Arsenal vs Leeds United LIVE: Riccardo Calafiori to the rescue after James Justin opener

· FootballLondon

Live coverage of all the action from the Emirates Stadium for Arsenal's clash with Leeds United in the lunchtime Premier League kick-off

Huge Arsenal chance!

Great work from Declan Rice sees him control and square across goal but the ball deflects off a Leeds player and then Martin Odegaard and into James Trafford's hands.

2-1 Arsenal, Guimaraes!

How about that for an impact from Bruno Guimaraes.

He starts the move, nutmegging a Leeds player, winning a foul and taking the kick quickly.

Declan Rice then flicks Martin Odegaard's pass into the pathway of Guimaraes to smash home. 2-1.

"That's why we're champions," is the chant ringing around the Emirates.

Arsenal equalise through Calafiori!

Goal for Arsenal as Riccardo Calafiori forces the Gunners level.

Ben White heads the ball back across the face of goal and he heads in after also scoring for Italy against Turkey earlier this week.

They needed that!

1-0 Leeds, James Justin

Leeds take the lead and it's no less than they deserve.

A low cross from Gabriel Gudmundsson flashes across the box, evades David Raya and James Justin, who netted two goals here for Leicester two seasons ago, rifled in.

Gabriel Magalhaes tried to head clear off the line but can't.

Chance for Arsenal!

Martin Odegaard has arguably Arsenal's best opening of the game.

Noni Madueke rolls the ball back to him and he's in space on the edge but James Trafford is equal to his low shot.

HT ratings

- David Raya - 8 - Ben White - 6 - Ezri Konsa - 7 - Gabriel Magalhaes - 6 - Riccardo Calafiori - 6 - Declan Rice - 6 - Myles Lewis-Skelly - 6 - Bukayo Saka - 5 - Martin Odegaard - 5 - Noni Madueke - 6 - Kai Havertz - 6

HT: Arsenal 0-0 Leeds

Really intriguing half of football, it feels like this could really swing either way.

Arsenal are struggling to play through Leeds' defensive structure, then committing bodies forward and getting caught on the break.

Leeds are very organised and physical but Arsenal too predictable in attack.

Leeds go close! Big Raya save

Huge stop from David Raya who beats away Gabriel Gudmundsson's powerful strike at the far post.

Leeds have looked threatening on the break all half.

Two more Leeds bookings, Ampadu and Farke

Tensions are threatening to boil over before half-time as Ethan Ampadu is booked for a big lunge on Ben White.

Daniel Farke is then booked also and he's furious about it, confronting the fourth official.

Leeds are really throwing their weight around now.

Leeds score but disallowed

Noah Okafor has the ball in the net after rounding David Raya but he went slightly early.

It's a let-off for Arsenak, though.

Leeds booking, Tanaka

Leeds waste a great opening as Noah Okafor overhits a routine pass into Anton Stach's path.

Ao Tanaka is then booked for barging Myles Lewis-Skelly over.

Leeds go close!

David Raya comes to punch a long free-kick, he does successfully but then Ethan Ampadu tries to loop a header over the Spaniard.

Raya displays good reactions to backpeddle and then catch before up the other end, Noni Madueke's low fizzing cross flashes across the face of goal.

Delay

Slight delay here as James Justin receives treatment for a bloody nose.

Sloppy Arsenal

Arsenal slightly fortunate there as Anton Stach's strike is blocked by his own player in Jayden Bogle.

David Raya then messes up a kick and a minute later Bogle goes close again, forcing a corner.

The home crowd are not overly happy.

Havertz goes close!

Great work from Noni Madueke on the 20th minute mark as he drives down the flank before crossing for Kai Havertz.

Havertz timed his jump well but his header failed to trouble James Trafford.

Straight at the Leeds goalkeeper.

Okafor ruins promising Leeds breakaway

Leeds' backline is looking fairly sturdy at the moment having caught Arsenal offside four different time.

Noah Okafor just squandered a decent chance to cross on the break, much to the annoyance of Daniel Farke.

Leeds go close!

Leeds cause chaos from a free-kick as they get their big defenders forward.

The ball eventually reaches Noah Okafor on the edge of the box but his curling goal-bound effort is deflected wide by Bukayo Saka.

It was a really good block, the linesman had his flag up so it's hard to know whether that would have stood had it gone in.

There were several players clogging the goalmouth so there's a firm chance somebody might have strayed offside.

Saka limping

Saka takes a whack on his right ankle from Gabriel Gudmundsson.

He's hoisted up quickly but is still moving a little gingerly.

Close!

A really bright start from Arsenal as Noni Madueke plays a give-and-go with Martin Odegaard before feeding across the box to Bukayo Saka.

His effort is saved brilliantly by James Trafford from close range but Saka was offside, anyway.

Kick-off is upon us

For the first time this season, there's that crisp feel to the air ahead of kick-off.

T-shirts have been replaced by coats, there are also hats aplenty.

The schedule is relentless over the coming weeks and Arsenal need to hit the ground running - particularly on the back of that defeat at Brighton.

Arteta's record vs Farke

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has won all of his four Premier League meetings against Leeds boss Daniel Farke.

It's his joint-best 100% win rate against any manager in the top-flight (tied with Ipswich Town's Gary O’Neil).

Additionally, it's Farke’s worst 100% loss rate against a manager during his league career in England.

Line-up analysis

I have to say, I feel for Viktor Gyokeres.

It's a big surprise that Kai Havertz has been able to prove his fitness in time to face Leeds but even still, Gyokeres is in red-hot form after scoring in all four of Sweden's Nations League matches.

He will likely start against Lille on Tuesday and come off the bench here but he's full of confidence and scored three in two against Leeds last season.

Ezri Konsa's inclusion shows just how important he is for the Premier League champions in the absence of William Saliba.

He's struggled with a fitness issue but Mikel Arteta evidently wants to throw him straight back in.

As for Eberechi Eze, it's a bit of a blow that Noni Madueke gets the nod ahead of him when Madueke is playing out of position.

There are plenty of games on the agenda in the coming weeks but it kind of typifies Eze's frustrating campaign thus far.

Rice starts after outlining desire to stay

Declan Rice is set to return to the pitch for the first time since the 3-0 defeat at Brighton.

He withdrew from the England squad due to load management and now he's confirmed he's keen to stay at the club as a new contract edges closer.

Speaking to Scandanavian broadcaster Viaplay, he was asked whether working under a manager like Mikel Arteta - also fresh off the back of signing a new long-term contract - makes him want to continue in north London.

He replied:

> "Yeah, of course. I think for sure, I've been so happy playing for Arsenal over the last few years. > > "[It's] probably the happiest I've been playing football so yeah, it's been amazing and the journey has been great so far. > > "Last year, obviously winning the Premier League was one of the happiest moments of my career. So yeah, for sure, let's continue this."

You can read more HERE

The Arsenal team to face Leeds

Here's the Arsenal team to face Leeds on today's lunchtime kick-off. We'll hopefully have a good game...

Arsenal line-up

Starting XI: Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard; Madueke, Saka, Havertz

Substitutes: Kepa, Hincapie, Timber, Eze, Gyokeres, Merino, Zubimendi, Guimaraes, Dowman

Team news shortly

We'll be getting team news in around five minutes, so stay tuned...

The Premier League is finally back!

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of today's lunchtime kick-off between Arsenal and Leeds United.

It's a huge clash for the Gunners, who will look to bounce back from their 3-0 humiliation at Brighton before the international break.

Leeds, however, are in form and haven't lost any of their opening five league games this season.

Should be an exciting game!

Stay tuned and we'll bring you all the build-up and team news when it drops.

Read the original

People in this story

Related