Expert Premier League predictions: Arsenal top-four push can gather pace

Leeds United director of football Victor Orta and chairman Andrea Radrizzani both issued glowing statements about departing boss Marcelo Bielsa but the manager needed backing rather than sacking during the only poor spell in his four-year reign.

"With Marcelo as our head coach, we had three incredible campaigns and the good times returned to Elland Road," said Radrizzani. "He changed the culture of the club and brought a winning mentality to us all."

And Orta added: "Marcelo had a huge impact on the club, on a scale I have not seen before."

So why sack him?

Leeds have taken one point from the last six games, but before that the Yorkshire team won successive Premier League matches against Burnley and West Ham.

This six-match spell has included games against Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham - games Leeds would be expected to lose - and does it really matter if those matches end 2-0 or 6-0 in the grand scheme of things?

Bielsa's approach has been hugely successful at Leeds, and the first time things got rocky it ended with the sack.

It's incredibly harsh, even before taking on board the injuries to England internationals Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford.

The worst aspect of this appears to be those coming out of the woodwork, the told-you-so merchants, who are still of the opinion that Bielsa's methods couldn't work in England.

Nothing could be further from the truth. He cracked it and brought great joy to a set of supporters who have re-connected with their club following a dismal period out of the limelight.

Taking Leeds up to the Premier League with a thrilling style, improving players out of all recognition and then leading them to a top-half finish showed Bielsa's ballsy approach could work on a relatively small budget.

He has been undone by a ridiculous injury list and a tough run of fixtures, something that will soon change with home dates against Aston Villa and Norwich to come before the international break.

There are so many stories about Bielsa it is difficult to separate truth from fiction, but it is often noted he once saw a flag in Seville which struck a chord. It read: "We love you even when you lose."

It's a shame Bielsa was not afforded the same loyalty because for the best part of four seasons his unique way of playing outperformed the Leeds budget with a style that will forever be remembered.

Roy Hodgson's approach is much safer and will usually protect his Watford team from taking the kind of batterings dished out to Leeds in recent weeks. However, it's not massively helping despite the Hornets keeping three clean sheets in his six matches in charge.

Arsenal will have to work hard to overcome Watford on Sunday, but should eventually get the job done. Backing them to win in a match with under 4.5 goals looks a decent bet as they continue pushing for a top-four spot.

The Gunners have been solid defensively, conceding an average of 0.86 expected goals against in 12 matches since a 4-0 thumping at Liverpool, and the only time it crept over one was when Arsenal conceded penalties.

It's a slight concern that they have scored only six in five league games in 2022, but one might even be enough at Vicarage Road.

Best bet

Arsenal to win & under 4.5 goals 2pm Sunday
1pt 5-6 BoyleSports

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