Pranav Shahaney

Sat 1 April 2023 16:56, UK

Arsenal continued their winning run of form as they thumped Leeds United by a 4-1 scoreline at the Emirates on Saturday, 1 April.

Gabriel Jesus scored a brace in this one while former Leeds loanee Ben White arrived at the far post to score an unlikely goal and Granit Xhaka grabbed a late one himself.

Rasmus Kristensen scored a late goal which proved to be a consolation as the hosts picked up the three points.

Here are our player ratings from this one:

Illan Meslier – 5

Made a few questionable calls, most notably the one to come off his line to make a clearance, which needed Luke Ayling to bail him out. There were few good saves and it wasn’t a performance that will get him down in the dumps but also not one worth writing home about.

Luke Ayling – 1

Made a needless challenge inside the box at a point where Leeds looked to be on top. Until then, Arsenal did not even have a single shot on target, but the Englishman threw himself to the floor and conceded a penalty. He made an important clearance off the line to stop it from being 2-0. However, things did not improve in the second half either as he lost most of his attempted duels and failed to complete a single cross all game. Even though Ayling is a fan favourite at Elland, even the staunchest of mans will admit he needs to be dropped.

Robin Koch – 4

Made a couple of important blocks and won some tackles in the game but wasn’t among his best games for Leeds. He did not do a good enough job at keeping the Arsenal attackers at bay and also picked up a yellow card.

Pascal Struijk – 4

Much like Struijk, it was an awkward game for the Whites defenders who looked good for the first half hour but then failed to maintain that consistency throughout the game.

Junior Firpo – 3

Was nowhere to be seen when White tapped the ball into the back of the net. As a left-back, it’s Firpo’s job to mark the far post when a cross is coming in from the right wing. He may be good going forward but he cannot forego his defensive responsibilities like that.

Rasmus Kristensen – 8

Playing in an unconventional midfield role for Leeds, the Dane continued to prove why he deserves to be starting over Ayling and we see that happening against Forest. Was good defensively, did his fit in the final third and scored an unlikely goal to give his side some glimmer of hope. His passing may have been slightly off, but it’s a performance that he should be impressed with.

Marc Roca – 6

Often looked like a centre-back given how deep he dropped in midfield. The Spaniard had a good game and showed Gracia that he can be used as an option to play as a makeshift centre-back. Was key with the build-up in the first half and does not deserve to be faulted for this one.

Jack Harrison – 3

Another disappointing performance from Harrison will frustrate the life out of Leeds fans. They know that when he’s on song, he can be a goal threat, but his inconsistency is what gets to them. Did absolutely nothing to be a creative threat and ended up losing the ball on 10 occasions.

Luis Sinisterra – 4

Struggled to get involved in the game, completing just eight passes in the 65 minutes he was on the field of play. He also got bullied in the air, winning just three of his nine duels and this was a forgettable performance by the Colombian.

Brenden Aaronson – 6

Starting him made a lot of sense as he was the one closing down the opposition defenders and made it difficult for them to build out from the back with ease. He won most of his ground duels and also completed more than 80 per cent of his passes. A good performance from him.

Crysencio Summerville – 7

Proved to be a constant thorn in the Arsenal side in the first period and it can be argued that he was the best player on the pitch in the first half and was unlucky not to get the goal. Tried hard to make things happen in the second period, but to no avail.

Subs

Weston McKennie – 4

Georginio Rutter – 3

Rodrigo – 4

Patrick Bamford – N/A

In other Leeds United news, a teenager now looks closer than ever after what he did at Thorp Arch during the international break with Javi Gracia taking note.

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