Chelsea v Leeds United - Carabao Cup Third Round
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 09: Daniel Farke the head coach / manager of Leeds United applauds after the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Chelsea and Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on September 09, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
After the lengthy international break, Leeds United are finally back in action this weekend.
The Whites are set to square off against the reigning champions, Arsenal, at the Emirates on Saturday in the early kick-off at 12:30.
It goes without saying that this will likely be the toughest test we face all season. Mikel Arteta’s side have been one of the best in Europe over the last couple of years.
After getting some minutes under his belt in the international break, Daniel Farke could be tempted to throw one Leeds player into the deep end and hand him his first Premier League start of the season in that game against the Gunners.
Ilia Gruev could be handed his first start of the season v Arsenal
Up to this point, Ilia Gruev, 26, has yet to feature for United so far this campaign.
The Bulgarian midfielder picked up a knee injury towards the back end of last season. This also meant Gruev did not get any minutes for us in pre-season.
Nearly a month ago, Gruev played 85 minutes for our U21s against Middlesbrough U21s as he continues to work his way back to full fitness.
Over the course of the international break, Gruev started all four of Bulgaria’s Nations League fixtures. The midfielder also played all 90 minutes in three of these games. The exception was when he was subbed off in the 55th minute against Iceland.
So with more vital minutes in his legs, Farke may choose to deploy Gruev at the weekend. His safety-first approach could come in use again at Arsenal.
Farke opted to play Gruev in both games against Arsenal last season. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he chooses to do so again.
However, Gruev’s last senior appearance for Leeds came back in April. Throwing him into the starting XI at the Emirates will be a baptism of fire for the midfielder this season.
Ao Tanaka would likely be the one to drop out in favour of Ilia Gruev
If Gruev does come into the starting XI against Arsenal, you would imagine it would be Ao Tanaka who would be the one to make way.
Ethan Ampadu is never going to be dropped by Farke, nor should he be. And despite his rocky start to the season, an Anton Stach free-kick or strike from distance could be the moment of quality we need to secure a positive result against Arsenal.
Tanaka has started the new season incredibly. But we know the Japanese midfielder has a track record of giving the ball away in dangerous areas at times. These mistakes have often been punished for club and country.
Whilst I love Tanaka’s energy in the middle of the park, he sometimes goes and presses too high and vacates space in behind him.
That’s why I wouldn’t be surprised to see Farke throw Gruev in there alongside Ampadu.
Gruev certainly isn’t a better player than Tanaka. But the fact that he’d just sit in and keep hold of the ball with his safety-first passing approach could make him suited for the game against Arsenal.
Even if he doesn’t start, I’d be shocked if we didn’t see him get subbed on. Especially if we are winning or the game is level, and Farke begins to set us up to take a point.
Arsenal were the only team we failed to even lay a glove on last season, as we were handily beaten 5-0 and 4-0 by them.
They were the only side in the league that we did not have any sort of competitive game with. Farke will be aware of this, and hopefully we finally give Arsenal a game on Saturday.