Hector Bellerin has criticised Arsenal’s failure to control the game against Leeds after they moved into a 4-0 lead.
The Gunners were extremely comfortable for the opening hour of the weekend’s victory, but after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the club’s fourth just five minutes into the second-half, our opponents were allowed a way back into the clash.
Leeds are known for their physical, high-intensity way of playing, and there were fears that they were going to find a way to score more goals after pulling the score back to 4-2, but luckily we found a way to find our feet for the final 20 minutes.
Bellerin has slammed his side for not taking a grip on the match when we had the clear lead however, especially knowing the strengths of their opponent.
“If there’s a team in the Premier League that you know will run for the whole 90 minutes, that’s Leeds,” Bellerin told Arsenal Media.
“We did really well to score straight away from the re-start but then we conceded a set piece. It’s something that we know they’re strong at and we need to be more careful with that. Then we conceded another goal and even though you’re still two goals up you’re trying to defend the box as much as you can and make sure they don’t get another one.
“That shouldn’t be the way we play, you know? We should manage the game better in a way that when we’re winning 4-0, we should just have the ball and make them run instead of them making us run. There’s still a lot to learn but obviously, especially that first half, was really positive.”
Did Arsenal get too comfortable with their 4-0 lead and let it slip? Or are Leeds maybe not getting enough credit for the fight that they showed to almost get themselves back into the match?
Patrick