Leeds United picked up a point against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, but may be frustrated that it wasn’t all three.
The Whites were on top for most of the game, carving out the best chances in the first half before Nicolas Pepe was sent off just after the break.
Leeds then hit the woodwork three times through Rodrigo, Patrick Bamford and Raphinha, and had to settle for a 0-0 draw as they just couldn’t break Arsenal down.
It wasn’t to be Leeds’ day, but it was another indication of the quality Marcelo Bielsa’s side possess – especially with Kalvin Phillips back in the side.
Bielsa may well feel that Leeds could have used the ball better though, and Gary Neville wasn’t impressed with Robin Koch’s work on the ball.
After Pepe was sent off, Leeds tried to force the issue, but Neville – speaking during the Sky Sports coverage of the game – felt that Koch was trying to play killer passes every time he got the ball.
“Every time he gets on the ball, there’s a feeling that he has to try and come up with a killer pass or cross,” said Neville on 62 minutes. “What would you have done 15 minutes ago, when Pepe was on the pitch? You’d have just passed it.”
Just nine minutes later, Neville urged the German to ‘stop doing that’, believing that he was forcing the play too much with ambitious passes and crosses that just gave Arsenal a chance to slow the game down.
“He’s got to stop doing that – that’s three or four times now where he’s just forced it. You lose a lot of momentum, it gives Arsenal maybe 30-60 seconds rest just by the goalkeeper getting hold of it,” he added.
Koch is a talented ball-playing defender, and his defensive work has certainly improved since the opening weeks of the season, but a chief creative role maybe isn’t for him after Sunday’s performance.
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