Mikel Arteta hailed by ex-Arsenal star ahead of Champions League clash against Lille

Mikel Arteta reflects on 'magic of this beautiful game' ahead of facing boyhood friend Xabi Alonso. Arteta, who recently signed a contract extension keeping him at the Emirates Stadium until 2030, was bold with his changes against Leeds United at the weekend.

The Gunners came from behind to beat Leeds 2-1, with substitute Bruno Guimaraes scoring the winning goal. Winterburn, speaking exclusively to GB News, felt Leeds did an excellent job but could not handle Arsenal's "aggression" after falling behind.

He said: "Leeds overloaded the areas Arsenal attacked and smothered them, forcing Arsenal to play sideways and backwards. When Arsenal tried the final pass, Leeds intercepted it and slowed them down.

Arsenal don't mind going back and trying the other side, but that allowed Leeds to switch across and smother that area too. When Leeds took the lead, I felt Arsenal played with more aggression and took more risks.

They got the equaliser, and Arteta's changes swung the game in Arsenal's favour. They then saw the game out quite comfortably.

Winterburn felt the whole team worked brilliantly together, digging deep to secure the three points against a Leeds side that were undefeated in the league heading into the game. He told the People's Channel through CasinoKings: Overall, it was more workmanlike than dynamic.

Looking back over a season, you get plenty of performances like that, even when I played, but you tend to forget them." Arsenal will be without Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi against Lille, who have both been sidelined with ankle injuries they sustained in a training session following the Gunners' win against Leeds. Hincapie was captured being helped off the pitch by third-choice goalkeeper Illan Meslier, with Arteta describing the situation as "two very unfortunate actions".

He said: "We had a training session planned after the game for the players who didn't have enough minutes to get everybody in the right rhythm. And in two very unfortunate actions, we lost two players.

They're both going to miss tomorrow's match, that's for sure."