So Arsenal go to Bournemouth in the fourth round, while Leeds regroup for their Championship bid. Nick Ames and Barney Ronay were at the Emirates tonight, and here are their verdicts on the quintessential game of two halves. Clickity click, enjoy, enjoy ... and thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Mikel Arteta talks. “Now I am really pleased. But I think we have seen two different teams. One in the first 30 minutes, another from the first 30 minutes of the first half. I tried to give them advice, to tell them exactly what they were going to face. And after 32 minutes we started to win. We changed our attitude and desire, and at half-time our organisation. We were completely different. Leeds batter every team, but it is good to learn. Their intensity is really different.”
The goalscoring hero Reiss Nelson speaks to the BBC: “Emotions are high. Leeds are a great team, and they pressed us hard, we didn’t expect it. But we got the goal in the end.”
Then man-of-the-match Alexandre Lacazette is asked what Mikel Arteta said at half-time. “He shouted a lot. He was not happy. Thank you Reiss for the goal!”
The Leeds fans are giving their team a huge ovation, despite the result. They were deliciously good in the first half, blowing Arsenal away, lacking only a cutting edge. Admittedly the word “only” is doing a lot of work there. Arsenal couldn’t have complained had they been a couple of goals down. But they regrouped magnificently in the second half, beating Leeds at their own high-energy game, and managed to grind out the decisive goal. The sort of game Arsenal haven’t been winning so often in recent years. Leeds don’t look too distraught. You sense they’re more than happy to concentrate on their promotion push.
FULL TIME: Arsenal 1-0 Leeds United
Well that was a game of two halves, and no mistake. Leeds were totally dominant in the first half, but couldn’t find the net. Arsenal turned the tables in the second half, and Reiss Nelson scored the goal that made the difference. Arsenal will travel to Bournemouth in the fourth round!
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90 min +5: Douglas slips Harrison into space down the left. Harrison runs the ball out of play for a goal kick. That is surely that.
90 min +4: Leeds need to get it upfield quickly. So White decides to beat two men in his own area instead of moving the ball on. He only just about gets away with it, but that’s cost Leeds precious time.
90 min +3: Luiz takes, and shovels a ludicrous effort miles over the bar. Leeds are still alive ... just. Can they pull something out of the bag, and take Arsenal back to Elland Road?
90 min +2: Guendouzi buys a cheap free kick off Costa, just to the right of the Leeds D. A great opportunity for the hosts to close this out.
90 min +1: In the first of five extra minutes, Pepe is replaced by Saka.
90 min: A brilliant chance for Harrison to save Leeds, as he’s sent into acres down the left. But upon entering the box, he hesitates over his shot, allowing Sokratis to challenge. Adding insult to injury, Sokratis plays the ball off him, and Leeds don’t even get a corner.
89 min: Of course, prim old VAR has to spoil everyone’s fun, and far too much time is spent deciding whether Douglas had deliberately poked Sokratis in the eye. There’s nothing obvious to see, and on we go. Eventually.
87 min: Now Arsenal are guarding the ball by the right-hand corner flag. Sokratis is sitting around the ball, legs akimbo. He’s swarmed by desperate Leeds players. Eventually Harrison, trying to work the ball out from betweek Sokratis’s legs, falls over. He clatters into Sokratis, knee on chin, boot up arse. It’s a moment of slapstick brilliance. No free kick. It’s only going to be a throw.
85 min: Pepe swings the resulting free kick into the mixer. Leeds clear easily enough. But they need something in attack, quicksmart, and Arsenal aren’t affording them the opportunity. Paul Janaway will be pleased with all this: “Hopefully Arsenal will learn to grind out the game with Arteta. A learning process for many of the Arsenal youngsters and something we have lacked for years. Every game extra experience!”
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84 min: Willock and Kolasinac are happy to faff about near the left-hand corner flag. No attacking intent, just good game management. Eventually Martinelli decides to dribble towards the box, and is hauled down by Dallas, who goes in the book.
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82 min: ... Dallas crosses deep. Costa, at the far post, but too wide for a shot, passes back to nobody. Luiz clears.
81 min: But Leeds aren’t finished yet. Costa breaks upfield and slips the ball wide right for Stevens, whose first-time cross is blocked out of play by Luiz. Corner. And from that ...
80 min: ... Sokratis sends a shot sailing towards Highbury & Islington tube.
79 min: Kolasinac bursts down the inside left. He one-twos with Lacazette, then shoots from a tight angle. Douglas slides in to deflect out for a corner. From which ...
78 min: Ayling looks to have tweaked his hamstring. He’s replaced by Stevens, making his third appearance for Leeds.
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77 min: Ozil is replaced by Willock.
75 min: Before the corner can be taken, VAR checks on a clash between Lacazette and Berardi. Lacazette had taken a little soft kick at the prone Leeds defender, after a brief tangle. But it’s not considered enough for a red card. Or any censure in fact. The corner, like the VAR rock-and-roll, comes to nothing.
74 min: Lacazette turns away from two blue shirts, a gorgeous bit of skill. Leeds are now on the back foot. Pepe runs at them down the right and tees up Martinelli, who shoots. His effort is deflected over for a corner.
72 min: Douglas goes direct for goal. Aiming for the top right, he’s always wide and high. Another let-off for Arsenal. But Leeds are at least showing in Arsenal’s half of the pitch now; they haven’t done that on a regular basis for quite a while.
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71 min: Costa spins Kolasinac smartly down the inside-right channel. Kolasinac sticks out a cynical arm and he’s in the book. Another free kick for Leeds, 30 yards out, right of centre.
70 min: The free kick’s lumped in. The flag goes up for offside. Then another Leeds attack. A long ball. Costa and Bamford are both flagged. Frustration for Leeds.
69 min: Ozil is stripped by Dallas, who makes off down the left. Ozil drags him back. Free kick. A chance for Leeds to cause some rare second-half bother in the Arsenal box.
67 min: Klich is booked for a late clatter on Xhaka. That may raise a Leeds eyebrow or two, as Xhaka has been putting it about tonight without censure. But that’s the decision. Meanwhile Arsenal make their first change of the evening, replacing the goalscorer Nelson with Martinelli.
65 min: Cute play from Ozil and Nelson, who work the ball in from the left and tee up Lacazette on the penalty spot. Lacazette attempts to spin and shoot, but collides with Berardi. Lacazette wants a penalty, and VAR take a look, but nothing is forthcoming.
63 min: Xhaka swings a leg at Douglas. It’s late and clumsy, and he should be in the book, but referee Anthony Taylor is in a very generous mood tonight.
61 min: Ozil and Lacazette combine on the edge of the Leeds D, slipping the ball to Nelson on the left. Nelson’s shot is deflected out for a corner on the right. The set piece comes to nothing, but the hosts continue to knock on the door. They’ve been relentless since the restart, a full switcheroo from the first half.
60 min: Leeds make that double switch: Costa and Dallas come on for Gotts and Alioski.
59 min: Pepe dribbles down the inside-right and sends a cross infield. The ball hits White’s chest. Pepe wants a penalty, but that’s not going to happen.
58 min: Gotts tries to turn the tide with a shot from 25 yards. It’s wild and wide. On the touchline, Marcelo Bielsa prepares a double change.
57 min: Arsenal passes are sticking now. And Leeds, who were first to everything in the first half, suddenly look a bit ragged. They’ve been shocked by Arsenal’s newly found intensity.
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GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Leeds United (Nelson 55)
Arsenal’s post-break pressure pays off! Pepe wins the ball in midfield and drives down the inside-right channel. He slips the ball wide right for Lacazette, who tries to return it. But the ball’s deflected towards Nelson instead. Nelson doesn’t quite connect properly, six yards out, but manages to bundle the ball over the line anyway. Leeds will wonder how it’s come to this, after their first-half dominance, but here we all are.
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54 min: Leeds finally get themselves going in the second half, Bamford drifting in from the right and pearling a low shot towards the bottom left that Martinez does extremely well to parry.
52 min: Guendouzi curls a low shot inches wide of the bottom left. Where have this Arsenal been? Not turning up until the second half? Has Mikel Arteta bought Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sat-nav?
51 min: This is so much better from Arsenal. Guendouzi slips a pass in from the right for Ozil, who pauses, draws three players towards him, then tees up Lacazette to his left. Lacazette fires towards the bottom right. Meslier is behind it all the way.
50 min: Lacazette takes. He whips over the wall towards the top left. It’s never coming down quickly enough, though. It skims the top of the crossbar. Meslier almost certainly had it covered.
49 min: Xhaka drives down the inside left and purchases a cheap free kick off Klich, who clumsily barges him over from behind, just to the left of the D. A free kick in a very dangerous place.
48 min: Nelson has another dribble down the left. He goes nowhere, but that’s OK. Arsenal have obviously been given the proverbial rocket at half time. They’re faster and sharper, and haven’t allowed Leeds a kick since the restart.
46 min: And Arsenal come again, Lacazette flicking cutely down the middle for Nelson, who skedaddles with great purpose towards the Leeds box. White sticks on his shoulder, though, and does just enough to herd him away from goal before he can shoot. Phillips arrives to help out, and Leeds clear. But barely a minute of the second half has elapsed, and already Arsenal look a different team.
45 min 13 sec: Pepe has a go from 30 yards. It flies 30 yards over, but that’s not the point. A necessary statement of intent.
It’s the second half. Arsenal kick off. They were totally outplayed by Leeds in the first period; the visitors enjoyed 63 percent possession, and had 15 attempts on goal to Arsenal’s three. Leeds’ high-paced pressing has been too much for Arsenal, who will need to raise their game in this second half or they’ll be going out. No changes yet.
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Arsenal 0-0 Leeds United
How on earth are Leeds not a couple of goals up? They’ve been utterly dominant, and have given Arsenal a proper chasing. I’d pay ready money to be a fly on the wall as Mikel Arteta turns on the hairdryer.
45 min: Leeds stroke it around beautifully. Just as it looks as though they’re going to launch another sortie on the Arsenal goal, Alioski clumsily wanders offside. The Arsenal crowd holler at Sokratis; they want the game restarted quickly. But the defender is blowing hard, having been given the runaround for 44-and-a-half minutes, and he performs the internationally recognised mime for Calm Down. Not entirely sure the fans will be getting onside with that message.
43 min: Breaking news on the BBC: Ozil has touched the ball nine times so far. Nobody’s seen less action. He’s an easy target sometimes, but come on. Here’s Charles Antaki with “the excellent news ... Arsenal cannot in all physical, sporting or moral conscience, be as bad in the next half as in this.”
41 min: Alioski slips Klich into the Arsenal box down the left. Klich rounds Martinez on the outside, but the angle’s too tight for a shot. He pulls back for Gotts, who miscontrols and that’s a goal kick. This is absurd.
40 min: Space for Klich down the right. Gotts, on the edge of the six-yard box, meets the pullback but skies it over the bar. How are Leeds not ahead? Or, put a different way: how are Arsenal not behind?
39 min: Ayling crosses from the right, nearly catching Sokratis out and finding Alioski free in the box. Sokratis does well to readjust his position and clear in the nick of time.
37 min: Arsenal can’t keep hold of the ball at all. White fairly clatters Lacazette twice, the striker asking for free kicks he’s never going to be awarded. He looks fully miffed. He’s been second best in that particular duel.
35 min: Alioski hurt his leg while falling in a tangle with Sokratis, but he’s good to continue. It’s not long before Leeds are coming at Arsenal again, Harrison slipping a gorgeous reverse ball down the inside right for Phillips, who returns it across the face of goal. Harrison can’t quite get his shot away. Arsenal clear, and it looked as though Phillips was initially offside anyway.
33 min: Ayling crosses deep from the right. Alioski wins the header in a battle with Sokratis, six yards out. It’s flying towards the top left. Martinez, channelling his inner David Seaman, claws out sensationally. What a save! Arsenal clear their lines, while Alioski stays down, requesting treatment.
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32 min: Douglas floats a pass down the inside-left channel that very nearly releases Bamford on goal. Holding does extremely well to read the danger and get in the way to head clear.
31 min: ... Luiz heads harmlessly wide left. It was a great opportunity, eight yards out, with a huge hole in the middle of the Leeds defence. Arsenal have still only had one effort on target.
30 min: Luiz strides forward and takes a hopeful punt from the best part of 30 yards. Full marks for ambition. It’s deflected out for a corner on the left. From which ...
28 min: Alioski crosses from the left. Harrison swivels on the edge of the D and sends yet another shot whistling goalwards. Once again, Martinez is right behind it. The Arsenal keeper is earning his money this evening.
26 min: Sokratis has to battle like billy-o just to earn a throw on the halfway line. Leeds aren’t giving Arsenal any space or time. The wide-eyed, open-mouthed look on Sokratis’s face as he takes the rare chance to catch a breath speaks volumes.
24 min: Leeds, suitably chastened, go up the other end and nearly score themselves, Alioski making good ground down the left before whizzing a low shot across the face of goal and out for a goal kick.
23 min: Leeds stroke it around nicely. So good to watch. Complacency is the only danger right now. White dawdles over the ball and allows Lacazette to scoot away with it. The striker enters the area. It looks like a classic sucker punch is about to be landed, but Lacazette takes too much time and he’s swarmed then crowded out.
21 min: Phillips swings a medium-height free kick into the mixer. The ball skims off Xhaka’s head, and Martinez spills it off his chest and out of his arms. It’s knocked out in a panic for a corner, which Martinez to be fair claims well. He launches long ... and there’s nobody in red in the Leeds half. Arsenal need to clear their heads, because they’re all over the show at the minute.
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20 min: Arsenal are a shambles at the back. Nelson, running back towards his own goal, is easily stripped of possession by Alioski, who slips a pass wide left for Bamford. Alioski clumsily bundles him over. A free kick in a very dangerous position, just to the left of the area.
19 min: Luiz plays a ridiculous ball out of defence, an easy interception for Alioski, who should do better than standing up a cross, intended for Bamford, that’s easy for Holding to head out for a corner. The set piece comes to nothing.
17 min: Harrison drops a shoulder to leave Kolasinac in the dust down the right. Another shot from distance. Martinez, who will have warm hands, deals with this one too. Leeds will wonder how they’re not ahead.
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15 min: Leeds hit the bar! Klich glides in from the right and lays off to Bamford, who one-twos a pretty triangle with Harrison, enters the box, and smashes a shot off the crossbar from 12 yards out, a little to the right. He probably should have scored, but the quality of the move was such that you can’t complain too much. Leeds are playing some fine football. Can we have them back in the Premier League, please? Enough’s enough.
14 min: Harrison has a dig from 20 yards. It’s a fine, rising effort, and Martinez does very well to claw it away from the top-right corner. This match is being played at 101 mph.
12 min: Xhaka goes on a sensational 60-yard run down the left wing. He then tries to release Ozil into the box, but in attempting a slide-rule pass, punts clumsily out for a goal kick. That’s like walking a couple of miles home with the house keys, to let your locked-out family in, only to drop them down the drain in front of the porch.
11 min: Ayling and Alioski combine well down the right, the former eventually hooking across from the byline for Douglas, who is completely unmarked in the middle, six yards out and onside! But the cross is a foot too high for Douglas. What a let-off for Arsenal, who are all over the shop at the back.
10 min: Leeds are putting the Arsenal defence under pressure with their hard press. Holding is forced into a shank out of play. From the throw, Bamford latches onto Harrison’s whipped right-wing cross and flashes a header out of play on the right. This is good stuff from Leeds, both on and off the pitch. A hell of an atmosphere, some good old-fashioned cup bedlam.
8 min: Pepe looks in the mood for Arsenal, even if the rest of his team-mates aren’t up to speed yet. Now he lashes a shot towards the top left from 20 yards; it’s easy enough for Meslier, but a decent effort nonetheless.
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7 min: Harrison latches onto a dismal Holding pass out of defence, and goes racing towards the Arsenal box. Leeds are three on two. Harrison slots one down the inside-left channel for Bamford, who is in less space than the man in blue out on the right. Bamford shoots, only to see his shot blocked for a corner that comes to nothing. Leeds should have worked Martinez at the very least.
6 min: It’s mainly Leeds in these opening exchanges. They’re pinging it around nicely. But hold on! Douglas loses control in the centre circle, and misses a tackle on Pepe, allowing the winger to sashay down the middle of the park with great purpose. He’s crowded out before he can get to the Leeds box, but what a fine run.
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4 min: Alioski takes the free kick, sending it curling towards the far post. Bamford gets eyebrows on it, but can only help it out for a goal kick.
3 min: Douglas rakes a long ball towards Bamford, who can’t win the heading duel with Luiz, but then Guendouzi bundles over Alioski as they compete for the loose ball. A free kick for Leeds, just to the left of centre, 40 yards out.
2 min: Leeds are out of the blocks quickly, pressing, pressing, pressing. A sign that they’re not here to mess about. Bamford is nearly released down the left, but Luiz snuffs out his run. A lively start by the visitors.
And we’re off! Leeds get the rerun of the 1972 final going. A fantastic atmosphere at the Emirates.
The teams are out! Arsenal in red shirts with white sleeves, Leeds in third-choice powder blue. We’ll be off in a minute!
Right, I’m back. What a draw, eh? Eh? Anyway, back to tonight’s big game, and let’s find out who’ll be travelling to Bournemouth in the fourth round. No bombshells in the pre-match interviews, other than the revelation that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is ill.
Before the big kick-off at the Emirates, the draw for the fourth round will be made. That means some downtime for this MBM, as I nip across to populate the live blog with the fate of your favourites. See you over there, and we’ll all meet back here before the match? Great, it’s a plan.
♫ ♯ ♪ Memories light the corners of your mind, distant snow-covered memories, of the way we were ♪ ♫ “The Arsenal v Leeds tie in 1991 went to a whopping three replays,” recalls Matt Emerson. “I vividly recall the second one being during a bitterly cold spell in London and tuned in to Capital Gold to hear the great news that they’d cleared the snow off the pitch and - thanks to Arsenal’s fabled undersoil heating - the match was definitely on. I duly went along: it ended nil-nil. Happy days.”
A night off for Arsenal’s leading scorer and captain, then. But Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has made his presence felt at the Emirates tonight nonetheless. Ahead of a month of frenzied transfer-window speculation, he’s sought to shut down all idle chat surrounding his future. Arsenal fans will enjoy reading the captain’s notes in their official matchday programme this evening. Unless the first letter of each paragraph spells A-C-T-U-A-L-L-Y-I-M-O-F-F-S-E-E-Y-A, in the style of former Autocar employee James May, we haven’t checked that closely.
❤️ "I am the Arsenal captain. I love this club. I am committed to it and desperate to bring it back to the top, where it belongs."
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 6, 2020
💬 @Aubameyang7 addresses recent speculation in tonight's #EmiratesFACup programme notes - read it now 👇
Arsenal make four changes to the side that beat Manchester United last week. Emiliano Martinez, Rob Holding, Reiss Nelson and Matteo Guendouzi take the places of Bernd Leno, Lucas Torreira, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Leeds make five changes to the team sent out to draw at West Brom in their last match. Illan Meslier and Robbie Gotts make their debuts, alongside the recalled Gaetano Berardi, Barry Douglas and Patrick Bamford. Casilla, Liam Cooper, Stuart Dallas, Eddie Nketiah and Helder Costa make way.
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The teams
Arsenal: Martinez, Sokratis, Luiz, Holding, Nelson, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Kolasinac, Ozil, Pepe, Lacazette.
Subs: Leno, Ceballos, Mavropanos, Willock, Martinelli, John-Jules, Saka.
Leeds United: Meslier, Ayling, Berardi, White, Douglas, Phillips, Alioski, Gotts, Klich, Harrison, Bamford.
Subs: Cooper, Casilla, Dallas, Helder Costa, Davis, Stevens, Casey.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire).
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Preamble
Arsenal and Leeds United first met in the FA Cup in 1950. Leeds, then as now, were in the second tier, but a defence led by legend-in-making John Charles gave a good account of itself. They restricted the hosts to the one, decisive goal, as Alex Forbes beat three men down the left and fed Don Roper, who crossed for Reg Lewis to head home. Arsenal went on to win the cup. Leeds missed out on promotion.
The next time the teams met in the cup was the 1972 final. Leeds were the best team in the land back then, the bosses of England from 1965 to 1974, though much good that did them in terms of overall trophy haul. By way of illustration, it was Arsenal who were reigning double champions at the time; Leeds righted some wrongs by prevailing 1-0 at Wembley thanks to Mick Jones’ pullback and Allan Clarke’s diving header. It remains their only FA Cup.
Arsenal, by contrast, have 13 of the things. They’ve also got much the better of Leeds in the cup head-to-heads, having knocked them out in 1983, 1991, 1993, 2004, 2011 and 2012. Leeds’ only FA Cup victory during that time came in 1997, when an early Rod Wallace goal was enough to see off the Gunners at Highbury.
Leeds have won just one of their last five games in the Championship. They won’t want to be narrowly missing out on promotion again like they did in 1950 (and last year), so aren’t likely to compromise their push for the Premier League by picking a full-strength side. Arsenal might give it a good old go, though. So for a few reasons, the hosts are the hot favourites tonight. But anything can happen in the FA Cup. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.56pm GMT. Heads up!
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