We return to Premier League action this weekend by hosting Leeds United - a fixture that will conjure up plenty of memories for Gooners from previous meetings down the years.
There have been some memorable goals, performances and moments against the Whites during the past three decades, and ahead of Saturday’s game we have collated some of the best for your enjoyment.
Here are five memorable matches to cast your mind back to:
April 6, 1996
Arsenal 2-1 Leeds United
Ian Wright was the hero in this encounter as he managed to keep our hopes of reaching Europe on track with a brace to beat the Whites.
The striker opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time when he bundled home from close-range, but after a Gary Speed shot cannoned off Brian Deane and deceived David Seaman, it required a last-minute Wright strike to clinch a dramatic victory.
December 20, 1998
Arsenal 3-1 Leeds United
Dennis Bergkamp was in superb form in this encounter as he scored and then laid on two assists to help us beat David O”Leary’s team, with the Dutchman opening the scoring when he latched onto a Nicolas Anelka flick-on.
After Patrick Vieira doubled the advantage when he drove into the bottom corner, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink hammered home a trademark goal to make things interesting, but another incisive Bergkamp pass was tucked home by Emmanuel Petit to secure the points.
April 16, 2004
Arsenal 5-0 Leeds United
Thierry Henry was in red-hot form coming into this game, and he would add another four goals to his tally as he carved Leeds open time and time again.
His fellow Frenchman Robert Pires got the ball rolling just six minutes in when he swept home, before Thierry took over. Three times he raced through on goal to score with defenders trailing in his wake, and also tucked home a penalty with typical aplomb during a complete performance.
January 9, 2012
Arsenal 1-0 Leeds United
It was a very different Henry who returned to Emirates Stadium nearly eight years later on loan from New York Red Bulls, but the same old story as he picked up where he left off by finding the back of the net.
Just 10 minutes after coming off the bench to kick-start his second coming, he raced through on goal and slid an inch-perfect shot past Andy Lonergan to spark emotional scenes in the stands, and see us edge past the Championship side to reach round four of the FA Cup.
February 14, 2021
Arsenal 4-2 Leeds United
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sparkled in this encounter as he left the field with the matchball thanks to his treble that helped beat the Whites, netting his first after just 13 minutes before tucking away a spot-kick with four minutes of the first half remaining.
There was still time for Hector Bellerin to add a third before the interval, and just two minutes after the restart, Aubameyang completed his hat-trick with a diving header as we raced out of the traps. Leeds netted consolations through Pascal Struijk and Helder Costa, but the damage had already been done.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
