Arsenal fans explode at ‘shocking’ Mikel Arteta announcement ahead of Brentford clash: ‘No excuses’
Arsenal fans are fuming that Viktor Gyokeres is not in their starting eleven to take on Brentford tonight.
Arsenal are in a great position to win their first Premier League title since 2004 after a brilliant start to the 2025-26 season.
Mikel Arteta‘s side have lost just once in the first 13 league games of the campaign so far, and are currently on a 17-game unbeaten streak that stretches back to an August loss to Liverpool.
They stumbled slightly last time out as Chelsea held them to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge despite being down to ten men following Moises Caicedo’s red card.
Arsenal have a great chance to extend their lead at the top to five points once more as they welcome Brentford to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday (3 December), but fans are not happy with one selection decision.
Arsenal fans upset at Viktor Gyokeres being benched vs Brentford
Viktor Gyokeres has not long returned from an injury after bagging six goals in his first 14 games for the club since his summer move from Sporting CP.
Mikel Merino has been playing as a striker in his absence, and he starts once more against Brentford in a call by Arteta that has angered fans who wanted to see Gyokeres back in the team from the off.
Taking to X, one fan replied to the team news saying: “Why is Gyokeres not starting Mr Arteta? You better win this game, no excuses.”
Another fan said: “Merino starting again is shocking. Arteta won’t accept Gyokeres as better than Merino.”
While one supporter added: “No Gyokeres, Martinelli starts again. If we don’t win today it’s purely on Arteta and we’ve bottled the league.”
Arsenal plan to keep Myles Lewis-Skelly despite transfer interest ahead of January
Arsenal‘s stellar defensive record at the start of this season has seen Myles Lewis-Skelly struggle for minutes in the Premier League up to now.
Lewis-Skelly has been linked with a move away from Arsenal as a result of his lack of game-time, and his poor showing in his last start for the club against Bayern Munich has only fuelled rumours of a possible exit.
Despite his woes, Football Insider recently revealed that Arsenal have no plans to entertain offers for Lewis-Skelly as Arteta wants to keep him as an option until at least the end of this season.
Chelsea are keeping tabs on Lewis-Skelly’s progress as uncertainty looms over his future in North London, but any imminent move for his signature is off the table right now.