Leeds United winger Raphinha looks completely lost after woeful display v Arsenal
Leeds United are in massive trouble after back-to-back defeats in the league.
An ill-disciplined performance against Arsenal saw them losing 2-1 on Sunday (8 May), and now they have dropped to 18th, below both Everton and Burnley.
With the Toffees having a game in hand, and apparently riding high on momentum, the Whites fans have every reason to feel worried about their safety.
Jesse Marsch has another big problem to solve – how to deal with Raphinha?
Apart from being a dazzling winger who scores goals and creates chances, Raphinha’s all-round performance is the main driving force for the team.
The Brazilian is a wing-back’s delight as he tracks back and puts in loads of defensive shifts.
Against Arsenal, we saw a different Raphinha, a player who refused to help his side out defensively. The effort was missing, clearly indicating his mind was somewhere else.
It’s not just the fan base, but the pundits have also observed it. It was a woeful performance from him.
“They had a lot of joy down this side [the left]. Raphinha wasn’t giving Ayling too much and help and Martinelli had a field day today, a lot of space to run into,” Wright said about Raphinha on MOTD.
“This is what I’m talking about Raphinha. He was doing this all game. It’s like his head isn’t in the game. He comes short and bam, it’s an easy one two.”
In the past week, Raphinha has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona.
In a recent report from Sport, it was claimed that Raphinha will force his move to the Catalan club in the summer.
He just wants to join them and will urge the Whites to lower their asking price.
Raphinha is too good a player to be playing in the Championship if Leeds go down, but there’s a still to play for in the season. Leeds still can avoid the drop.
However, if the key players make silly errors like Luke Ayling or show disinterest like Raphinha, it would be really difficult for the club to pull through.
In other Leeds United news, Jesse Marsch says Leeds are “screwed” if they do one thing after their 2-1 loss against Arsenal.