Arsenal’s preparations for Leeds clash hit by last minute travel chaos due to WEATHER after title wobble
ARSENAL’S preparations for Saturday’s clash at Leeds have suffered a major blow due to the weather.
Mikel Arteta’s men are looking to end a three-game winless run in the Premier League.
Last weekend’s 3-2 home defeat to Manchester United saw Arsenal’s title hopes flicker as Manchester City closed the gap at the top of the table to just four points.
And the Gunners’ latest preparations have been thrown into disarray after being forced into a huge travel change.
Arsenal had originally planned to fly north.
But with thick fog forecast for Yorkshirethe championship leaders were forced to change their route at the last moment.
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After Friday’s training session, Arsenal abandoned their initial decision to fly to Leeds in the afternoon.
Direct flights from London to Leeds-Bradford take around an hour.
But rather than risk getting stuck on the tarmac or having to swerve into the skythe Gunners instead opted to take a longer but safer route by coach.
The 180-mile journey takes well over three hours, and that’s without having to battle the M1’s notorious traffic jams.
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It was far from ideal preparation, with Arsenal players forced to endure the constraints of Britain’s road network and a 70mph speed limit rather than the jet-set speed of the sky.
But Arteta has a virtually complete squad to choose from, with just one teenager Max Dowman missing due to injury after reaching a deal for when he turns professional on his 17th birthday in December.
Kai Havertz and Riccardo Calafiori available again after playing midweek Champions League win against Kairat.
And Arteta is working to ensure his star-studded side get back on the ‘right path’ in their quest for title glory.
He said: “Certainly when you lose a match you have a lot of feelings, because the group of players is very competitive and strives for excellence, and when you don’t achieve it you ask yourself questions, and we did that.
“But I think my role is to bring optimism and reality of where we are. Our club has a long history. history and finding a time in February where we are in the position we are in is very difficult to find.
“We’re doing so many things well and let’s focus on that. Of course we want to improve, we want to be better in all areas, but with that feeling of confidence in ourselves and the belief that we’re on the right track.”