Gary Neville baffled with Robin Koch man-marking Lacazette in Leeds v Arsenal
Gary Neville has questioned Marcelo Bielsa’s decision to have Robin Koch man-mark Alexandre Lacazette during Leeds United loss to Arsenal on Saturday.
The Gunners ran riot at Elland Road today (18 December), winning 4-1, with the hosts’ defence struggling to contain the visitors’ attack.
Koch was on the Arsenal striker all game, and Neville did not understand why the Whites head coach opted for that approach as his side’s defence was constantly exposed anytime the German followed the Frenchman close to midfield.
The Sky Sports pundit said (as shown on their website): “They are such a mess, Leeds. Arsenal have been really good and exploited it.
“I just don’t see the benefit of Koch chasing Lacazette all over the pitch and leaving so much for the rest of the defenders to do.
“Like I said, it’s like an U9s team defending. Five or six of them all trying to block the same ball at once.
“It’s not for me to talk about how Marcelo Bielsa plays the game, but I’m not having that against Lacazette.
“If that was a great player up front, who could maybe turn and get on the ball and run at you – Lionel Messi or someone like that – you might go and follow him and man mark.
“But not Lacazette. He’s just pulling the centre-backs of Leeds all over the place and leaving gaps for the others to fill, but they can’t fill them.”
Confusing
Bielsa is a tactical genius as they come, and he would have had his reasons for asking Koch to be on Lacazette, but it did not change anything, and the 4-1 scoreline tells the whole story.
The Frenchman did not get on the scoresheet, but he assisted once as the Gunners youngsters ran riot.
While Leeds improved in the second-half, there was no coming back from the first-half damage done by the visitors.
Injuries have decimated his squad, but the Argentine was still able to name a decent starting XI against the North Londoners.
However, Arsenal had more quality and made it count, and Leeds had no answer.
Their mistakes cost them as they did against Manchester City during the week, and they cannot afford to repeat them against Liverpool on Boxing Day.
The Reds have more quality attackers than the Gunners, and if the Whites play as they did in their last two games against them, a huge defeat could be on the cards.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites have mapped out plans to avoid relegation scrap as January transfer budget claim emerges.