Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said dropping Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hasn't been pleasant, but said he had to do what he feels is right.

Aubameyang has been stripped out of the captaincy and left out of the squad again for today's game.

Arteta said: "Every time you are sitting here you have some some challenges.

"You have some brilliant moments, or moments when you have to make decisions. I'm sitting here to try to make the right decisions every day.

"My only intention is to get the club in the best possible condition to defend our players, and to get the best performance and results on pitch. It's been challenging because those decisions are tough and not pleasant, but you have to do what what you feel is right."

Since the start of last season, Arsenal have won 58% of their Premier League games without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and 47% with him.

Leeds United

Image source, Getty Images

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa: "Do you think there's a coach that can't be sacked, who is unsackable? Do you think I'm so vain that I think I can't be sacked?

"Do you think that after suffering a 7-0 defeat I can discard the instability? Of course the job of a coach is not stable. I don't have anything that makes me immune to that characteristic.

"Of course I'm going to continue fighting until the end of the season. I always think that in adversity you have to fight.

"I am going to fight until the end of the season without any doubts. I hope nothing happens that does not allow me to act on what I just said. I am saying, to have the necessary strength to face what may come."

Leeds United

Leeds midfielder Adam Forshaw, speaking to Sky Sports: "We want to make amends for the [7-0 loss to Manchester City], it was a poor performance.

"But even before the game we put in one of our best performances a few days before that against Chelsea."

Arsenal are fourth - and that is where they will be in the table on Christmas day.

Last year they were still in a relegation battle.

With 29 points, they only need another four or five wins from 21 games to be safe...

Image source, .

Leeds United

Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa, speaking to Sky Sports: "To win is always important, after two defeats it's even more important.

"After a defeat like the last one even more so.

"Until yesterday we were more or less organised, but in the penultimate training sessions [Charlie] Cresswell suffered an injury.

"And from today [Diego] Llorente will be absent for the next 10 days at least.

"So more absences in the defensive zone. There are seven players who are absent and that forces us to quicken the return of [Robin] Koch."

Simon Grayson
Ex-Leeds manager on BBC Radio 5 live

To get the number of injuries Leeds have had in this period of time is remarkable, but Bielsa doesn’t carry big squads in terms of first-team players. He relies a lot on U23 players to make up the 25-man squads that you have. He’s happy working with smaller groups. When things like this happen you're vulnerable to injuries and illnesses.

Lawro's opponents this week were Arsenal fans Femi & TJ Koleoso from jazz band Ezra Collective.

They've both predicted 3-0 wins for the Gunners.

Femi: I really enjoyed our win over Southampton last week. We played really well and for a club that has been such a toxic environment for the past five to 10 years, any win feels a little bit more precious these days. Losing to Everton at the start of December really demonstrated how much of a mid-table club we have become.

TJ: The big problem under Arteta is creating chances, which is totally different to the way Arsenal have always been since we started watching them. Defensively we are all right, we just don't score goals - something is wrong there, because we are an attacking team.

Leeds will be feeling low after they were hammered by Manchester City on Tuesday, and injuries have taken their toll on Marcelo Bielsa's side.

So, although Arsenal's away form has been decidedly ropey of late, I fancy them to get something at Elland Road.

The Gunners still need to be more consistent on the road but they are up in fourth place, which is pretty much as good as they could hope for.

Mikel Arteta's side don't always play well, but they are rarely a pushover these days, which is a good sign.

Lawro's prediction: 1-2

Adam Pope
BBC Radio Leeds

Image source, Getty Images

For long-in-the-tooth Leeds fans, memories are straining to recall a time when so many first-teamers were unavailable for one match. While Covid-19 is postponing large swathes of the weekend's fixtures, rank bad luck is doing its best to decimate United for the visit of Arsenal.

It is to the credit of the medical staff at Elland Road, to whom Marcelo Bielsa mentioned in despatches this week, that the Whites although cursed are currently infection free.

Its a battle when both captains are unavailable for very different reasons. Liam Cooper is one of at least nine United players missing through injury or suspension, while Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang disciplined for going missing in action.

Leaders need to be everywhere in times of adversity. Luke Ayling and Bielsa have issued separate rallying calls in the build up - the defender referring to the tour de force of the 35,000 assembled this afternoon and the boss adamant he will fight with every ounce of his strength until the end.

Odds stacked and backs against walls is often the Leeds way. Time for bear-pit Elland Road.

Right, there is actually a game on so let's start talking about that.

Image source, Getty Images

The Premier League and UK government have urged footballers to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Over half this weekend's top-flight games have been postponed because of outbreaks of the virus at clubs.

In the English Football League - where 25% of players say they do not intend to get the jab - 19 fixtures due to be played on Saturday have been postponed.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has asked clubs, external to "strongly encourage" players to get vaccinated.

"We have collectively highlighted the importance of vaccination and it has never been more important," he wrote in a letter to all 20 clubs.

"Please strongly encourage those who are not fully vaccinated to become so, and the many who are, to get their booster, which appears to be the only significant layer of protection against the Omicron variant."

Read the full piece

Simon Stone
BBC Sport

We had four games in the space of five days called off earlier this week and now a huge raft of games for this weekend, six in the Premier League and 19 in the Football League have been wiped out.

That is what has led to managers expressing their unease at how the season is going.

There is a big meeting on Monday with the Premier League and then the managers and captains too. The issue they have is that there is a hard stop at the end of the season. Only two midweeks are completely free from now until then. This is what they will have to talk about and resolve.

Michael Brown
Former Man City midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

It is a difficult situation. Can we put a number on the number of positive Covid cases? Then certain squads are bigger than others and more quality but there needs to be a stance on it. You are looking at squads with injuries then get topped up by Covid cases, they will want to get games cancelled.

We have to try and play as many games as we can, we have to keep it going as long as it is safe to do so and Jurgen Klopp said the same. You look at the schedule until the summer and it is no wonder there is a meeting coming on Monday.

These players are getting tested every single day and cannot get in the building until it is negative. They have to wait for results and it gets close to kick-off.

Dion Dublin
Former Manchester United striker on Football Focus

This is going to get worse before it gets better.

Let's put football aside for a moment. Let's think of the players and their families.

Mark Lawrenson
BBC football expert

Fans are always the last people, people think about.

Where and when are they going to rearrange these games. That what most of Monday's meeting will be about.

I think this is going to go on and on again.

Dean Plumley: It's a miracle Leeds have managed to field a side. Their training ground is like the set of Casualty. Shocking to see a squad this decimated by injuries.

Michael Brown
Former Man City midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

The amount of games that are going in the Premier League, and they are getting tested every single day, not so much in the EFL. The testing is inconsistent but in the Premier League we are seeing a huge number of games being cancelled. Managers are calling for a change for a rest and others saying we can’t do that, we have to carry on.

It is everyday life as well. Different people are saying we going head on and carry on as normal because we are double vaccinated. Others are saying we must stay away from it and go nowhere near Covid.

What is the Premier League’s stance? Who do we follow? We have government guidelines but there are stadiums that are full, not so full and other venues like theatres which can go on. It seems to be a mess.

Mark Lawrenson
BBC football expert

Why are Leeds struggling? Injuries.

For half of the season they've missed Phillips and Bamford. They can hardly put a team out.

Teams have worked out how they play. Defensively they are very fragile.