Arsenal make their long-awaited return to the Emirates to face Leeds United after a victory on the highway noticed them overcome Manchester United at Previous Trafford of their Premier League opener final Sunday.
Mikel Arteta gave Premier League debuts to Martin Zubimendi and Viktor Gyokeres within the Gunners’ 1-0 win, with Riccardo Calafiori’s first-half header proving to be the distinction.
The North Londoners are unbeaten of their final 14 conferences with Saturday’s opposition and shall be desperate to open their account at house for the 2025-26 marketing campaign.
Forward of this facet’s first house sport of the season, William Saliba mentioned his membership’s title aspirations, having completed second during the last three campaigns within the top-flight.
“After all, we’ve completed second for 3 years in a row, and we all know that we at all times miss one thing,” Saliba stated. “Now it’s a brand new season, we have now to see what we didn’t do effectively sufficient to win the league.
“We gained the primary sport, and, after all, we need to win the league, and we’ll give all the pieces. We’ve to attempt to be even higher than the final three seasons to win this league.”
The Frenchman, who starred on the coronary heart of the Arsenal defence throughout solely the membership’s third league win away at United of their final 19 makes an attempt, emphasised Arsenal’s ambition this time period, saying: “We need to rating in any context – set items, counter-attack, all the pieces. We’ve to provide all the pieces, and we all know that we are able to win each time.
“After all, we knew that we didn’t play our greatest soccer, however on the finish we knew that it was the primary sport at Previous Trafford with some new signings from them.
“We simply miss trophies. We play good, we’re good, however we miss trophies, and we have now to win trophies with Arsenal to be even higher.”
Constructing for the weekend on house turf
Emirates Stadium pic.twitter.com/rdP3KfUdd0
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 20, 2025
In the meantime, Daniel Farke’s newly promoted Leeds additionally bought off to a profitable begin on Monday after they prevailed over David Moyes’ new-look Everton, due to an 84th-minute penalty from Lukas Nmecha.
The Elland Street facet recorded a clear sheet of their first league match of the season for the primary time in 13 years, their final being a 1-0 win over Wolves within the Championship again in August 2012.
And Farke believed his facet have been deserving of all three factors, saying: “I believe total in a good sport, a hard-fought win but additionally a well-deserved win from my facet.
“Excellent efficiency. I believe we have been very dominant within the first half and had practically 70 per cent possession, 12 photographs already within the first half.
“I used to be a bit frightened as a result of particularly as a newly promoted facet, after you have such a dominant interval, and it was kind of the entire first half that we dominated, usually you need to reward your self additionally with the aim as a result of at Premier League degree one little second can change your entire momentum.
“An skilled facet like Everton can come into the sport and take benefit, rating a aim, after which the entire story is extra such as you get reward for the efficiency, however no factors on the board.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal – Viktor Gyokeres
Regardless of delivering an underwhelming debut and never managing a single shot in a league match for the primary time since April 2023, Gyokeres has demonstrated his goalscoring pedigree over the course of a number of seasons.
The massive Swede was on the scoresheet in 39 cases within the league for Sporting CP in the course of the 2024-25 season, rating first for many targets scored within the Primeira Liga and recording essentially the most targets in a single top-flight season in Portugal since Jardel’s 42 targets for Sporting in 2001-02.
Leeds – Lukas Nmecha
Nmecha solely tallied three targets in 19 appearances for Wolfsburg within the Bundesliga final season, although he was sidelined for a considerable portion of the marketing campaign by means of damage.
Having signed for Leeds on a free switch this summer season, the German went on to attain in his bow for the membership, changing into the primary Leeds substitute to attain on his Premier League debut since Alan Smith in November 1998.
The 26-year-old ahead shall be hoping he can proceed the place he left off on Monday when his facet go to the Emirates Stadium.
MATCH PREDICTION: ARSENAL WIN
Arsenal have remained unbeaten of their final 42 Premier League house matches towards promoted groups (37 wins and 5 attracts), with their final defeat coming as a 1-0 loss to Newcastle in November 2010.
If Arteta’s facet keep away from defeat of their upcoming sport, they’ll match Chelsea’s file for the longest unbeaten house streak towards promoted sides within the competitors, which lasted 43 video games from 2001 to 2015.
The Gunners are additionally unbeaten of their final 14 conferences with Leeds in all competitions (W12 D2), profitable every of the final six in a row.
Leeds, in the meantime, have struggled away at Arsenal, dropping 10 of their final 12 Premier League video games there, with simply two wins, and have did not maintain a clear sheet of their final 14 visits.
Moreover, Leeds have misplaced 23 of their final 30 league matches performed away in London (4 wins and three attracts). Within the Premier League particularly, they’re on a seven-game dropping streak away from house, courting again to a 2-1 victory over Brentford on the ultimate day of the 2021-22 season.
However their efficiency towards Everton will give them confidence. Leeds wish to win their opening two Premier League video games in a season for the primary time since 2002-03 underneath Terry Venables.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Arsenal – 70.4%
Draw –17.2%
Leeds –12.5%
