Arsenal came from behind to beat Leeds United 2-1 at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, with Bruno Guimaraes scoring the winner after Riccardo Calafiori had equalised for Mikel Arteta’s side.
The victory was Arsenal’s fifth in six Premier League games and moved them level on points with leaders Manchester City. It was the second time in three league matches that Guimaraes has come to Arsenal’s rescue, having also sparked their 2-0 win at Sunderland in September with the crucial opening goal.
The £75m summer signing again made his impact from the bench, and this time it was the decisive goal on what was his full home debut. The 28-year-old midfielder is a signing for the here and now, in the peak years of his career, and he responded well after a disappointing performance in the 3-0 defeat at Brighton, which had been his full league debut. He has now scored two goals that have helped secure valuable points, and he became the first player to score twice from the bench this season, with both goals coming from outside the box.
Arteta said of Guimaraes: “He wasn’t at that level against Brighton, and this is the level for Arsenal. Every week, every game, every minute, every action, you have to be at that level. Today was much better. That’s what we have to demand, and this is what I demand to myself. I’m going to demand the same with the players, because if we do that, he will raise the standards and we will be a better team.”
Arsenal’s title defence has not been without its scares. Following the comprehensive defeat at Brighton, they fell behind in a league match for a third time in four league matches against Leeds, and only a David Raya penalty save stopped them from trailing at Sunderland as well. On Saturday they were behind from the 55th minute before Calafiori and Guimaraes turned the game around. Ally McCoist, speaking on TNT Sports, said: “It was a great game of football. Leeds were brilliant for one hour. Mikel Arteta made changes when he needed to and the substitutions gave Arsenal what they needed. That’s what champions do. Leeds can hold their heads high.”
Arteta made notable calls when naming his starting XI. He opted to start with Kai Havertz up front despite the German returning early from international duty after picking up a hamstring issue, leaving Viktor Gyokeres on the bench again. Gyokeres scored four goals, registering in every match for Sweden, during the last international break, but the 28-year-old has yet to start a Premier League game and in his cameos this season has looked some way short of the level required of a striker who could fire Arsenal to back-to-back titles.
Further forward, with Christos Tzolis sidelined by a hamstring issue picked up with Greece and Eberechi Eze out of form, Arteta turned to Noni Madueke on the left wing. Madueke was left out of the last England squad because of a lack of minutes with Arsenal, but after being described by Arteta as “the best player in training for the last 10 days,” the opportunity may now be his to prove his worth.
Defensively, Arsenal have already conceded five goals in six games, having conceded the fewest in the league last season. The partnership of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba is regarded as one of the best in the world and Arteta’s side appear to be missing the injured Frenchman’s calmness, while Ezri Konsa, signed from Aston Villa for £55m, is still getting used to his new surroundings. Calafiori, though, has proved integral to Arsenal’s attacking threat — his equaliser against Leeds was his first league strike of the season, and no defender has been involved in more Premier League goals, with one goal and two assists.
Arteta added: “The last time we put our shirts on, something was missing. And we need to be very conscious of that. From being exceptional and being the champions to being extremely average, like in that game, is a really thin line. So if you don’t want it more than the opponent, you are not able to cope emotionally with certain situations, you’re going to suffer. And we all suffered and we didn’t enjoy that game, but then you have to learn the lesson and we certainly done that. We speak about it and you could sense that there was something in those tummies.”