BBC pundit issues verdict on Luke Ayling display in Leeds loss

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Luke Ayling will be disappointed with his performance up against Gabriel Martinelli in Leeds United’s loss to Arsenal on Saturday.

That is the view of Shaun Derry, speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, after the full-time whistle.

Leeds were punished for defensive lapses of concentration at the Emirates. And it is probably fair to say that Luke Ayling probably made more than most against the Premier League leaders.

He gave away the penalty for the opening goal after Leeds made a promising start to the game. And he was easily beaten by Gabriel Martinelli in the build-up to the second goal.

Derry was full of praise for Martinelli’s performance up against Ayling. However, he also noted that Ayling will not be happy with his display and now needs to prove a point the next time he features.

Ayling will be disappointed with display in Leeds loss

“I honestly thought he had a tough afternoon, up against a really good player by the way. He’s a fantastic player. But what he wants, he wants to get you one vs one. And Martinelli got him exactly where he wanted to get him, especially with that second goal in the second-half,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.

“And I just thought maybe Ayling could have used a bit more of his experience in that situation. He’ll be going home tonight, and he’ll be disappointed. But he has to recover from that. And he’ll respond and he’s done it many times in his career.”

Defender has probably earned the right to have an off-day

It was a soft penalty. But the £750,000 defender gave Gabriel Jesus the option to go down with a clumsy attempt at a challenge. And in today’s game, we can have few complaints about that decision being given – as long as the decisions are consistent had similar happened at the other end of the pitch.

We cannot forget that Ayling had been excellent leading into the international break. He silenced a lot of us who doubted his ability at the highest level at this stage of his career.

And he was up against one of the best wingers in the Premier League. If there was an afternoon to have an off-day, it probably was the trip to Arsenal.

However, his recent form does not change the fact that right-back remains a problem position for Leeds this season.

Hopefully Ayling is much better against Nottingham Forest in that massive game on Tuesday night. He is certainly not going to be the last full-back given a torrid time by Martinelli this season.