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Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson recently backed Arsenal to beat Leeds United in their Premier League clash at the Emirates on Saturday, April 1.
The Gunners go into the game on the back of six consecutive wins in the league. They were eliminated from the UEFA Europa League in the Round of 16 by Sporting CP.
However, they bounced back to beat Crystal Palace 4-1 in their previous game before the international break.
Arsenal currently hold an eight-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table but have played one more game than City.
Leeds, meanwhile, are 14th in the table, just two points above the relegation zone. They have won just two of their previous five league games but beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-2 in their last game.
Lawrenson acknowledged Leeds' improvement but backed the Gunners to win on Saturday. In his column for Paddy Power, he wrote:
"Leeds won last time out but Arsenal have just been irrepressible for me. They’ve been very, very good. I’ve read that they might have a few players missing but I think they’ll have too much for Leeds, I really do. Leeds have definitely improved under Javi Gracia and I don’t worry about them in terms of getting relegated."
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta on Leeds United
Ahead of their clash on Saturday, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta shared his thoughts on Leeds, speaking about their threat. He said:
"They have a very clear DNA, how they behave, the character, the passion and energy that they play with. They’ve been doing it for a long, long time and now with a new manager as well with some new ideas, some players that have been injured that they have had some issues with they are back, so they are a very dangerous team."
He added:
"We have discussed openly and very clearly about what we are going to expect tomorrow, and we have to be really good to beat them."
Manchester City will host Liverpool earlier in the day in the Premier League. If they win, they can reduce the gap with the Gunners to five points before they face Leeds. Mikel Arteta's side won the reverse fixture 1-0 in October.
