“Did Arsenal deserve 4-0 win? – Daniel Farke makes Leeds United admission following Arsenal defeat with Karl Darlow reaction and changes plan

Daniel Farke watched his Leeds United side suffer a second heavy defeat of the season against Arsenal as the Whites were beaten 4–0 in Saturday’s Premier League encounter at Elland Road.

Leeds went into the clash having lost just once in their previous ten league matches, but they were comfortably outclassed by Mikel Arteta’s title-chasing Gunners, who struck twice in each half to underline their dominance. After the match, Farke offered a candid assessment of the performance, while also addressing Karl Darlow’s difficult afternoon and explaining his tactical changes.

Arsenal took control in the first half through two goals from corner situations. The opener came after Leeds initially cleared their lines, only for Noni Madueke to deliver a second ball into the area that allowed Martín Zubimendi to head home. The visitors doubled their lead from another Madueke corner, with goalkeeper Karl Darlow attempting to punch the in-swinging delivery away but inadvertently sending the ball into his own net amid a crowded six-yard box.

Farke responded at the interval by introducing Sean Longstaff and Noah Okafor, but the damage had already been done. Arsenal added two more goals in the second half through Viktor Gyökeres and Gabriel Jesus, leaving Leeds with no route back into the contest.

Reflecting on the result, Farke was quick to acknowledge Arsenal’s superiority.

“First of all, congratulations to Arsenal,” he said.
“It was a deserved win and we have to accept that the better team won this game. We faced the best side in Europe at the moment. There are reasons why they are top of the Premier League and why they have won eight out of eight Champions League games.”

He added that Leeds needed near-perfect conditions to compete.
“You need a perfect day, a bit of luck, and maybe for them not to be at their very best. Sadly, we didn’t have our best day and they were on it from the first second to the last.”

Farke stressed there was no need to read too much into the defeat.
“We have to accept their quality today. They were better and for that there is not too much to over-interpret from this game.”

Asked about Darlow, the Leeds boss admitted the goalkeeper was understandably frustrated but insisted the problems went beyond individual moments.

“The key today was that we didn’t find solutions to create chances against them,” Farke explained. “Whatever we did in the first half, they always had an answer, so we changed the base formation in the second half and brought on more offensive players. Still, they dealt with everything.”

Defensively, Farke felt set-pieces proved decisive despite Leeds limiting Arsenal from open play early on.

“I can’t really remember many chances from open play in the first half, but set pieces are a big topic against them. We gave too many away. The first goal came from a second phase after a corner, and the second was more or less an own goal.”

He concluded by acknowledging the uphill task Leeds faced once they fell two goals behind.

“If you concede twice like that against the best team in Europe, it’s always going to be a long afternoon. In the second half we decided to go for it and try to get one goal to bring ourselves back into the game.”