- Slowly, very slowly, Uefa is making football slightly more balanced and equal
- In football, the world has turned in England’s favour, as Arsenal top the Champions League
By Tony Attwood
I know it all sounds a bit weird in these days of multiple games being played at once and all shown on TV live, but not for Leeds v Arsena. It is is 3pm kick off so those not at the game ought to be able to find it on the radio, but not live on TV.
Still, we can but do our best to consider the two clubs and where they stand. And at once we can see that Arsenal have a slightlybetter away record than Leeds have a home record although we must also take our regular look at the last six games table.
And here we do see quite a difference and here there is a much bigger gap between the two sides…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Leeds United home | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 19 |
| 1 | Arsenal away | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 21 |
Still, we can but do our best to consider the two clubs and where they stand. And at once we can see that Arsenal have a slightlybetter away record than Leeds have a home record although we must also take our regular look at the last six games table.
And here we do see quite a difference and here there is a much bigger gap between the two sides…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Arsenal | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 11 |
| 11 | Leeds United | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Leeds United had been having a really bad time of things in the Premier League up until their away defeat to Newcastle on 7 January, which had seen them win just two games in the last dozen.
But then they suddenly found their way with victories over Derby County in the Cup, and Fulham, at home and in the League managed an away draw with Everton. So things have indeed picked up a little bit, and indeed Leeds have balanced their goal difference over the last six games. But these Leeds United victories have been over sides of whom we might say they are not exactly challenging at the top.
And there is another important difference between the two sidese. Arsenal’s last six games have been squeezed into the period since 11 January, while Leeds United’s last six games take them back to 1 January. In short, Leeds have had 30 days to play six whle Arsenal have had just 19 days – meaning Leeds have had 58% more time to recover between each game when compared to Arsenal, which seems to be quite a difference.
This difference in recovery time has also continued right up to the most recent games. For example, Leeds United last game was on 26 January while Arsenal’s was on 28 January. Just a couple of days difference, but in the space of a week it can have an impact on players.
Yet despite these benefits of time, Leeds United have managed to accumulate one more injury to their present squad than Arsenal, although both clubs are at this time suffering from comparatively low numbers of men missing. Arsenal’s four men out are of coure, Max Dowman, who as yet doesn’t even have a projected return date, plus Saliba and Timber, both of whom look as if they might be ready to return for this match – or at the very latest the next game.
Indeed, looking back it seems impossible to imagine the days when Leeds were the top club in the top division and Arsenal were languishing in the lower reaches, but a review of Leeds / Arsenal games from 1958 on to 1977 (which is of course covering almost 20 years) shows 34 matches between the two clubs of which Arsenal won just eight!
Of course since those dark days, things have turned themselves round quite a bit and between November 2003 and August last year, the clubs have met 15 times. Arsenal have won 13, and two of the games were draws. Times do indeed change.
The last six games home and away, have all been Arsenal wins – five in the league and one in the League Cup. In these six games, Arsenal have scored 22 goals and Leeds five, so a continuation of the current form could be very welcome.
More anon…
