Arsenal dealt significant blow as Bukayo Saka pulls up injured & has to be replaced in Gunners' starting XI shortly before kick-off against Leeds

According to ESPN journalist James Olley, Saka picked up an injury during the warm-up, a good 15 minutes before kick-off on Saturday. Summer signing Madueke took his place in the starting XI. BBC Sport also confirmed that the 24-year-old England international is out of the Leeds encounter, with Saka walking down the tunnel with a physio. It has been reported that the winger was struggling with an issue with his hip, with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hoping that he will not remain sidelined for too long. Saka was also set to be Arsenal's captain for this game, but Gabriel Magalhaes took over the armband for the match.

The injury to Saka provides Madueke with a chance to impress and see if he can stamp his place back in the starting line-up. The former Chelsea man has shone when deputising for Saka, but he is still waiting on his first Premier League goal of the season. Madueke has been on form in Europe, scoring three goals in four games, with a brace away at Club Brugge his best performance of the season.

The Gunners will miss Saka, who has been their most important player since first breaking into the side as a teenager at full-back. The winger has developed into one of the best attacking players in the world and Arsenal are not as good a side without him in their ranks. However, the statistics suggest that perhaps the Gunners are not too weakened by the absence of their star attacker.

As per BBC Sport, the Gunners have averaged 2.1 points a game with Saka in the side and have a 58.7% win record. This contrasts with 1.9 points a game without the forward, with the Gunners still taking maximum points in 53.3% of those games.

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Elland Road will prove a tough test for the Premier League leaders, with Daniel Farke’s side on an impressive run which has seen the Yorkshire side pull away from the relegation zone. Arteta’s men are without a Premier League win in three consecutive games and have seen their gap at the top over Manchester City and Aston Villa cut to just four points.

The Gunners will be desperate to earn three points at a difficult ground on Saturday afternoon in what would be a mightily impressive victory. Leeds have lost just two games at Elland Road this season, narrow 2-1 defeats to both Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur.

The Elland Road crowd have been instrumental to the success of Leeds this season. The club have accrued 26 points in 23 games so far this season and sit six clear of West Ham in 18th. They will be determined to continue their strong home form and pull further away from the likes of the Hammers, Burnley and Wolves in the drop zone.

Arsenal and Madueke made the best start possible to the game against Leeds, with the winger cutting inside to swing in a cross to Martin Zubimendi. The Spaniard, unmarked in the six-yard area, headed home at the near post and put the Gunners ahead to give Arteta’s side a deserved lead.

Should the Gunners win, they will restore their seven-point lead at the top of the division, a lead which cut following last weekend’s defeat to Manchester United. Zubimendi will be relieved to have made up for his mistake in the game against the Red Devils with a header this weekend.

Madueke's afternoon went from strength to strength when his wicked in-swinging corner came off Karl Darlow and into the Leeds net. The England winger earned his second assist of the afternoon to put worries about Saka in the back of the Gunners fans' minds.

Villa host Brentford on Sunday afternoon and City will take on the Gunners’ rivals Spurs in the later kick-off. The title chasing pack will be keeping an eye on one another’s results as the race for the Premier League crown intensifies.