Arsenal host high-flying Leeds looking to answer Brighton defeat

Fifth-placed Leeds United travelled to Arsenal on 10 October 2026 for a lunchtime test few expected to matter this much this early.

Kick-off at Emirates Stadium was 12:30pm BST. Arsenal needed a response. They had lost to Brighton in their previous game The Guardian.

Mikel Arteta led Arsenal. Daniel Farke led Leeds. Arteta learned his coaching craft as an assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City between 2016 and 2019.

Arsenal brought back bodies for the occasion. Ezri Konsa, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz were all passed fit to start.

The full Arsenal starting XI was Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Madueke. Ben White, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Noni Madueke came into the side.

Bruno Guimaraes and Jurrien Timber dropped to the bench. Christos Tzolis missed out after suffering a hamstring injury on international duty. Arsenal’s substitutes were Kepa, Hincapie, Eze, Timber, Gyokeres, Merino, Zubimendi, Guimaraes and Dowman.

Leeds trusted what was working. Farke named the same starting XI for a fourth Premier League game in a row.

That team was Trafford, Justin, Elvedi, Muharemovic, Bogle, Ampadu, Tanaka, Gudmundsson, Stach, Okafor and Calvert-Lewin. It is a side built on balance, with Ethan Ampadu screening the defence and Dominic Calvert-Lewin leading the line The Guardian.

There was good news on the bench. Harry Wilson returned to the squad after missing Wales duty through injury. Dan James was ruled out.

The game was shown live in the UK on TNT Sports, with coverage from 12pm.

For fans, this means something simple. Arsenal had the home crowd and the deeper squad. Leeds had momentum and nothing to lose. Ninety minutes like this can set the mood for weeks.