Arsenal vs Leeds United: Mikel Arteta ‘delighted’ with Gabriel Jesus’ performance

Arsenal were only leading 1-0 at half time. However, an improved second-half performance saw them run away with the match.

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta in a file photo; Credit: Twitter/@Arsenal
By Karthik Raman | Apr 1, 2023 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Arsenal were at their maximum best on Saturday when they convincingly got past Leeds United 4-1 in the Premier League. It was not all easy for the Gunners, as they had to work hard to get the three points. At the half-time break, the home side were leading only 1-0. But an improved second half showing saw Arsenal score further goals to win the match comfortably. After the match, manager Mikel Arteta was happy with his team’s performances.

Mikel Arteta on Gabriel Jesus

There was one person whose display drew praise from Arteta was Gabriel Jesus. He had his injury concerns but now he is fully back and also scored a brace in this match. “I’m delighted for him. They were all clapping for him and he’s been working so hard the last four or five months with a lot of support obviously from the team and the staff. Today he deserved the chance to start and he grabbed the opportunity with a lot of conviction and scoring two very important goals,” Arteta said in his post-match press conference, as per arsenal.com.

League leaders Arsenal’s closest rival for the top spot in the Premier League is second-placed Manchester City. Earlier on Saturday, City had beaten Liverpool 4-1, hence it was imperative for the Gunners to also get the win in their match. “What we can control is what we can do. We’ve been discussing that for the last few days. After the international break we had a lot of tricky situations to manage with a few players and it’s always a question mark with how the team is going to react after that. I think they were exceptional, they were really at it, everyone wanted to be involved and we won the game in a convincing way, which is good and the only thing that we can control,” the manager added.

Read More – Manchester City vs Liverpool: Pep Guardiola heaps praise on Jack Grealish after comfortable 4-1 win

‘We exploited all of the spaces’

Arsenal were only leading 1-0 at half time. However, an improved second-half performance saw them run away with the match. “Well, the first thing is that we had to improve. Obviously the way that they set up, they were really man-marking our attacking midfielders and they played with four really fast players to cut us in transition. We started to lose the ball in areas that we cannot do against a team that wants to defend that way. We improved that a lot, we exploited all of the spaces and we changed a little bit the shape and position of a few players, and we were more fluid attacking in the final third very close to the box with good numbers and good positions. We looked a threat,” he explained.

Asked about the fluidity within the frontline, Arteta replied, “We have players now who need a little bit of space and freedom and those interactions I think contribute to the team and make the opponent more conscious and worried about those rotations. It’s a little more difficult for them to defend and they also like it, they feel better, they feel free doing it and they have our blessing to do it.”





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