut chances early as they did last week against Manchester United. Viktor Gyökeres had an early sight of goal after Leeds were clumsy with the ball, but the Swede acted too hastily and dragged his shot wide.
Just like last week, Arsenal found the opener from a corner as Declan Rice’s in-swinging ball was met by Jurriën Timber. Shortly after, Ødegaard was forced off through an apparent shoulder injury and replaced by Ethan Nwaneri, a worrying sign after Kai Havertz picked up a knee injury earlier this week.
Bukayo Saka restored celebrations at the Emirates on the brink of halftime, scoring the first open play goal of the season to double Arsenal’s lead.
Out of the tunnel, Gyökeres made up for his blunder with his first competitive goal in an Arsenal shirt to extend the lead to three. Though, the stadium came to a halt minutes later when Saka went down with an apparent left leg injury. The England international walked off under his own power, but the nervy sight marred Timber's second goal of the afternoon in the 56th minute.
Max Dowman then made his debut for Arsenal at 15-years-old in the second half. Any time he got on the ball, fans were out of their seat as his teammates looked to get him consistently involved. The exciting talent won a penalty deep into stoppage time, which Gyökeres dispatched for his second of the day.
The Gunners secured another clean sheet and an overall comfortable victory, though ears await hopeful updates on two key players while eyes turn to a trip to Anfield.
Arsenal player ratings from the win below.
Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Leeds (4-3-3)
Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Jakub Kiwior, Mikel Merino, Gabriel Martinelli
Player of the Match: Jurriën Timber
Leeds United (4-3-3): Lucas Perri; Jayden Bogle, Joe Rodon, Pascal Struijk, Gabriel Gudmundsson; Anton Stach, Ilia Gruev, Ao Tanaka; Wilfried Gnonto, Joël Piroe, Daniel James
Subs: Karl Darlow (GK), Sean Longstaff, Lukas Nmecha, Brenden Aaronson, Noah Okafor, Sam Byram, Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Jack Harrison
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Leeds: 5–0 Win Overshadowed by Saka, Odegaard Injuries.
