Arsenal vs. Leeds United – EPL, February 14, 2021

Not many would have had this fixture down as a mid-table tussle at this stage of the season, but Arsenal and Leeds have struggled at times during the campaign.

Both clubs now look to be on an upward turn, but a defeat here could set back any improvement and possibly end any hopes of climbing the table.

Arsenal did improve after a very patchy spell earlier in the season but has lost the last two, and I’m not sure the oddsmakers should be quite as confident of a home win on Sunday. Leeds has been impressive away from home this season and will feel as though it could come away from London with at least a point this weekend.

After a terrible run of results towards the end of 2020, Mikel Arteta has definitely brought back a little confidence to the Emirates since the turn of the year. Some poorer players were let go, and new signings have shown that the manager might be able to mold his own team now.

But defeats to Wolves and Villa last week mean that Arsenal starts this game on Sunday in the lower half of the table and has now lost more games than it has won this season. There is hope for the future – and for Martin Odegaard to feature heavily in the coming weeks – but this season looks set to be written off for the Gunners.

Leeds’ league position should be regarded as an achievement for a club promoted from the Championship. But there is a feeling that Marcelo Bielsa’s side should be doing even better, considering the talent he has in his squad. The attacking tactics might be winning over a lot of people – but it has also been the reason for the dropping of points throughout the campaign.

Bielsa would probably have liked his players to be running at the Arsenal defense that was performing so poorly before Christmas, but there is still a good chance that they will enjoy themselves on Sunday. Arsenal has some top attacking talent of its own, though, so the defense will have to be on top of its game too.

The availability of Kalvin Phillips will be a big factor in how this game will go. But I do think that even if the influential midfielder does miss out, Leeds can still overcome Arsenal and come away with yet another away win. Both defenses will be under pressure on Sunday, and it could be a case of which strikers are more deadly as to who ends up winning.