After a European away game, from which the team didn’t return until Friday afternoon, a trip to Leeds will be an interesting challenge for Arsenal today.
Last season we went there and won 4-1, and it came at one of the only points of the season where the fixture list got a bit hectic. Still, you assume the players had a light session yesterday before travelling to Leeds, and it’s not the ideal preparation for an away game in the Premier League. However, this the way it is when you’re in Europe, and you have to be ready for that.
It appears as if Gabriel Jesus is with the squad (if a random picture on Twitter is anything to go by), which is good news because he had reportedly been a bit of a doubt. Everyone else went to Norway in midweek, some of the key players started, but few of them had to do the full 90 minutes. So, in terms of today’s team, I don’t see much that would be different from the one that beat Liverpool, unless Mikel Arteta has got another Tomiyasu/Tierney style joker up his sleeve.
Left back is the only place I can see some doubt. Does Tomiyasu continue after being tasked with a very specific role against specific opposition last week, or does Tierney come back in? Either way, I’m comfortable with the decision. Two excellent players to choose from is never a huge problem.
As for the opposition, Leeds are very much a lower mid-table team in almost every metric, not least of which is their place in the actual table. But there’s one stat where they are top of the pile: tackles. They have made more tackles than any other team this season, and that will tell you plenty about what we’re going to face today. Since he took over, Jesse Marsch has placed a real emphasis on making tackles – which might also tell you something about how much they don’t have the ball – but they do it with some intensity, and that’s something I’m sure the manager will have briefed his players about.
I expect them, at home, to try and come out of the blocks quickly, to get the crowd going and to attempt to unsettle us. Historically, away from home after a European game is more challenging physically, and it can often take a team a little while to get going and to find its rhythm. Leeds will look to take advantage of that if Arsenal’s level initially isn’t quite where it ought to be.
Arteta says:
With Jesse and the teams that they have already played, it is very clear what he wants to do – be a really intense team, a really dynamic team and a really good team when there are spaces to attack.
So, forewarned is forearmed and all that, and hopefully the players can deal with what Leeds will try to do. In terms of final third quality, we certainly have the edge there, even if they do have some dangerous players, and if Gabriel Jesus can come into this one properly rested and ready to go, I feel he’s the man who could make the difference for us today. Fingers crossed.
As ever we’ll have the live blog for you, and post-game stuff on Arseblog News, plus there’s a preview podcast for our Patreon members right now.
We’ll also be recording the podcast for you later on. James is away on holidays, but Andrew Allen will be filling in. Look out for the call for questions later this afternoon.
For now, enjoy your Sunday, and I’ll catch you later for the game.
