Bielsa says Leeds man produced effort ‘above his possibilities’ vs Arsenal

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Marcelo Bielsa suggested that Joe Gelhardt contributed a lot more than he should have been able to during Leeds United’s defeat to Arsenal on Saturday – in comments reported by Leeds Live.

The Whites managed to field a full squad against the Gunners despite dealing with a scarcely-believable injury crisis. Leeds were without the likes of Liam Cooper, Diego Llorente, Kalvin Phillips, Daniel James, Rodrigo and Patrick Bamford. And they were not the only absentees.

The oldest player on their bench against Mikel Arteta’s men was 21. The youngest meanwhile, was 15. And understandably, it proved to be a disappointing evening for the Whites.

On the plus side, some of Leeds’ superb youngsters received a further opportunity to impress. And Gelhardt was one of those included in the starting lineup.

Gelhardt has been a shining light throughout his run in the first-team. He was even praised following his cameo against Manchester City in the days before the Arsenal game.

Ultimately, he seemed to see less of the ball against the Gunners. But he did make one major contribution – winning the penalty that handed Leeds a lifeline.

And while praising a number of players for their efforts, Bielsa suggested that Gelhardt offered more than he had any right to in the loss.

“Koch competes again after four months out, that participation didn’t find him in an ideal state and despite that he chose to play it and apart from that the game didn’t overcome him or if you look at the case of Dallas who received a lot of knocks today, he finished the game like Raphinha.

“The efforts that Gelhardt made today are above his possibilities at the moment,” he said, as reported by Leeds Live.

Gelhardt proving a positive in torrid season for Bielsa and Leeds

For many, it was always a matter of time before Gelhardt was playing first-team football at Elland Road. He has been too good for too long with the under-23s.

Ultimately, the injuries have probably pushed him into the fold sooner than Bielsa was planning. But he has gone on to show that he belongs in the senior side.

He has not looked out of place against the likes of Tottenham, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal. He scored against Chelsea. And he has now won two penalties.

In what is proving to be a torrid time for Leeds, Gelhardt is proving to be an overwhelming positive.