Carabao Cup fourth-round clash at Emirates Stadium finishes with Arsenal beating Leeds United 2-0 and progressing into the quarter-finals!
Mikel Arteta’s squad played host to Leeds yesterday in Carabao Cup’s round of 16. The Arsenal manager completely switched his roster around compared to their last Premier League game with only Ben White and Emile Smith Rowe retaining their spots. Marcelo Bielsa took a different route and went all in, starting all his available top players.
The first big chance of the game came in the 10th minute. Sead Kolasinac, a player who only played two whole games so far this season, got into the box and tested the Leeds goalkeeper with a bomb heading for the bottom left corner, but Illan Meslier was well-prepared.
Similarly then in the 27th minute of the game, Leeds tested the Arsenal keeper on the other end of the pitch. Jack Harrison found his way to a bouncing ball after a corner and fired it onto the net, but Bernd Leno’s reflexes were on high alert and he saved it.
55 minutes into the match, Arteta decided to take Ben White off because he was feeling unwell, and so Calum Chambers found his way onto the pitch after barely making an appearance at all this season.
Immediately after the switch, Arsenal scored, and it was none other than Chambers who put it in. The referees took a few seconds to check if the ball truly crossed the goal-line, and then the celebrations erupted.
“I’m so happy in particular for Calum. He totally deserved it. It was a great moment because it helped us win the game. He is someone who deserves the best, for how he is as a person and professional,” said Arteta after the match.
Arsenal now took hold of the game and didn’t let go. The second goal came after a grave mistake from a Leeds defender who tried heading the ball back to his goalkeeper. But Arsenal striker Edward Nketiah, known for his poaching skills, was ready, and after lobbing the keeper he calmly placed the ball in the net to make it 2-0. The game was pretty much over from here on.
Arsenal’s next opponent will be decided by a draw on Saturday.
