'We were sloppy' - Pascal Struijk rues Leeds United's slow start during Arsenal defeat

Pascal Struijk rued a slow start for Leeds United after the Whites fell to a 4-2 defeat against Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.

The 21-year-old was moved into a central defensive midfield role for the trip to the capital with Kalvin Phillips missing due to a calf injury picked up against Crystal Palace.

The switch saw Luke Ayling shift into the middle of the back four alongside club captain Liam Cooper with Jamie Shackleton starting the encounter at full-back.

Mikel Arteta's side got off to a lightning start as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring in the 13th minute before the striker doubled the scoreline for the Gunners from the penalty spot a short while later.

Full-back Hector Bellerin added a third on the stroke of half-time and Aubameyang completed his hat-trick two minutes into the second half to give United a mountain to climb at the Emirates.

United - who had been sloppy in their play in the opening period - hit back through Struijk he scored his first senior goal for the club from a corner just before the hour mark.

Substitute Helder Costa also got onto the scoresheet to put Arsenal on alert in the latter stages and Leeds saw a penalty claim by Patrick Bamford turned down.

The defeat saw Marcelo Bielsa's men leapfrogged by their counterparts as they slipped back into the bottom half of the table, two points behind the hosts in 11th place.

"We started way too sloppy, the second half is the energy we need to bring in the first half," Struijk reflected post-match.

"We were struggling to play in the first half and it affected our performance, we did not bring the energy we usually bring so we're disappointed we could not do that.

"We need to be much better."

Asked about Bielsa's half-time message, he said: "It was simple. If we brought the energy back, the quality of the football will come. It's such a difference when we bring the energy. Our football is so much better.

"It means a lot to me to score my first goal but disappointingly we lost the game 4-2."