Arsenal will take a four-point gap to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when they face Tottenham on Thursday, live on Sky Sports, after securing a nervy 2-1 win over 10-man Leeds United, who dropped into the bottom three.
Match Report
Following Spurs' 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Saturday night, the Gunners knew a win would see them solidify fourth place ahead of a crunch north London derby and they got the perfect start as Eddie Nketiah's double inside the first 10 minutes set them on the path to victory.
Leeds struggled to get any foothold in the game and their fate was sealed when Luke Ayling was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Gabriel Martinelli, after a VAR intervention saw his initial booking upgraded to red card.
After the break, Leeds grabbed a lifeline from out of nowhere as Diego Llorente squeezed his strike in at the far post to set up a tense finish, but the Gunners, who were hanging on at the end, clung on for what eventually was a very nervy victory.
It sets up a huge game on Thursday (kick off 7.45pm) when the Gunners, who are now just one point behind third-placed Chelsea, could seal Champions League football with a victory over rivals Spurs.
Meanwhile, a disappointing day for Leeds - who put in a spirited second-half display - ends with them in the relegation zone with three games to go after Everton's 2-1 victory at Leicester.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
4' GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Leeds United (Nketiah)
9' GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Leeds United (Nketiah)
15' Yellow Card! Gabriel booked
26' Red Card! Ayling sent off
39' CLOSE! Llorente makes goal-line clearance
55' CHANCE! Martinelli's shot denied
60' MISS! Martinelli's shot over the bar
65' GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Leeds United (Llorente)
75' CLOSE! Odegaard's shot inches wide
Line-ups
Arsenal XI: Xhaka, Cedric, M.Elneny, Martin Odegaard, Holding, Tomiyasu, Gabriel, Ramsdale, Nketiah, Martinelli, Saka
Subs: Lacazette, Leno, Pepe, Smith Rowe, A. Lokonga, Nuno Tavares, Z. Swanson, C. Patino, Salah Oulad M'Hand
Leeds United XI: M. Klich, Ayling, D.Llorente, Daniel James, Koch, K. Phillips, Firpo, Raphinha, J. Harrison, Illan Meslier, Joe Gelhardt
Subs: Rodrigo, P. Struijk, K. Klaesson, Sam Greenwood, Jamie Shackleton, L. Bate, L. Hjelde, C. Cresswell, A. Gray
Bløcbøy
491
When Ronaldo came he said he'll introduce us to new levels, I didn't know he meant Conference League 🤣🤣🤣
Doeadilstz
452
NKETIA TODAY
Herdeymmed
440
Big ups to the ødegaard and mo.elneny 🔥🔥🔥👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Yohabi1st
413
Arsenal may have won but have also shown lots of signs of frailties. It's right to say that were it not for the red card Leeds got in the first half, Arsenal may have lost the game. Playing in front of home fans, two goals early in the first half and a red card to one of the visitors best defenders and Arsenal can only manage to defend? There's just no striker in the team that scares the opponent. If Arsenal don't make top four then it's because they lack a deadly goal poacher a d Arteta has got to take the blame for letting Aubameyang leave at the dead of the night. Honesty this performance leaves a lot of questions behind Arteta's contract extension. He couldn't just lift up his team to score multiple goals and get close to Spurs in terms of goals advantage. A very good opportunity wasted. I'm afraid we may have witnessed the final phase of Arsenal's decline of the season. There's no way Arsenal can beat Spurs, Newcastle or Everton with this lame show. To be honest, I'm not afraid of Tottenham, but looking at the current level of performance of Everton and Newcastle, I don't see Arsenal beating any of them with this performance.
Futb0l_Fan
395
Arsenal are already trying to prepare🤣🤣🤣
guru-zenan
244
This is how the table have turned.... The question is... Is Arsenal improving or Man united forgot how to play football??? 😂🤣🤣[Crylaugh][Crylaugh]
Barsenal24
202
On behalf of all Arsenal fans, we appreciate
RONYSTONE
129
Arsenal fans to Chelsea just 1 point remain if u know u know
Nandha77
119
Nketiah has only started 5 League Games This season but already has more league goals than Grealish and Sancho 😭
Dixonmande
99
this guy z something else
Amgnonijunior
79
Aubameyang to Arsenal. do you still need me?? 😃
kateperry1
64
arsenal really surprise the world 4 qualifying to top. nobody believe arsenal can do it do to the way they started this season, Hala arsenal and give them some respect please 👍👍
Docrivers
33
Click this to view GIFs: https://bit.ly/3wgnPbQ
Futb0l_Fan
22
Arsenal are already preparing:
Hamsa_Baydaani
10
This is how the table have turned.... The question is... Is Arsenal improving or Man united forgot how to play football??? 😂🤣🤣[Crylaugh][Crylaugh]
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And man u played 37 matches while arsenal played 35 , arsenal improved alot.