Arteta to make 9 changes | Predicted Arsenal XI vs Leeds with £61m duo ready to play
Arsenal face Leeds United on the road in today’s Premier League clash.
The Gunners are four points ahead of Manchester City and Aston Villa at the top of the standings, but their form has been poor with two draws and one defeat in the last three league games.
Arsenal won by a 3-2 scoreline against Kairat Almaty in the Champions League in midweek and will be eyeing a similar outcome when they take on Leeds at Elland Road in the 3pm kick-off.
Mikel Arteta’s side can temporarily move seven points clear in the table with an eighth straight win over Leeds. Man City and Villa are in action against Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford tomorrow.
Formation: 4-3-3
Predicted Line-up:
David Raya has been an undisputed starter in the Premier League this campaign, keeping 11 clean sheets thus far. The Spaniard is expected to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga, who made his Champions League debut for the club in the dead rubber fixture against Kairat.
There could be a complete overhaul of the defence from midweek. William Saliba and Jurrien Timber have been declared fit to play after a much-needed rest. The duo, signed for £27 million and £34 million respectively, are poised to return to the starting XI.
Saliba will partner Gabriel Magalhaes in the central defensive department. Timber should slot in his preferred right-back role with Piero Hincapie starting on the opposite end.
Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera, Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly should drop to the bench. One of them may not make the matchday squad, as only nine substitutes can be selected.
In the centre of the park, Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice are assured starters. Cristhian Norgaard and Eberechi Eze should make way. Similarly, Martin Odegaard could come in for Kai Havertz.
Havertz made his first start in almost a year against Kairat. The German was superb with a goal and an assist within 15 minutes and bagged the man of the match despite his half-time substitution.
Arteta said that the German is ‘ready‘ to start again, but also mentioned that the club need to be selective over which games he could feature from the off. With plenty of physical battles anticipated at Leeds, we believe Havertz won’t make the first XI. Odegaard could get the nod despite his indifferent form.
In the final third, Bukayo Saka looks poised to replace Noni Madueke on the right wing. Madueke had a tough outing versus Kairat. His distribution was pretty poor throughout the game. We predict Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres to keep their places against the Whites this afternoon.
Martinelli has four goal contributions in his last four starts versus Leeds, and his pace on the counter-attack should be preferred over Leandro Trossard on the left wing. Gyokeres looks better suited to handle physical duels upfront. He has fond memories of facing Leeds, scoring a brace back in August.
How Arsenal could line up vs Leeds today
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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