Premier League football returns after the international break as Arsenal travel to Elland Road to take on newly-promoted Leeds United on Sunday afternoon.
The Gunners have endured a frustrating start to the new season as they’ve enjoyed wins over Manchester United, Fulham, Sheffield United and West Ham but have slumped to defeats against Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester and Aston Villa. Four wins and four losses has left them sitting 11th in the table.
The most recent 3-0 loss at home to Villa before the international break was a shocking performance from Arsenal so Mikel Arteta will be demanding a response from his players when they head to Elland Road this weekend.
However, the north Londoners will be up against a tricky Leeds United side who’ve already shown they can mix it with the big-boys following their promotion from the Championship having impressed during games against Liverpool and Man City.
Arsenal have been dealt a blow with the news that Thomas Partey has been ruled out of the game this weekend after failing to recover from a thigh injury that forced him off against Aston Villa two weeks ago.
Mohamed Elneny and Sead Kolasinac are also out of the trip to Elland Road after testing positive for covid-19 while away with their national teams this week.
Pablo Mari is back in training after recovering from an ankle injury but this game comes too soon for the defender so he remains unavailable along with Gabriel Martinelli – who’s still overcoming a knee injury.
Leeds will assess the fitness of Kalvin Phillips as he’s still nursing a shoulder injury but Rodrigo is ruled out after testing positive for covid-19 while Gaetano Berardi, Adam Forshaw and Diego Llorente are also missing.
Betting odds
Despite their inconsistent record this season, Arsenal are the 5/4 favourites with the betting companies to win the game on Sunday. Hosts Leeds can be backed at odds of 21/10 while the draw is available at 27/10. It’s important you find the best online bookmakers before placing any bets as the odds can vary so always do your research before risking your money.
Usually you’d expect plenty of goals in this game but Arsenal have been playing a more reserved style of football under Arteta this season so it might be tighter than normal. A 1-0 Arsenal win could be tempting at odds of 9/1 while a 2-1 away win is available at 15/2.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been struggling in front of goal this season but the Gabon international is still the 7/2 favourite to open the scoring on Sunday.
Prediction
Arsenal will be desperate to get back on track following their defeat to Villa and Leeds have lost three of their last four games, including their last two at home to Wolves and Leicester, so we think the Gunners are going to edge it on Sunday. The loss of Partey will be a blow to Arteta but the Londoners should still have enough quality to take home all three points.
Leeds 1-2 Arsenal
