Arsenal Extend Their Unbeaten Run As They Reach The EFL Cup Quarters

Arsenal
Arsenal

Arsenal beat Leeds United, 2-0 to progress to the quarters. This game took them to 8 games unbeaten in all competitions.

The heavily rotated side beat Leeds United by 2-0 and reached the quarterfinals of the EFL Cup.

Second-half goals from Calum Chambers and Eddie Nketiah were enough to secure victory for Mikel Arteta, who had made 9 changes to the side that beat Aston Villa impressively on Friday. This performance was not as complete as the last one had been but an underwhelming win ensures momentum is building in the North of London. For Marcelo Bielsa, this was the latest frustrating night in what has been a tough start to their second season in the Premier League.

The Players Showing Their Worth For Arsenal

The fringe players and youngsters showed flashes of promise. Cody Drameh had a tough time against Gabriel Martinelli but seemed to fit in properly to the Bielsa style of football. 

Ainsley Maitland-Niles continued his promising adaptation to life in the Arsenal midfield.

For most of the first half, the supporters had to create their own amusement. The traveling Leeds faithful sang  “Ole’s at the wheel.” 

Bernd Leno had lost his starting place in Arsenal, to Aaron Ramsdale but had a great game. He did all that could be reasonably expected of him to remind Mikel Arteta of his worth. His ball distribution including throws and passes were impressive.

Ben White, Maitland-Niles, and even Rob Holding found it rather easy to drive through Leeds’ man-to-man system and into the final third. The issue was rather what happened when they got there. Nicolas Pepe tended to drive into a defensive wall of his own making. 

With a match against fellow PL strugglers Norwich City to come on Saturday, it seemed that Leeds United may not be all that keen to extend the effort required to draw level with Arsenal, who seemed to burst through midfield with greater regularity.