Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta reveals common ground with Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa and outlines expectations of Whites

ARSENAL boss Mikel Arteta says he expects an intense and difficult game in Sunday's clash against Leeds United having followed Whites head coach Marcelo Bielsa for years.
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Arteta and Bielsa will lock horns for the first time in a league fixture come Sunday's 4.30pm kick-off at Elland Road but the two clubs also met in the FA Cup third round back in January which has left Arteta knowing what to expect.

Arteta had only been in charge of the Gunners for just over two weeks - in his first job in outright management - yet even before the 2020 new year cup clash, Arsenal's 38-year-old Spanish manager had already long been keeping tabs on the career of United's now 65-year-old Argentinian head coach.

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“I’ve been following Marcelo for many years,” Arteta told beIN Sports.

FRIENDS IN COMMON: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, above, and Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa. Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images.FRIENDS IN COMMON: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, above, and Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa. Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images.
FRIENDS IN COMMON: Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, above, and Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa. Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images.

“We have some friends in common, some players that they've been really attached to him over their careers.

“I have a lot of information on how he works; how he makes his teams play.

"You know when you face one of Marcelo’s teams that is going to be so intense, so difficult, and you have to be really, really prepared to face that type of opponent.

“We experienced it in January.

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"We had two really different halves, the first-half where it was a shock for our players, just to live that experience against them, and the second-half where we were much better and we ended up winning again.”

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Thank you Laura Collins