Arsenal brush Leeds aside to continue march towards Premier League title

Arsenal brush Leeds aside to continue march towards Premier League title

Ifeanyi Ufomadu 17:01 - 01.04.2023

Gabriel Jesus scored a brace to send the Gunners on their way to a comfortable 4-1 win over struggling Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal's march to a first Premier League title since 2004 continued with an emphatic 4-1 win over relegation-threatened Leeds United in front of a raucous Emirates crowd.

Gabriel Jesus scored twice, one in each half, Ben White and Granit Xhaka added to the tally as the Gunners dominated a Leeds United team that offered little.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

The victory re-establishes an eight-point lead at the top of the table for the Gunners. 

Manchester City had closed the gap at the top of the table to five points after they beat Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool 4-1 at Anfield earlier on Saturday.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

How it happened

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta named a lineup without Bukayo Saka who was struggling with his fitness and Arsenal struggled a bit in the opening stages.

 Leeds pressed well but the tide of the game changed when Gabriel Jesus won a penalty in the 32nd minute after a clumsy challenge from Luke Ayling.

The Brazilian calmly converted from the spot, waiting for Illan Meslier to commit before rolling it down the middle.

Second half action

The hosts came out after the break reinvigorated and doubled their advantage in the 47th minute when Ben White smashed home a brilliant Gabriel Martinelli cross.

Some great link-up play between Jesus and Leandro Trossard unlocked the Leeds defence eight minutes later, as the Brazilian bagged his second, before Leeds hit back through Rasmus Kristensen.

However, that would prove to be nothing more than a consolation as Granit Xhaka put the win beyond doubt with a pinpoint header in the 84th minute.

Related content