Morning all.
The big news released yesterday by Arsenal was that Max Dowman has a pre-contract agreement with the club. Even at 15 years old I still think he’s better than Madueke but of course he’s still growing. Such a shame he’s been out injured as I’m sure he would have played on Tuesday otherwise.
**Mikel Arteta on Max:**
> It’s a proud moment to see him yesterday signing that deal in front of his family and his loved ones. Big credit to everybody that’s been involved in that journey with him, to bring him all the way to the first team and especially the manner that they’ve done it. Now we have an amazing talent that, day-by-day, I think we need to shape because there’s so much there.
Anyway, I’m sure I’m not the only Arsenal fan thrilled with this news.
The Champions League last-16 fixtures take place in March. The first leg away from home on 10-11th, before we host our opponents at Emirates Stadium on 17-18 March. One of Dortmund v Atalanta or Olympiakos v Bayer Leverkusen will be our next opponent.
So, a bit of a break from European football the players but that doesn’t mean the fixtures don’t keep coming because they do. Saying that, we only have five fixtures to negotiate next month including a League Cup semi-final against Chelsea on Tuesday night.
Today we face an in form Leeds Utd at Elland Road. Leeds have enjoyed a pretty good January far. The month started with a draw at Anfield, followed by a draw against Man Utd, a narrow defeat against Newcastle before beating Fulham. Last Monday, they drew at Everton.
**Mike Arteta on if there are any fresh injury worries after Wednesday night:**
> No, we didn’t have any surprises there, and hopefully everybody will train well today and be available for tomorrow.
**On Timber and Saliba:**
> They are OK. Obviously they have been playing a lot of minutes, they’ve been carrying a few niggles and it was a really good opportunity for us to offload them a little bit and refresh them.
In addition to the above two players being available, Havertz is too which is more positive news. I dreaded him suffering a setback after playing on Tuesday. If he doesn’t play tomorrow as Arteta plays it safe with him, maybe he’ll be ready to face his old club on Tuesday.
Arteta also talked about how he hopes the Premier League will change their stance on squad numbers, in particular, outfield players. The Champions League permits 20 outfield players in a squad whereas in the Premier League is 18. It makes so much sense to increase the numbers after all, every club has a squad greater than 18.
Anyway, back to today’s game and what we can expect from Leeds this afternoon:
[Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke](https://www.arsenal.com/news/preview-leeds-united-v-arsenal-0):
_Since making the switch from 4-3-3 to 3-5-2 at half-time away to Manchester City in late November, Leeds have shown remarkable improvement. The back three, with defensive players used as wing-backs, provides a solid base, and their organisation since the reshuffle has been excellent._
_Leeds are a tall, strong, and aggressive side who like to use their physicality to disrupt opponents’ flow. Farke’s men rank fourth for duels won, interceptions and tackles, and just five top-flight sides regain possession more often inside the final third._
_Leeds have netted 12 times from corners or free-kicks, which is second only to us. This is due to Anton Stach consistently providing great deliveries. He is their Declan Rice figure, creating 20 chances from set plays in 2025/26; a tally which is second only to Bruno Fernandes._
_Their star man is Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has scored nine goals already. He is brilliant in the air, so we must work hard to stop crosses coming into the box, while any long balls aimed in the frontman’s direction will need to be defended properly as his ability to flick the ball on, or to knock it down for supporting runners, is a big asset._
Having read the above, it sounds like we’re about to get kicked to pieces, beaten by Calvert-Lewin on set-pieces, if not him, another player and a long ball which catch us out if we’re not smart. Might as well give up already. I jest of course but it shows we’ll need to be at our best this afternoon.
We have to put the dismal performances against Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Man Utd behind us and get back to playing well. Not giving the officials a decision to make is always important but it’s especially important today because Stuart Attwell is the referee. No regularly appointed official averages more cards per game than Attwell’s 4.8. It gets worse too because Jarred Gillett is operating VAR with Steve Meredith as his assistant.
Having had the luxury of resting many players for our midweek game, Mikel Arteta is likely to bring the big guns back this afternoon. I hope they bring a big performance with them. With City and Villa not playing until tomorrow, let’s put a bit of pressure on them.
Catch up in the comments.