London (AFP)
Manhandled for 45 minutes by Leeds (D2) of Marcelo Bielsa, Arsenal qualified with difficulty (1-0) at home Monday for the 4th round of the FA Cup.
We can even say that the co-leader of the Championship with West Bromwich Albion, who is 9 points ahead of the 3rd and first foreman Brentford, gave the lesson to the 10th in the Premier League.
No idea, no fighting spirit, with a team cut in half and an invisible Mesut Özil - 13 balls touched only, smallest total of the first period, including only one in the last 30 meters, and again, to take a corner -, the Gunners were absent subscribers.
Opposite, the Peacocks have deployed a most pleasant game and also "à la Bielsa" as it is possible to imagine, where each pass seems thought with three strokes in advance and each player seems to know where it should be and when he should be there.
It was a miracle that Leeds with 63% possession and 15 shots on 3 over the first 45 minutes didn't take advantage.
If the substitute goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was saved by his bar on a strike into the surface of Patrick Bamford (16th), he made several decisive parades, including a magnificent one on the head of Ezgjan Alioski (33rd) who streaked towards his skylight .
But where the team of Unai Emery would have probably sunk during the second act, Mikel Arteta knew how to find the words to completely reverse the course of the match.
Without making a tactical change or replacement, we had the impression that he had changed the eleven players.
The goal in itself was not very pretty, even if the action which allowed Reiss Nelson to push the ball to the bottom was not badly brought (1-0, 55th), but it will be enough for the happiness of Londoners who will travel to Bournemouth for the 4th round which will take place from 24 to 27 January.
Results of the third round of the FA Cup:
Saturday
(+) Millwall (ENG) - Newport County (WAL) 3 - 0
Rotherham United (ENG) - (+) Hull (ENG) 2 - 3
Rochdale (ENG) - Newcastle (ENG) 1 - 1
Bristol City (ENG) - Shrewsbury Town (ENG) 1 - 1
(+) Burnley (ENG) - Peterborough United (ENG) 4 - 2
(+) Birmingham (ENG) - Blackburn (ENG) 2 - 1
Reading (ENG) - Blackpool (ENG) 2 - 2
Watford (ENG) - Tranmere Rovers (ENG) 3 - 3
Preston NE (ENG) - (+) Norwich City (ENG) 2 - 4
(+) Brentford (ENG) - Stoke (ENG) 1 - 0
(+) Fulham (ENG) - Aston Villa (ENG) 2 - 1
Cardiff City (ENG) - Carlisle United (ENG) 2 - 2
(+) Oxford United (ENG) - Hartlepool United (ENG) 4 - 1
(+) Southampton (ENG) - Huddersfield (ENG) 2 - 0
Brighton (ENG) - (+) Sheffield W. (ENG) 0 - 1
(+) Manchester City (ENG) - Port Vale (ENG) 4 - 1
(+) Leicester (ENG) - Wigan (ENG) 2 - 0
Wolverhampton (ENG) - Manchester United (ENG) 0 - 0
(+) Bournemouth (ENG) - Luton Town (ENG) 4 - 0
Fleetwood Town (ENG) - (+) Portsmouth (ENG) 1 - 2
Sunday
Middlesbrough (ENG) - Tottenham (ENG) 1 - 1
Crystal Palace (ENG) - (+) Derby County (ENG) 0 - 1
(+) QPR (ENG) - Swansea (ENG) 5 - 1
(+) Chelsea (ENG) - Nottingham Forest (ENG) 2 - 0
Charlton (ENG) - (+) West Brom (ENG) 0 - 1
(+) Sheffield United (ENG) - AFC Fylde (ENG) 2 - 1
Bristol Rovers (ENG) - Coventry (ENG) 2 - 2
Crewe Alexandra (ENG) - (+) Barnsley (ENG) 1 - 3
Burton Albion (ENG) - (+) Northampton Town (ENG) 2 - 4
(+) Liverpool (ENG) - Everton (ENG) 1 - 0
Gillingham (ENG) - (+) West Ham (ENG) 0 - 2
on Monday
(+) Arsenal (ENG) - Leeds United (ENG) 1 - 0
Editor's note: teams that have drawn will decide on a new match
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