Man dubbed one of Premier League's best by Leeds United star poses key threat at Arsenal

The Whites are yet to pick up even a draw against the sides battling it out at the very top of the Premier League but must, in the games against the Gunners and Chelsea [Wednesday May 11] if they are to escape the peril currently facing them.

Here are the keys for Marsch and his men at the Emirates.

KEY BATTLE

Set-pieces

Leeds United conceded twice from set-pieces in their last outing, Arsenal scored twice from corners in theirs. Leeds need to be defensively sound from dead balls as well as in open play and cannot give away gifts as they did against Manchester City. That was surprising, given how solid they had been prior to the visit of Pep Guardiola's title-chasers. Marsch has addressed it in midweek with his players. It's high time they scored from one or two themselves, too. They have aerial threat but delivery has so often been dreadful this season. Last week Pep Guardiola insisted that set-pieces are all about the taker, because if the taker gets it right then goals will come. According to fbref.com Leeds have the Premier League's worst record of goals from dead balls this season, with just one. Arsenal, by comparison, have seven.

ARSENAL KEY MAN

Martin Odegaard

The playmaker is fashioning chances at an incredible rate this season. Adam Forshaw counts him among the hardest midfielders to play against in the Premier League. Odegaard brings goals and assists to the table, with six of the former and four of the latter in the top flight, but leadership too. The 23-year-old has been tipped as the Gunners' next captain. Leeds have got to get hold of him in the midfield and deny him room to create. Other men to look out for include a pair of former Leeds loanees in Ben White, who hopes to be fit to play in the centre of the defence, and Eddie Nketiah, who is making a late bid to show the world what he can do before his contract runs out at the Emirates. White previously might have enjoyed space to run into with the ball against the one-v-one marking system Marcelo Bielsa employed but that seems unlikely against Marsch's zonal marking and more compact formation.

GRAHAM SMYTH'S VERDICT

This is not a must-win game but Leeds United do need to return home with a point. Just four games remain if they are to salvage the season and finish outside the relegation zone. This is a high stakes game for both sides, with huge pressure, so whoever copes best with that and sticks closest to their game plan will likely come out on top. The Whites have to hope Jesse Marsch's game plan is good enough to let them score, against a side who have conceded far more than the three teams above them. I can see a defeat, however, and it's difficult to see where Leeds goals are coming from. Any kind of a positive result would be incredible for the Whites, alas I can see a 2-0 defeat.