Arsenal vs Leeds United player ratings: Odegaard 8, Nketiah 8; Meslier 4, Ayling 1

Gunners seal 2-1 win to boost top-four hopes while Yorkshiremen drop into relegation zone

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  ARSENAL RATINGS: Aaron Ramsdale - 7: Had been lazy day in the sunshine for the goalkeeper as Leeds failed to register a single shot off or on target until the 66th minute … only for Llorente to fire home from close-range. AP

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  Cedric Soares - 7: Should have made it 3-0 in first half when Leeds clearance landed at his feet but full-back blazed shot over. Sent over dangerous crosses into the Leeds box from the right all afternoon. AFP

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  Rob Holding - 7: Little problem dealing with what little Leeds attackers threw at him. An accomplished performance from defender although not exactly up against the most challenging of opposition. Getty

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  Gabriel - 7: Earned harsh early booking for sliding challenge on James. Calm and assured effort from centre-half highlighted when Leeds threatened an unlikely late leveller in a rare counter-attack but Brazilian snuffed out the danger before being fouled. Reuters

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  Takehiro Tomiyasu - 7: Japanese full-back might have expected a tougher afternoon dealing with likes of Raphina but that certainly wasn’t the case. Well-timed run and ball into box set up chance for Gabriel just after half-time. Booked for foul on James. AFP

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  Mohamed Elneny - 8: Very tidy performance at base of midfield. Kept things simple, cannot remember a pass that he wasted and ran the engine room alongside Xhaka and Odegaard. EPA

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  Granit Xhaka - 7: Reacted furiously to late Klich challenge in first half when Leeds completely lost the plot and warned by referee following ongoing slanging match with James after break. But that was about as bad as it got for Swiss as Arsenal dominated midfield. PA

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  Bukayo Saka - 7: Drilled first-half chance straight at keeper, caused Firpo plenty of problems with his attacking runs as Arsenal ripped Leeds apart at will. Quieter after break and taken off with just over 20 minutes to go. AFP

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  Martin Odegaard - 8: At the heart of Arsenal’s flying start out of the blocks. Norwegian’s intricate passing and one-twos with teammates helped tear Leeds defence apart. Denied first-half goal himself when his deflected free-kick from tight angle almost caught out Meslier and sent another shot just wide of target with 15 minutes to go. EPA

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  Gabriel Martinelli - 8: Direct running caused chaos in Leeds defence. Brazilian, who grabbed a double at Elland Road in December, teed-up Nketiah’s second goal after surging run down left. Will be wondering how he didn’t score himself after seeing several shots saved and sending another over bar. EPA

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  Eddie Nketiah - 8: Attacker continued his recent excellent form with early double - the first after his tackle on dawdling Leeds goalkeeper Meslier sent ball over line, the second a calm finish from Martinelli’s pass after starting move himself. AP

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  Emile Smith Rowe - (On for Martinelli 78’) N/A. Reuters

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  LEEDS RATINGS: Illian Meslier - 4: Set the tone for Leeds’ day when he was caught in possession by Nketiah that gifted Gunners their opening goal. Saves from Martinelli and Odegaard prevented Arsenal being even further ahead at break. Struggled badly with crosses into box throughout and confidence looked shot. PA

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  Luke Ayling - 1: Catastrophic day for captain. Second Gunners goal came when his right flank was ripped open and Ayling almost handed Gunners a third with a clearance that teed-up chance for Soares. Booked for brain dead two-footed challenge on Martinelli that was upgraded to red after VAR check. Reuters

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  Robin Koch - 5: Vital clearance in first-half injury-time to divert Odegaard cross over own bar with Arsenal ready to pounce. Relieved when his touch from Odegaard cross just after break dropped to his goalkeeper and not into own net. Getty

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  Diego Llorente - 7: Acrobatic clearance off line after Meslier had saved Odegaard free-kick. Important block on Nketiah header just before hour mark. Excellent first-time finish with what was Leeds’ first shot on target from their first corner. Getty

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  Junior Firpo - 4: Like rest of team, Spaniard had nightmare first half. Couldn’t handle Saka, tried to play ball out of defence when should have cleared and gave away clumsy fouls. Little better after break although can claim assist for flicking on corner for Llorente goal. Getty

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  Kalvin Phillips - 5: England midfielder must have looked on in disbelief at the shambles going on around him but was at fault himself when he failed to track back Nketiah run ahead of second goal. Reuters

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  Mateusz Klich - 4: Booked for stupid challenge form behind on Xhaka as Leeds completely lost their heads in opening 45. Second time in consecutive games that Pole has been hooked at half-time. PA

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  Jack Harrison - 5: Given runaround by Arsenal from most of the match. One fine run from own half in second half but could only pass the ball straight to an Arsenal defender and final ball let team down on other occasions. AFP

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  Daniel James - 6: Like anyone in blue, offered little threat going forward. Involved in running angry exchange with Xhaka in second half. Good tracking back to deny Martinelli run on goal with 13 minutes left and his tackle on Pepe, with Meslier still sprinting back form corner, stopped Frenchman shooting into empty net late on. Getty

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  Raphinha - 4: Booked for dissent by referee after Ayling sending off - looked like he might soon also be seeing red as he continued his ranting and had to be dragged away by teammates. Spent second half helping defence in trying to stop Martinelli ... with little success. EPA

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  Joe Gelhardt – 4: Young forward was given nod up front but endied up being sacrificed after Ayling’s red card having barely touched the ball as Leeds capitulated in spectacular fashion. Getty

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  SUBS: Pascal Struijk - (On for Gelhardt 29’) 6. Brought on after Ayling red card and can at least claim Arsenal failed to add to their two goals after his arrival. PA

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  Lewis Bate - (On for Klich 46’) 5. Thankless task for teenager to come on when team was a man and two goals down. Reuters

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  Rodrigo - (On for Raphinha 60’) 5. No chance to make his mark until injury time when his flicked header flew straight into Ramsdale’s hands. Reuters

Arsenal secured a 2-1 win over 10-man Leeds United on Sunday to boost their hopes of securing a place in the Premier League top four.

Leeds, who dropped into the bottom three after this defeat, contributed to their own downfall with a dire first-half performance that saw captain Luke Ayling sent-off for a dreadful tackle on Gabriel Martinelli.

Jesse Marsch's side gifted Arsenal their opening goal when goalkeeper Illian Meslier's loose touch was pounced on by Eddie Nketiah whose challenge resulted in the home side going in front after just five minutes.

Five minutes later, it was two when Nketiah finished well after being picked out in the box by Martinelli following a flowing Arsenal move.

Things went from bad to worse just before the half-hour mark when Ayling flew into a needless two-footed challenge on Martinelli that was initially given as a yellow but then upgraded to red after referee Chris Kavanagh was asked to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor.

The avalanche of goals that looked likely never materialised, though, and Leeds managed to pull a goal back with their first shot on target in the 66th minute when Junior Firpo flicked on a corner and Diego Llorente finished at the back post.

Arsenal saw out the rest of the match with relative ease, albeit with a few nervy moments, to seal a victory that leaves them fourth in the table, four points ahead Tottenham in fifth. The two North London rivals face-off on Thursday.

As for Leeds, an undisciplined performance saw them drop to third bottom, level on points with Burnley in 17th, while Everton are up to 16th thanks to their win at Leicester.

You can see the player ratings from the match at the Emirates Stadium. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.