“Is this a joke?”, “I don’t understand” - Arsenal fans confused after 24-year-old star misses out on line-up to face Brighton

Arsenal fans on social media are left confused by Mikel Arteta's starting XI for their Premier League clash against Brighton & Hove Albion. Jurrien Timber misses the game, and that has seen the backline shuffled.

David Raya starts in goal once again, as Arteta brings his main goalkeeper back despite Kepa's heroics in the Carabao Cup during the week. The backline sees William Saliba, Piero Hincapié, Riccardo Calafiori, and Martin Zubimendi starting for the first time together.

Declan Rice sits in the pivot today, with Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard to support him. Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard are on the wings, with Viktor Gyokeres leading the attack.

Arsenal fans are happy with the team but are questioning the absence of Timber and what the backline will look like ahead of the game. Many posted:

Arteta spoke about his full-back ahead of the game, but did not comment on Timber. He spoke about Calafiori, heaping praise on the Italian and saying:

"What he didn't do before [coming to Arsenal] is play as a full-back. So we brought him in because we believe that he could do both of them [centre-back and full-back]. Riccy's availability has been really good this season as well and [against Crystal Palace], he played a really good game."

Talking about Brighton, he added:

"It's a club that I admire a lot, and what they've done over the last 10 years is incredible. They have different managers, and now Fabian [Hurzeler] has come in and brought some very different ideas as well. A lot of energy, a really, really committed team, and look very, very together. A lot of quality. They can play in different ways. They have versatile players. So it's going to be a tough match."

Arsenal will start the match just minutes after the Manchester City clash, where the Cityzens were leading 2-1 at the time of writing. Should the scoreline remain unchanged and Pep Guardiola's side come out victorious, the Gunners will need to win to get back to the top of the table.

Arsenal have good news ahead of Brighton clash

Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Kai Havertz is close to returning for Arsenal. The manager said the German was 'days away' from joining the squad and said:

“Quite close. I think it will be a matter of days, not weeks. Let’s see in the next steps how he responds to that. But he is, again, a player that we missed a lot, a player that brings the team into a different dimension. So, I am really happy to have him back soon."

Gabriel was also in doubt after picking up an injury in November, but he has made the matchday squad today, December 27.

Edited by Sripad