Arsenal travel to Elland Road to take on a somewhat-frisky Leeds United side. Mikel Arteta and the lads could really do with a Premier League win to steady the ship in the midst of a bit of wobble. It’s not that bad — the Gunners are four points clear at the top, won the Champions League group stage, won the first leg of the League Cup semis, and are still in the FA Cup. Like, as far as “wobbles” go, this isn’t a terrible one.
But the missed opportunities to take a stranglehold on the Premier League
and extend their lead towards double-digits have created a feeling of unease, at least from the outside looking in. I suspect the team are chugging along just fine. This isn’t their first rodeo. That said, Arteta seems to be approaching things a bit differently, shifting his tone / message with the media. Rather than talking about standards and expectations, his recent focus has been on reminding his players of how incredibly good they are, getting them to loosen up, and play quality football.
Perhaps playing 16th-place Leeds United will be the tonic the side needs to cure what ails them. After all, Arsenal crushed Leeds 5-0 at the Emirates back in August. That dreadful result was part of a poor start to the season for Daniel Farke’s team, who looked a likely relegation side. They’re in better shape now thanks to a 3-6-1 run in the Premier League. Put differently, they’ve only lost one of their last ten Premier League matches but they’ve not won many of them, either.
Leeds’ run of form has been largely thanks to the attacking form of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Brenden Aaronson. The oft-injured striker has managed to stay fit and he’s back doing what he does best — scoring goals from in tight. Seriously, look at his heat map. It’s all shots and goals from, like, 10-yards and in. Aaronson is a big part of why DCL gets so many chances from prime areas. The dynamic American winger unsettles defenses and helps get the ball in and around the box.
With that pair firing, Leeds haven’t had trouble scoring goals. Their 31 goals for has them in the middle third of the scoring table. Their problem is they’ve also had trouble preventing goals. Their 38 goals shipped is fifth-worst in the Premier League, second-worst among clubs not currently in a relegation spot. That’s a nailed-on low scoring game today, isn’t it?
Here’s an interesting nugget for ‘ya (actually three interesting nuggets). Leeds have scored the second-most goals (10) in the 15 minutes before half time in the Premier League. Arsenal have scored the most goals in the fifteen minutes following halftime (12) and Leeds have conceded the second-most goals (8) in that window. Leeds’ 15 set piece goals (incl. penalties) are the third-most in the Premier League, behind only Chelsea (16) and Arsenal (18).
Arsenal are healthy except for Max Dowman, who is still out with the ankle injury suffered in a closed-door friendly in November. Leeds are without centerback Jaka Bijol and winger Dan James. Gabriel Gudmundsson was projected to miss today’s match but has been deemed fit enough to start.
Arsenal – Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Rice, Havertz, Trossard, Saka, Gyokeres
Leeds United – Darlow, Bogle, Gudmundsson, Ampadu, Struijk, Rodon, Calvert-Lewin, Aaronson, Stach, Justin, Gruev
WHAT: Arsenal at Leeds United
WHERE: Elland Road, Leeds
WHEN: Saturday, January 31st 7:00 am PT | 10:00 am ET | 3:00 pm GMT
US TV: Broadcast on USA and UNIVERSO
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