Luke Ayling outlines strong reason for Leeds United optimism against Arsenal and reflects on Gunners past

The Whites were heavily beaten at Manchester City in midweek and are looking to bounce back against Arsenal on Saturday night at Elland Road.

Marcelo Bielsa' s men saw his side lose 7-0 to Pep Guardiola's reigning top flight champions at the Etihad stadium across the Pennines.

Ayling - who is United's stand-in captain amid the absence of Liam Cooper - recently returned to the Leeds squad following a three-month layoff due to a knee issue.

Bielsa, though, has eight senior players missing for the visit against the Gunners to LS11 with seven out injured alongside full-back Junior Firpo who is suspended.

Ayling isn't fazed by the current squad issues nor is he dwelling on the City hammering.

"I think our home form is actually quite good, we’ve not been beaten in a few months," Ayling told Radio Leeds of United's five-match unbeaten run on home soil.

"A lot of that is down to the fans and the way they’re making the away teams feel when they’re there.

"They’ve certainly stepped up to the plate, they’ve been away from Elland Road for 18 months and I think it shows with how loud it is every week. I certainly can’t wait to get back out at Elland Road and try and put things right."

Mikel Arteta sees his side sit fourth in the standings after nine wins in their last 14 games. Leeds, meanwhile, are 16th and just five points above the relegation zone after three wins in 17 matches.

The Whites haven't tasted victory in their last 10 outings against the visitors - a run which dates back to 2003 - but are hopeful of a change in fortunes amid a difficult run of festive fixtures.

"We obviously played them twice last year but there weren't any fans in," Ayling added.

"Us boys go into every game trying to win no matter what, and we never look at any other team in any other way.

"We set up in a way to try and attack teams and stop them playing so we’re going to do the same on Saturday.

"We went to Chelsea and played really well and probably should have got something from the game. Hopefully we can do that on Saturday, and get the three points and keep our home form going and get the fans going, hopefully it’ll be a good afternoon."

Asked about his time at Arsenal as a youth player before his release aged 18, he said: "I spent ten good years there. I had the best schooling as a kid to try and become a professional footballer and I did it.

"It's a lot of thanks to them but there aren’t many people I know there now, only Ben White, and he was nowhere near when I was.

"Going back to play them or seeing people I know - that’s really not a thing - but it's just to prove to myself that I can do it is the main thing, and I look forward to that on Saturday."