DBasia.news – Arsenal continues to strengthen their position in the top four standings (Champions League zone) Premier League. After beating Southampton with a score of 3-0 and winning 2-0 over West Ham United, the Gunners won a landslide victory over Leeds United.
In week 18 of the Premier League at Elland Road, Sunday (19/12) morning WIB, Arsenal won 4-1 through two goals from Gabriel Martinelli (16′ 28′), Bukayo Saka (42′), and Emile Smith Rowe (84′) which was reduced to a goal from Raphinha’s penalty (75′).
Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds on paper have a superior possession of 51% of the ball, but Arsenal were more efficient even though they only had 49% of the ball. Mikel Arteta’s team released 21 kicks and 12 of them were on target.
Arsenal are now fourth in the standings with 32 points from 18 matches, followed by West Ham United (28 points) and Manchester United (27 points). But Arsenal’s rivals are still playing fewer games.
“I’m thrilled,” Arteta told the club’s official website. “They understand exactly how we have to attack the spaces we have to use. The execution, the dynamism, the development, the threat we created, it was great.”
“Unfortunately, we didn’t score more goals. I thought we had some great chances but that’s what I like, the way we played, we came here and we pushed ourselves and we really wanted to play (offensively).”
“That’s something we have to improve on because in the second half when we played well and we didn’t do it well and with the consistency we needed (to) get to where we wanted to be.”
Arsenal’s 7000 goals
7000 is not a small amount and the record was carved by Arsenal through Martinelli’s goal. According to Opta, Martinelli has scored Arsenal’s 7000th goal in the English top flight and they are the club to achieve it since league football began in 1888 after Everton (7,139 goals) and Liverpool (7,069 goals).
Apart from that, the two goals were also special for Martinelli. The young Brazilian striker scored his first two goals in one game from a total of 39 matches with Arsenal. Martinelli’s neat performance became an oasis in the middle of Arsenal’s desert which was having problems with senior striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Here are other interesting notes from the match:
- Arsenal’s 11 shots on target in the first half is the most since the 2003-2004 season in the first 45 minutes, more than any other team in a Premier League season in the first half.
- 13 of Arsenal’s 26 Premier League goals this season have been scored by players aged 21 or younger (50%), the second highest ratio in a single season in the competition’s history.
- Marcelo Bielsa for the first time as Leeds manager lost three consecutive league games: against Chelsea (2-3), Manchester City (0-7), and Arsenal (1-4).
- Smith Rowe is the top two Premier League goalscorers from England this season (seven goals), equalling to Mason Mount and behind Jamie Vardy (nine goals).
- Raphinha has scored more Premier League goals this season (eight goals) than Romelu Lukaku, Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho combined (six goals).