Beren Cross
Well, the choices are made for us, aren’t they? After a series of injuries and suspensions unprecedented under Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds United have 10 senior players available and one of them hasn’t played since mid-August.
The major debate is around Robin Koch’s fitness and which of the youngsters you want to use to plug the gaps.
The Germany international has not kicked a ball for the Whites since the opening day drubbing at Manchester United.
Bielsa has no concerns about Koch’s health and believes the training he has done is sufficient for him to play in the top flight from tomorrow.
Would I rather have a rusty Koch or one of Charlie Cresswell and Cody Drameh in the backline?
Stuart Dallas and Diego Llorente look settled bets on the left side of the back four, while Ayling is my choice to play down the right.
There’s not much between Drameh and Cresswell, so I would rather have Ayling in his best role with Cresswell looking to match his debut display against West Ham United.
Koch’s lack of match sharpness puts me off in such a delicate area of the pitch. I would rather have a sharp Cresswell in there.
The rest of the team really does pick itself. Joe Gelhardt is my striker, of course. From the bench, Koch, Crysencio Summerville and Drameh look like the safest pair of hands if needed.
Beren’s XI: Meslier; Ayling, Cresswell, Llorente, Dallas; Forshaw; Raphinha, Klich, Roberts, Harrison; Gelhardt.
Joe Donnohue
It hasn't been easy keeping track of who is and is not available this week. The reason it seems as though half the squad is out injured is because, they are.
Eight confirmed first-team casualties, either to injury or suspension ahead of a daunting, but not insurmountable, fixture versus an in-form Arsenal side.
The Gunners had a wobble away to Everton, a depleted and beleaguered Everton it must be said, two weeks ago and Leeds must be looking at the Toffees' unlikely victory as motivation for the weekend.
As outlined above, the absentee list makes for difficult reading, but Leeds can still field a reasonable side containing distinguished internationals on Saturday.
Raphinha, Illan Meslier, Llorente and Dallas are all high-performance individuals and have demonstrated that on a consistent basis.
The return of Koch, who will most likely make the substitutes' bench, is small consolation having lost Jamie Shackleton and Daniel James to injury, but it remains better than no returnees.
Gelhardt and Drameh making the starting XI together will hopefully breed positivity at Elland Road, and it appears to be an increasingly likely possibility given the ever-growing injury list.
Tyler Roberts dropping back into midfield to accommodate young Gelhardt, with Drameh starting at his preferred right-back is the way I would set this team up tomorrow afternoon.
Joe's XI: Meslier; Drameh, Ayling, Llorente, Dallas; Forshaw; Raphinha, Klich, Roberts, Harrison; Gelhardt.
