The Greatest Gift I Possess

Leeds United 0-0 Arsenal: Breathe It In The Rain

Written by: Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman
Photographs by: Pro Sports Images
Alioski PSI_SD_Leeds_United_Arsenal_22NOV2020_1063

If your team has 25 shots and you don’t enjoy it, what are you? An Arsenal fan, probably, and I’m happy to say that fate has not yet gripped us who were cheering on the Peacocks to 0-0.

Let’s just hope Jay-Z took it well. This sort of game represents a traditional hard sell to New York City: all that trying, and no scoring, but you still get a point. For nothing? But who won and who lost? You say nobody? Roc Nation painted Lucas Radebe on a wall last week, but I wonder what their execs would make of his infamous goal against Partizan Belgrade: falling on his nether regions in the Netherlands, flapping a leg and fluking a goal. Soccer, guys, the world’s game! Ah, you’ll get used to it.

Arsenal fans in the 21st century seem determined never to get used to supporting a good football club whose teams play every season with a reasonable chance of winning trophies. Bad as they were at Elland Road, these are the FA Cup holders, who have lifted that trophy four times in the last seven seasons, and 85 days ago they won the Community Shield at Wembley. This is all terrible, apparently, and everybody should be sacked for it, except Gunnersaurus; while Nicolas Pépé, for his sending off at Leeds, should meet a grisly end, according to some of his club’s fans on social media. Everything in proportion, eh?

The post-match abuse online was one part of the highly 2020 goings on around this match, beginning with Liam Cooper walking out of the tunnel holding an iPad, so virtual mascots could be part of the event through a screen. I’m often bewildered by thinking back just six months to when football matches were absolutely nothing like this, by how different everything has become, and by how fast; oddest of all, here, was evidence of a strong wi-fi signal at Elland Road. But making young Elliot Metcalfe and his sister happy is a much better use of pandemic bandwidth than tweeting abuse at footballers, and again it’s Leeds United, of all clubs, adapting with panache to our very changed circumstances.

In one way Arsenal, and Everton this coming Saturday, represent something Leeds want. Everton have been in the top-flight since 1954, Arsenal since controversially pleading their way back up from the Second Division in 1919, just as Leeds City were being thrown out. In the 101 years since, the Revie era (eighteen seasons) and the Wilko-Graham-O’Leary-madness years (fourteen seasons) are the only times Leeds have managed more than eight consecutive seasons in the top division. Andrea Radrizzani talks about building a Premier League dynasty over the coming decades, but the history of the club he’s chosen makes that feel easier said than done.

Promotion was easier said than done, though, and now here are the Peacocks, exactly where we wanted them to be for so long. And here’s a quick review of our most recent Premier League games against Arsenal: we lost 5-0, 4-1, 4-1 and 4-1. Sure, there was a famous 3-2 win at Highbury among those, but we were desperate then. Here’s a reminder of this season’s recent results, too: 4-1 to Leicester, 4-1 to Crystal Palace. Arsenal now might not be the Arsenal they were, but much of that perception is the price of listening to their fans. 0-0 against the FA Cup holders, in a game Leeds dominated and everyone except the Great God Goalframe agrees should have won? If there had been Leeds fans there to see it, they’d have gone home happy.

The clean sheet was the first improvement, with Illan Meslier to thank for it. Left one-on-one with Bukayo Saka, his first choice from the textbook looked doomed, so he tried with another, scrambling across the forward’s path and giving him no goal to aim for. The chance itself hinted at lingering fragility in United’s defence, Robin Koch looking haunted by memories of Joachim Löw’s bowlchop and losing 6-0, Liam Cooper locked in his perpetual war against the League Two player he used to be. The wings weren’t watertight and all the defenders had their bad moments, but they ended by conceding nothing, and every minute played is a minute learned at this stage.

What could Leeds have done better in attack to turn a draw into victory? Everything, I suppose, but only a bit. Their attacking was relentless. Their chance construction could have built a skyscraper. Their finishing was fine. And fine margins kept them to nil. It wasn’t a game for clichés about playing all night and never scoring; another ten minutes would have done it, twenty at most. The ball was going in eventually, the only question was about whether referee Anthony Taylor would stop the game first. He claimed a pathetic win for himself, letting Leeds set up to attack one last corner and blowing full-time before they could take it. A decision to tell the grandkids about, that one.

The crucial part of the game was just before half-time, anyway, when Leeds could have put the eleven-a-side match beyond doubt. While Arsenal still thought they had a chance Leeds attacked them fluently from the back through midfield, carrying momentum into their penalty area. Raphinha, in his first start, was itching to invent, and inspired Pat Bamford to backheels, while Mateusz Klich brought his direct style to playmaking and Jackie Harrison and Ezgjan Alioski dominated the left wing. Bamford, Klich and Stuart Dallas all had chances, and Raphinha curved a long shot just wide, in Leeds’ best spell. With just a bit more I don’t know what, as Meslier would say, they could have won the points in the first half.

The second half was changed by Pépé’s red card for headbutting Alioski, and regardless of the wind-ups or Gjanni’s exaggerated fall, that’s just what happened: Pépé headbutted Alioski. Off he went, and while Marcelo Bielsa might be right that it’s easier to play with eleven against ten — with everyone but Meslier in Arsenal’s half and a chance every other minute, you can see his point — it didn’t get any easier to score. It’s a perverse, frustrating, ridiculous game, football, and the second half defied the usual truisms about it being difficult to play with a player up. With Rodrigo on as substitute looking worth every penny, and Ian Poveda turning giddiness into accurate crosses, making chances wasn’t difficult and turning them into attempts wasn’t a problem. And Leeds still couldn’t overcome their margin of error so that the ball hit the post and went in instead of hitting the post and staying out.

What we got in the end, instead of goals, was the excitement of watching so many being attempted. That’s something, in this miserable plague year, when pleasures have been so hard to find. A thrilling attacking performance by Leeds, and credit to Arsenal for getting a point despite starting depleted and going down to ten. Once upon a time you’d shake hands and agree it was a good game, but even a respectful elbow-bump is difficult when one person is using the phone in their hand for tweeting racist abuse and threats. Ah well. I said before that Leeds are aspiring to be where Arsenal are, but maybe there’s a shortcut: if they hate their lot so much, we’ll swap. When the FA Cup in the cupboard is no longer enough, it’s probably time to give up anyway. ◉

DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM TSB

Pick your emails:
    phil_hay_podcast_2023_thumbnail
    Eight To Go
    tsb_podcast_2023_thumbnail
    Poor Dan James
    tsb_podcast_2023_thumbnail
    If you wanna be the best
    A photograph of Sarah Danby walking out of the tunnel for Leeds United Women with two mascots either side of her
    Chicken and egg
    tsb_guide_2023_web_thumbnail
    Elephant Stampede
    tsb_podcast_2023_thumbnail
    Do you recall?
    THE_MEMBERS_SHOW_38
    TSB
    Futebol
    members_show_2023_web_thumbnail
    TSB
    Barmby
    tsb_podcast_2023_thumbnail
    Ooh I wanna take ya
    240318_COC_5TH_ROUND
    TSB
    Knockout
    members_show_2023_web_thumbnail
    TSB
    Limewire
    PROP_240319
    Wind It In
    The Square Ball