Leeds United legend’s verdict on 'tremendous' Elland Road display and pre-game Arsenal warning

Leeds legend Eddie Gray believes Jesse Marsch’s side are still a ‘work in progress’ despite their recent five-game winless run, and hopes United can pull off a similar upset this weekend as their 3-0 win over Chelsea in August.

Gray featured nearly 600 times in a Leeds shirt, winning on 285 occasions during his club career, and has been sufficiently impressed with what he has seen from Elland Road’s new faces so far this season.

“I don't think the team have been playing badly at all,” he tells the YEP. “I mean, look at the [Crystal] Palace game. I thought they played exceptionally well first half, let it slip a bit second half but that's a lot to do with it [being] a learning experience for them.”

"A lot of these players have come into the Premier League for the first time and they'll gradually realise how tough it is and you're going to need to be top of your game for 90 minutes, every game.

"That's what happens in football clubs. You know, you come into a new football club, a new league and probably the toughest league in the world and it's not easy to play in and the quicker you realise that the better. I think the players will do that,” Gray adds, pledging his faith in the current crop of Leeds players.

In particular, Gray says he likes the look of Brenden Aaronson whose skill, ‘energy’ and ‘good feet’ have caught the eye of the decorated former winger. Aaronson’s first goal in a Leeds shirt – the opener against Chelsea in a famous 3-0 home win – perfectly exhibited the American’s hunger and desire to close down opponents in possession. Gray feels the team’s performance on that day was one of the finest he has witnessed for some time.

"I thought they were tremendous. That's as good a performance as I've seen at Elland Road for many a year. I thought they were terrific that day and to say they were playing against a top side as well. And we could do a few more like that. The entertainment that day was terrific. The work, the energy and the skill the players produced that day was second to none.”

Ahead of this weekend’s fixture against Arsenal, the legendary club figure acknowledges the home side’s chances are slim, but that you never know what could happen: “It's against another London club, so you can never tell,” he says.