Arsenal re-established their eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League table on Saturday with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Leeds at the Emirates.
Gabriel Jesus marked his first start in the Premier League since undergoing surgery after injuring himself at the World Cup with two goals to help put Leeds on the ropes.
Bukayo Saka was relegated to the bench for the first time in the English top-flight in over 400 days after illness stopped him from starting, but Arsenal managed without him in the line-up to prove their title credentials against a dejected Leeds side.
Arsenal also excelled defensively without William Saliba as Rob Holding showed he can be trusted in the Frenchman’s absence.
Here, Sportsmail’s James St Denis reviews some of the aspects of the match you might have missed.
Arsenal ran out 4-1 winners over Leicester on Saturday to re-establish an eight point lead atop the Premier League table
Birthday delight for Arteta
It was Mikel Arteta’s 41st birthday during the international break, and the Spaniard was kind enough to give the journalists who attended his pre-match press conference some cupcakes to celebrate the occasion.
And despite a rocky opening half an hour, the Arsenal boss was in for a birthday treat as his side went out and produced another exceptional display to brush aside a Leeds team void of any confidence.
Mikel Arteta celebrated his 41ast birthday in the international break and celebrated at the Emirates today
Arsenal players showed their title credentials with an emphatic home performance
A welcome return to Premier League football for the Gunners and their manager
Leeds continue to ship goals in north London. For 32 minutes Leeds looked a side capable of resisting Arsenal’s quality and grabbing a shock result at the Emirates. Luke Ayling then decided to take Leeds’ capitulation into his own hands, conceding a needless penalty which got the ball rolling for the Arsenal goal machine.
A subsequent three goals followed in the second half and the Lilywhites left north London with no points. Javi Gracia’s men have now not managed a league clean sheet away at Arsenal in 14 consecutive matches, conceding 35 goals in the process and losing eleven times.
Seven heaven for Arteta Arsenal were on a six-match winning run heading into this match at the Emirates, the joint-longest winning run under Mikel Arteta since the Spaniard took charge in December 2019.
Today’s win confirmed their seventh straight league victory under the Spaniard, the first time the Gunners have managed such a feat during his tenure.
The last time Arsenal won seven league matches in a row was between August and October 2018 under now Aston Villa boss Unai Emery.
It was a welcome return to Premier League football for the Gunners after the international break
Trossard proves his worth once again
With Bukayo Saka the talk of the town after his England performances, Leandro Trossard’s tidy form for the Gunners since his arrival appeared to be pushed from the spotlight.
But with illness rendering Saka only fit enough for the bench, it was Trossard who received the call to start.
The Belgian forward did struggle to impose himself on the Arsenal right hand side at first, but looked a lot more at ease when he switched back to his favoured position on the left.
The switch proved effective as Trossard managed to pick up his seventh assist for Arsenal since joining the club from Brighton in January, and his tenth overall in the league.
Leandro Trossard (middle) started in place of Bukayo Saka who was benched through illness
Holding fills the void for injured Saliba
Over the past two seasons, Rob Holding’s role in this Arsenal side has been no more than being Arteta’s trusted sub in the last 10-15 minutes of matches to see off the game for the Gunners.
Now, with William Saliba ruled out for an unspecified amount of time, the 27-year-old has been entrusted by Arteta to fill the void left by the Frenchman.
After a rocky start, the Bolton-native remained switched on and ensured his side came away with yet another priceless win.
Rob Holding (left) showed he can be trusted in the absence of William Saliba (right) who is out of action through injury
Jesus back in the goals
It’s been a tough couple of months for Gabriel Jesus. A knee injury whilst on World Cup duty put his season on hold until further notice but even before then the Brazilian was struggling to find the back of the net for Arsenal.
Now fully fit and back in the team, the forward’s penalty in the 33rd minute ended a run of 17 games without a goal for club and country, with the spot-kick being his first goal since October 1st, six months ago.
The 25-year-old followed that up with a low finish into the corner in the 55th minute for his second of the game, before being subbed off just after.
Gabriel Jesus marked his first Premier League start since undergoing surgery with a two-goal performance
Jesus scored first from the penalty spot before adding a second strike in the 55th minute.
source: dailymail.co.uk
