Arsenal and United face Nottingham and Leeds

Arsenal travel to Nottingham Forest today in the seventh round of the English Premier League, which also features a standout clash between Manchester United and their hosts, Leeds United. Defending champions Arsenal trail league leaders Manchester City by three points, sitting on 15 points, as they seek another victory today in their bid to retain the title. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised Swedish striker Viktor Gyökeres, who is going through a difficult spell, commending his “amazing will and determination,” as the forward aims to score his first goal of the season. The 28-year-old striker has not started any of the early matches of the current campaign and has failed to find the net in any competition, despite his impressive form and regular goal-scoring for the Swedish national team. Arteta has opted to rely on German international Kai Havertz in attack, while Gyökeres has not started any Premier League match this season. Arteta indicated that Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi could be ready to face Nottingham, while Ecuadorian defender Piero Hincapié is likely to miss the trip to the City Ground. In the other match, Manchester United are enduring their worst start to a league season in 40 years, with turmoil inside the club intensifying after Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez criticized the club’s management over a lack of investment in the squad following their 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday in the Spanish capital in the second round of the UEFA Champions League. United have won just one of their first six league matches and were eliminated from the League Cup last month by Brighton. Leeds have not beaten the Red Devils at Elland Road since 2002, but they handed manager Ruben Amorim his only home defeat last season when the two sides met in April.