Leeds United 1-4 Arsenal - recap: Marcelo Bielsa reaction from Elland Road as Gunners put Whites to sword

We’ll have full reaction to today’s match right here. Stay tuned...

Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli, speaking to Sky Sports: “It was a very good result. It’s so important for the team. All the team played well and we’re so happy with the work and the result.

“That’s what Mikel [Arteta] asks from us. Every time we go into the final third we need to be dangerous.

“As I always say, we have a young team but a very strong team with good players. Emile [Smith Rowe] came from the bench and scored another goal. I’m so happy for the team.”

On his second goal: “It was a great pass from Granit [Xhaka] – thanks to him as well. Not just me, the whole team enjoyed the second goal.”

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa to Sky Sports: “Two different halves. The second half, we could have won it but the first half we could have lost it by more goals.

“The losses of the ball in our own half and centre of the pitch increases the offensive power of the opponent. To increase the amount of danger we can create, we need to recover the ball when they play out.

“They managed to take the ball off us when we were trying to build and attack and we couldn’t - that’s what explains the difference.”

On whether those problems are down to injuries: “We’re all used to playing together. We prepare ourselves with all the players.

“They prevented us from getting into their half with combination play. Through their recoveries and build-up of their play they created danger.”

On injuries to Jack Harrison, Stuart Dallas and Raphinha: “They’re just knocks.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, speaking to Sky Sports: “It was a great performance from the lads. They’re the ones who have to execute [the game plan] against a team who are uncomfortable to play against. We’ve had three games in a week, very physical games. I’m very pleased.

“We had some intentions. I think the players understood the game really well. We were really effective and in the first half we were really good. I think we deserved these three wins and we’re really pleased.”

On Alexandre Lacazette: “He has a big talent – he makes the players around him better.”

On Gabriel Martinelli’s influence: “Huge. That’s why you have to prepare a player. You can’t throw in a player when he’s not ready. He has so much still to improve. He’s very humble. His big passion in life is football.”

On Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: “He wasn’t involved in today’s game. Let’s see. There’s a privacy matter at the moment that I have to respect.”

On Covid cases in the squad: “Everyone is healthy. We always follow the guidelines. Now it’s play as you can and we’ll play as we can. [The Premier League] will make the best decision for everybody. We want to play all under the same rules. That’s where I think they have to come forward. Whatever they decide is best for the competition, but it has to be explained.”

Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: “There were two different halves. In the first half the difference [between the teams] could have been bigger. In the second half we should have scored more than one goal and prevented them from scoring more goals.

“The result is fair. Their performance was superior to ours, but there are things that we can value. The game is very simple to evaluate. We didn’t manage to provoke or generate a mistake from them in their own half. Our offensive game didn’t have the advantage of recovering the ball in the opponents’ half.

“Even if we pressed them better than we did against Manchester City, we didn’t manage to get them to make mistakes. They managed to provoke mistakes in our own half. That made it easier for them to attack.”

On Leeds’ injuries: “I can’t ignore that we were missing 10 players. There are things like the participation of Koch, who hasn’t played in four months – it wasn’t ideal that he played. On Thursday, a player fell on [Charlie] Cresswell’s shoulder. It caused an injury. He was supposed to play today.

“In the case of [Diego] Llorente – who looks after his health so much – we found out that he was sick and going to be out for 10 days. So there’s eight absences in one line of the team. We have eight defenders less and three forwards less. I can’t deny that that’s a difficulty, but I can’t justify the defeat due to the absences.”

On the fans’ support: “It’s an act of love towards the badge. In times where the support mostly only comes when the team is winning, to receive that company and that closeness after a third consecutive defeat – and having conceded 14 goals in three games – distinguishes the public of Leeds. It confirms how unconditional they are with their team.”