Arsenal head to Elland Road this afternoon looking to improve their recent record of three defeats in their last four games when they take on a Leeds United side that has suffered two bruising defeats in their last two matches.
The Gunners went into the international break on the back of a 3-0 home defeat to Aston Villa and Mikel Arteta's mood will not have been brightened by an number of fitness issues from the international break.
Mohamed Elneny and Sead Kolasinac have been ruled out of the trip to Elland Road after testing positive for Coivd-19 while on international duty, while Bukayo Saka and Kieran Tierney both played three games in six days during the break, adding to the risk of burnout in Arteta's squad.
The Gunners boss knows that his side will face a demanding 90 minutes against Leeds.
"That they will go full gas like they always do and they have had two weeks to prepare for the game, they don’t have as many internationals as us and I don’t expect them to change too much," he said.
"They are very loyal to their principles, to the way the play and they approach every game the same way, which is to win and to be very aggressive with and without the ball and try to win.
"It doesn’t matter where they play, what I have seen from them in the last season, it is not a concern about who they play against, it is about what they do."
The Gunners also have a number of injury issues, with Thomas Partey and Gabriel Martinelli both set to miss out this afternoon, with our colleagues at our sister site football.london reporting that Arteta is likely to keep a settled defence, although David Luiz could be an option if they want to press high.
Both Tierney and Saka are expected to start despite their hectic international break, with Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos likely options in midfield.
Former Bielsa charge Nicolas Pepe is pushing for a start, as is Joe Willock, but Arteta could keep the faith with former Chelsea man Willian.
Alexandre Lacazette is expected to continue up front, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang set to operate out wide.
Football.London's predicted Arsenal XI: Leno; Bellerin, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney, Saka; Xhaka, Ceballos, Willian, Aubameyang, Lacazette.
