Alan Shearer praises two Arsenal stars after comeback win against Leeds

Bruno Guimaraes scored Arsenal’s winning goal against Leeds United (Picture: Getty)

Alan Shearer highlighted the contribution of Arsenal’s new-look central midfield partnership in Saturday’s comeback win against Leeds United.

The Gunners looked set for rare back-to-back defeats after James Justin fired Daniel Farke’s side into a deserved lead 55th minute lead.

After a lackluster response to a shock 3-0 defeat at Brighton prior to the international break, Mikel Arteta responded with a flurry of substitutions, the most significant of which saw Bruno Guimaraes replace Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Alongside Declan Rice, the Brazil international helped change the course of a game which looked to be slipping away from the champions and it was no surprise when that duo combined with the summer signing from Newcastle providing a fitting end to flowing move and scoring the goal that secured an important three points.

‘They moved the ball a lot better in the second half,’ said Shearer, reacting a victory that has restored a sense of order and calm.

‘I thought it was all a bit slow and passive and a bit lethargic in the first half with too many sideways passes – not enough penetration.

‘Once Bruno came on and moved it a bit better, he scored a great goal. Declan Rice, I thought, was very good in the second half.

Declan Rice and Bruno Guimaraes powered Arsenal to a win over Leeds (Picture: Getty)

‘I’m not concerned over Arsenal’s recent performances. I think especially early games after an international break, everyone’s just got back probably Wednesday or Thursday. They still haven’t had time to recover.

‘I just think it was a hugely important win. It didn’t matter how they did it after what happened at Brighton three weeks ago.

‘They had to come back into it and get a win. And they’ve managed to do that here.’