Mikel Arteta wary of 'full gas' Leeds United as Arsenal prepare for Elland Road test

The Whites and the Gunners will come to blows in the Premier League this weekend.
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Mikel Arteta is expecting Leeds United to go 'full gas' against Arsenal when his side visit Elland Road in Premier League action on Sunday afternoon.

The Gunners travel to West Yorkshire following the final two-week hiatus for domestic football of the year amid the November international break.

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Arsenal fell to a 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa last time out while Marcelo Bielsa's team were beaten consecutively by Leicester City and Crystal Palace by the same 4-1 scoreline.

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta. (Getty)Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta. (Getty)
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta. (Getty)

Arteta's side were drawn against Leeds in the FA Cup in January, but this weekend's clash will be the first meeting between the two teams in top flight action since 2004.

Bielsa's men gave the Gunners a fright at the Emirates eleven months ago before falling to a narrow 1-0 defeat thanks to a solitary Reiss Nelson strike.

The Arsenal boss is expecting another tough examination for his players in West Yorkshire, with the visitors travelling in full knowledge that Bielsa's outfit never do things by halves.

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"They will go full gas like they always do," Arteta told his pre-match press conference.

"They have had two weeks to prepare for the game, they don’t have as many internationals as us and I don’t expect them to change too much.

"They are very loyal to their principles, to the way they play and they approach every game the same way, which is to win and to be very aggressive with and without the ball and try to win.

"It doesn’t matter where they play, what I have seen from them in the last season, it is not a concern about who they play against, it is about what they do.

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He added: "They're going to go 100mph for every ball, they way they press you, the way they challenge you, the way they go about the game for 96 minutes. They will make it a really difficult and really intense game."

Arsenal midfielder and headline summer signing Thomas Partey has been ruled out of the game in LS11 with a thigh strain.

Fellow midfielder Mohamed Elneny and defender Sead Kolasinac will also miss the fixture after the pair tested positive for coronavirus whilst on international duty this week.

Long-term absentees Pablo Mari (ankle) and Gabriel Martinelli (knee) remain sidelined.