Leeds United star visits Arsenal dressing room at Elland Road after talks
Leeds United were taught a harsh lesson by Arsenal on Saturday afternoon.
Arsenal won 4-0 at Elland Road on 31 January, but Leeds have kept their six-point gap to the relegation zone after West Ham’s late defeat at Chelsea.
Daniel Farke has already left the defeat in the past, with a huge relegation clash against Nottingham Forest next up in LS11 on Friday.
Leeds were too friendly early on against the Gunners, giving them far too much respect on and off the ball, and that continued after the final whistle.
Arsenal dressing room busy after Leeds United talks
Noah Okafor was benched again by Farke, with the Swiss international coming on at half-time, making a positive impact on the game.
Jurrien Timber was up against it for large parts of the second half and was booked for a foul on Gabriel Gudmundsson after good work from Okafor.
The two were locked in talks after that, with the former AC Milan star spotted heading into the Arsenal dressing room following the game.
Graham Smyth reported that Okafor was spotted going through the mixed zone at Elland Road, before heading into the away locker room.
Leeds changes now likely vs Nottingham Forest
Farke has five days to decide on his system after Forest, but much will depend on the fitness of Jaka Bijol at Elland Road.
James Justin went off early for Okafor against Arsenal, and is already a doubt for next week.
Should Farke revert to four-at-the-back, Okafor would likely start alongside Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Brenden Aaronson in a front three.
Should Bijol come back in, though, there shouldn’t be a change, with the ability to mix it up in the middle of the game working well right now.
With nearly 24 hours left to go in the transfer window, that may be the current priority, though.
Outside of Jorgen Strand-Larsen, who finally looks set to join Crystal Palace, Leeds have been very quiet in their business and could end up signing nobody.
That wouldn’t be the first time a mistake like that has occurred, although if Okafor and the squad pick up three points against Nottingham Forest, nobody will care.
Stay up to date this winter with our Leeds transfer tracker. Click to see every done deal at Elland Road, plus expert reaction from our team of writers.