Premier League leaders Arsenal have named an unchanged side from their 1-0 defeat to Everton as they prepare to take on Brentford later today (11 February). Fans have taken to Twitter to react, with many showing their displeasure with the absences of Leandro Trossard and Takehiro Tomiyasu from the starting XI.
Mikel Arteta’s men have been in sensational form this season as they are currently first in the table accumulating an impressive 50 points. They hold a five-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, with a game in hand.
The Gunners face an in-form Brentford side today. Thomas Frank’s men have won four of their last five games in the Premier League and are currently in seventh place, above the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool.
Arsenal will have to be at their very best to ensure they pick up all three points at the Emirates as they look to win their first Premier League title in nineteen years.
Mikel Arteta has chosen to field a strong starting XI against the Bees. Aaron Ramsdale starts in goal, with Ben White, Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba, and Oleksandr Zinchenko making up the defense.
Skipper Martin Ødegaard, Thomas Partey, and Granit Xhaka remain in midfield. The feared trio of Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah, and Bukayo Saka will make up the front line.
While this is widely considered Arsenal’s strongest starting XI, some fans have voiced their displeasure about recent signing Trossard and right-back Tomiyasu not starting. Ben White has struggled for form lately and many felt like he should have been benched against the Bees.
Here are some of the reactions on Twitter:
Martin Ødegaard gives thoughts on Brentford as Arsenal looks to get back to winning ways
Arsenal skipper Martin Ødegaard gave his thoughts on Brentford ahead of the game against the Bees today. In his captain’s notes column for the matchday program, the Norwegian wrote:
“When you are down, you have to step up and that’s what we need to do this weekend. The last time we lost in the league, we faced Brentford in the following game too, and we will be looking for the type of performance we put in when we beat them away back in September.”
He added:
“I think we controlled that game completely and it was a very solid performance. We will try to do the same thing again and make sure we get back to winning ways. Brentford are a very impressive team, and club as well because they have built a really strong team with a small budget. It looks like everyone is really fighting for the team.”
“They have good players, they can create problems in many different ways and they are physical too. They have quality on the ball so it’s a good team and I like what they’re doing, so a lot of credit to them.”