Arsenal abandon flight to Leeds due to fog, take 200-mile coach via M1

Arsenal altered their travel plans ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Leeds, opting against flying north because of heavy fog and instead embarking on a 200-mile road trip after assessing weather forecasts.

Leeds Bradford Airport is known to be a difficult destination in poor conditions due to its exposed and elevated location, and sources indicated concerns over visibility prompted the decision.

Mikel Arteta and his squad travelled by coach via the M1, contending with the usual traffic delays, rather than taking a short domestic flight.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta stressed perspective and belief despite recent setbacks. "Certainly when you lose a game, you have a lot of feelings because especially the group of players are so competitive and they seek for excellence and when you do not reach it, you ask yourself questions and we did that," he said. "But I think my role is to bring optimism and reality of where we are."

The disruption comes as Arsenal seek to steady their league form: defeat last weekend reduced their lead at the top to four points after victories for both Manchester City and Aston Villa.

Arsenal go into the Leeds match on a three-game winless run, having drawn with Liverpool and Nottingham Forest before losing to Manchester United, and they will face rivals Tottenham at the end of the month.

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