How Bukayo Saka & Gabriel Martinelli can help Arsenal unpick Leeds United

After earning their title-contender stripes with high-profile victories over Sp*rs and Liverpool in recent weeks, Arsenal will look to maintain their growing domestic momentum on Sunday afternoon when they make the long trip up north to take on Leeds United.

Memories of a strong start to the campaign have dissipated rather quickly for the Yorkshire club, and their five-game winless run may prompt manager Jesse Marsch to adopt a pragmatic approach to try and contain his high-flying visitors.

However, the emboldened Gunners successfully picked the American’s lock in the last encounter between the two sides, and getting both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli involved might hold the key to another three points this weekend.

Saka and Martinelli are just two among the squad’s many shining lights at the moment and they were at their scintillating best on Matchday 9, where a combined three goals and one assist helped us claim a richly deserved win against Klopp’s fallen Reds. Expect to see a similarly devastating contribution on this occasion too.

Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are crucial to helping Arsenal unpick pragmatic Leeds

Armed with athletic players suited to an intense brand of football, Leeds typically set up in a narrow 4-2-2-2 formation and aim to execute a direct, attacking style through central areas of the pitch. The Whites also like to create overloads in midfield and employ a committed counter press when possession is lost, which allows them to harry opponents and pick them off in transition.

While such compactness enables the team to get plenty of men around the ball and facilitates dangerous combinations in the box, it can also leave them vulnerable out wide and forced into uncomfortable one-vs-one defensive situations – a game-state that Saka and Martinelli thrive on and one Arsenal should endeavour to exploit as they did last season.

And perhaps further joy can be gained from any Leeds nullification strategy as attempts to surround the wingers will inevitably decongest the middle. This could grant the reborn Granit Xhaka licence to roam in the final third and even function as a passing outlet in the left half-space, a zone that he has regularly occupied of late and from which he produced a standout display on our last away outing at the Gtech Community Stadium.

From a bizarre meeting with the heavily depleted hosts last Christmas and the eerie feel of lockdown football, to the mistakes and red mist that defined the Emirates clash in May, this fixture has featured some strange circumstances lately and a first experience of the boisterous home crowd will prove an interesting test of our on-the-road mettle.

But the young Gunners have answered their sceptics at every turn so far and are well-placed to preserve their current Premier League standing for another week at least.

Two tough tests have been passed with flying colours. Now we must keep our foot on the pedal.