Eddie Nketiah floors Leeds to strengthen Arsenal’s grip on fourth

The equation for Arsenal is tantalisingly, terrifyingly simple. If they win at Spurs on Thursday they will confirm a return to Champions League football. There was ample cause here both for intense optimism and profound caution.

Leeds may not have helped themselves during an abject first half, but they were still blown away by the insistent, emphatic tempo set by Mikel Arteta’s players. Eddie Nketiah, whose future remains in doubt, added fuel to that particular debate with two early goals; Luke Ayling’s subsequent dismissal seemed to effectively end the contest but, remarkably, Arsenal were hanging on by the end of the game. Diego Llorente ensured the last 25 minutes were far nervier than they should have been, and Arsenal’s propensity to usher their opposition towards a glimmer of daylight remains a problem.

If Nketiah was preparing a prospectus for a new contract, whether at the Emirates or elsewhere, he would not find two better summations of his gifts than these. While the first goal was an embarrassment for Illan Meslier, who had already shown early jitters in fumbling a Martin Ødegaard free-kick, it would not have been possible without Nketiah’s sheer hunger and nose for a mistake. Ayling’s pass back to Meslier, one of the right-back’s few accurate contributions during his time on the pitch, could have been cleared easily but the keeper took a touch and let it run across his body. He showed far too much of it to Nketiah, who had eaten up the ground to capitalise and was able to swipe it into the net from a few yards.

That was Nketiah by numbers, but it was also the kind of opportunity Arsenal would not create without him. Before 10 minute had elapsed he poached another, stationing himself 10 yards out as Gabriel