🏏 Sat, 10 Oct 2026 12:30 BST
Arsenal FC
vs
Leeds United
4-2-3-1 vs 3-4-2-1
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- Arsenal sit second on 12 points from five matches (four wins, one defeat), while Leeds are fifth on nine points having won twice and drawn three times. Both carry an identical goal difference of +4, and both are chasing leaders Manchester City on 15 points. Arsenal arrive after a 0-3 loss away at Brighton ended their winning run; Leeds have yet to taste defeat in the league this term.
- Leeds have conceded just three goals in five league games, and their back three is the foundation. Tarik Muharemovic, 23, arrived from Sassuolo after a Juventus academy upbringing and 32 Serie A appearances with two goals in 2025-26; Nico Elvedi joined from Borussia Monchengladbach on a three-year deal in summer 2026 after a decade in the Bundesliga; James Justin brings 169 Leicester appearances and an FA Cup medal. Elvedi also played under Daniel Farke in 2022-23, so he knows the demands.
- Ben White faces a club he once represented, having spent a loan spell at Leeds earlier in his career. The 29-year-old, who moved to north London from Brighton, was converted from centre-back and offers both defensive solidity and the passing range to step inside as an inverted full-back. His understanding with Bukayo Saka down the right will test Gabriel Gudmundsson behind the Leeds left wing-back slot.
- Japan international Ao Tanaka starts in the Leeds midfield. The 28-year-old reached the Premier League via Kawasaki Frontale and Fortuna Dusseldorf, and was voted the club's player of the year in 2024-25. Averaging around 90 touches a game with a pass completion rate above 90 percent, he controls matches by constantly being on the ball, so how he escapes pressure from Declan Rice and company is the central subplot.
- Arsenal have pushed 20-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly, a natural left-back from the Hale End academy, into a double pivot alongside Rice, with Italy international Riccardo Calafiori taking the left-back berth. Leeds answer with Ethan Ampadu, the Wales international who captained them to the Championship title in 2024-25, partnering Tanaka at the base of midfield. Whether Martin Odegaard can turn between those two will shape the flow of the game.
- Kai Havertz leads the line at 193cm. The Germany forward drops in to help build play yet still attacks the box, and his aerial duels with the 192cm Muharemovic and 189cm Elvedi should be constant. Viktor Gyokeres, the Sweden striker who scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting CP, begins on the bench and is held back as the option if the game stagnates.
- Arsenal have fielded two natural right wingers across the second line in Saka and Noni Madueke. Both cut inside onto their left foot: Saka is the academy-reared figurehead, while Madueke is the 24-year-old who arrived from Chelsea having won the Conference League and the Club World Cup. The wing-backs tasked with containing them are Gudmundsson, who reached the Champions League round of 16 with Lille, and Jayden Bogle, who posted a career-best six goals and four assists in the promotion season.
- In goal, Leeds have the 192cm James Trafford and Arsenal have David Raya. Trafford, 24, came through the Manchester City academy and built his reputation at Burnley, and is viewed as a long-term England candidate. Raya joined from Brentford and is a modern keeper with excellent distribution, quick shot-stopping reflexes and a strong record from the penalty spot. If the game becomes a set-piece battle, their decision-making could settle it.
- The benches carry real weight. Arsenal can call on Spain anchor Martin Zubimendi, his former Real Sociedad team-mate Mikel Merino, Eberechi Eze, who won the FA Cup with Crystal Palace, and even 16-year-old Max Dowman, who made his Premier League debut at 15. Leeds counter with left-footed Wales forward Harry Wilson, who recorded nine league goals and six assists in 2025-26, USA midfielder Brenden Aaronson, whose career-best nine goals drove the promotion push, and long-serving former Newcastle man Sean Longstaff.