Arsenal FC followed up its opening win at Manchester United with a confident home victory against Leeds United. Two injuries dampened the celebrations, while a 15-year-old made his debut.
Arsenal FC started the new Premier League season with a 1-0 away win at Manchester United. They repeated this result at home against Everton.
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta made two changes to his starting lineup after the 1-0 win against Manchester United: Timber replaced the injured White, while Madueke replaced Gabriel Martinelli on the bench. Arteta’s colleague Daniel Farke was forced to make one change to his lineup compared to the 1-0 win against Everton FC. Captain Ampadu, who was injured in the knee, had to watch from the sidelines, with Gruev replacing him in the starting line-up at the Emirates Stadium. New signing Okafor remained on the bench for the time being, as did Nmecha, who scored the winning goal against Everton.
Arsenal pushed forward from the kick-off and forced Leeds deep into their own half. Ödegaard promptly made his mark with a low shot after seven minutes, but aimed just wide. Leeds appeared in front for the first time in the 20th minute, with Struijk forcing Arsenal goalkeeper Raya into a brilliant save after a corner.
Arteta’s side struggled to get going after that, looking too sloppy in attack. But Arsenal took the lead from a corner: Timber headed in a cross from Rice on the left in the 34th minute. Shortly after, Ödegaard had to be taken off with a shoulder injury in his 200th game for Arsenal. His teammates added a second goal before the break: Timber sent Saka through on goal and the winger fired the ball powerfully under the crossbar. Shortly afterwards, the teams headed into the break.
Gyökeres scores his first goal
Just over two minutes after the restart, Gyökeres broke deep after a pass from Calafiori, cut in from the left and slotted home to make it 3-0. The home fans were dealt a blow in the 53th minute when Saka was forced off with an injury after clutching his thigh following a sprint.
120 seconds later, a corner led to the fourth goal. Timber poked the ball over the line from a scramble. With this clear lead, Arteta was able to make early substitutions, bringing on Dowman, a 15-year-old debutant, in the 64th minute.
The momentum had gone, but Dowman still provided some spark on the right wing. In stoppage time, Stach stepped on his foot in the penalty area. Gyökeres converted the resulting penalty to make it 5-0.
Arsenal’s next big game is already coming up this Sunday (5:30 p.m.) against Liverpool FC. Leeds United will host Newcastle United the day before (6:30 p.m.), but first has to play Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup on Tuesday (9 p.m.).
