Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted his first Premier League Hat-trick as Arsenal registered a rare 4-2 win over Leeds United on Sunday. – By Magdalene Kalunda
The superb show of might ended Arsenal’s three match winless run. That victory came from a multitude of other factors. It wasn’t quite the blockbuster the final score made it look, since Arsenal were at one point winning 4-0 easily.
This isn’t to really criticise Bielsa, since the net effect of his approach is the near-miracle we’ve seen at Leeds with what is still a fundamentally Championship squad.
He also had key injuries here, like Kalvin Phillips, but he still persists regardless of the circumstances.
That isn’t to deny Arteta praise, either. He filled his starting XI with the dribblers who are exactly the type of players who specifically hurt this Leeds approach – among them Martin Odegaard, making his full debut.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for his match-winning performance against Leeds United, saying ” he set the tone for the team”.
“Yes, I thought he was superb today. He’s been training really well in the last week or so, he was back to normal, he looked really committed in training, really hungry. I think today he had a great performance, not only for the goals but for the way he worked without the ball as well,”
“The amount of pressure he put on every Leeds defender and he set the tone for the team. I’m delighted for him, he deserves it,” Arteta said.
Aubameyang scored the opening goal of the match in the 13th minute before doubling Arsenal’s lead in the 41st minute. Arsenal went 2-0 ahead from the penalty spot as Aubameyang sent Meslier the wrong way after the Leeds goalkeeper had fouled Bukayo Saka.
Four minutes later, Hector Bellerin netted a goal to put Arsenal in a commanding position. Aubameyang completed his treble two minutes after the break with a close-range header from Emile Smith Rowe’s delivery.
Leeds United scored in the 58th minute through Pascal Struijk. Helder Costa then found the back of the net, taking the scoreline to 4-2.
“We know that a big part of our future success is related to Auba being at his best and scoring as many goals as possible. If he is in that kind of form we’re going to be closer to winning football matches, that’s clear. We can’t just rely on him but he’s a big piece of our parcel and you saw today again today, when he’s firing he’s a very difficult player to play against,” he said.
The victory moved Arsenal above Leeds United to 10th spot on 34 points and they are now back in the Premier League top half. Leeds United slipped to 11th, two points behind The Gunners.
