Former Leeds United star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink spoke on Stadium Astro after the Whites’ 0-0 draw against Arsenal at home.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side were brilliant against the Gunners and were helped by Nicolas Pepe’s sending off. Leeds did everything in the game apart from scoring, and Arsenal were lucky to go away from the game with a point.
With 10 men, the Gunners could have snatched the win at the end. Bukayo Saka came very close to scoring late in the game, but his decision to try to go around the goalkeeper proved to be the wrong one.
That was a worrying moment for Leeds. They were a man up and were dominating the game. But it was extremely easy for Saka to get in behind the defenders and go through on goal.
Hasselbaink has expressed his concerns over Leeds’ defence and has called Bielsa’s approach to games ‘naive’. He feels that his former side will never be consistent with that approach, which is a big worry.
He said: “They are not going to be consistent because that’s the way they play. I think they will be alright this year, surviving. If they do that, they have had a good year. They need two or three years in the Premier League to build – to do a Wolves.
“If they get 15th, they’ve done really, really well and then you build from there. At times they are breathtaking at times to look at, but they are also naive in their defending and how they approach games. That will be their Achilles heel.”
Hasselbaink certainly has a point. Leeds are incredibly entertaining and are a joy for fans and neutrals to watch. However, their system leaves a lot of gaps in defence, which can hurt them if their opponents take their chances.
Their defeats at the hands of Leicester City and Crystal Palace are examples of the flaws in their system. However, the chances of Bielsa changing it are next to zero, and the Whites will continue entertaining everyone – in victory and in defeat.
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