"LET HIM PLAY FFS", "Him benched is scandalous" - Arsenal fans unhappy with star's exclusion from XI for EFL Cup clash against Crystal Palace

Arsenal fans on social media are livid with manager Mikel Arteta for not starting Ethan Nwaneri in their Carabao Cup clash against Crystal Palace. Many believe that the manager is hampering his development by not giving him enough chances.

Arteta has made eight changes to his starting XI, starting with the goalkeeper as Kepa Arrizabalaga comes in for David Raya. Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, and Riccardo Calafiori keep their place in the backline, while Myles Lewis-Skelly comes in at left-back.

Christian Norgaard is playing in the pivot, with Mikel Merino and Eberechi Eze to help him in the midfield. Noni Madueke replaces Bukayo Saka on the left wing, while Gabriel Martinelli comes in on the left side. Gabriel Jesus gets his first start of the season, as he replaces Viktor Gyokeres.

Arsenal fans are happy with the starting XI, but believe that Nwaneri should have got the nod ahead of Merino today. Many posted:

Arteta hinted in his press conference that Jesus was ready to start matches again and said (via Football London):

"Yes, he is. You can see now, not only in games, every day in training, how much he wants it. He's going to deserve a chance soon. I think that's probably the biggest quality of Gabi, bringing people together, connecting with people and generating a lot of uncertainty in the opponent. When you see him today, the amount of spaces that he was involved in, that's his biggest quality. So we need to exploit that."

Gabriel Jesus suffered an ACL injury in January this year and was out of action until this month.

Arsenal taking Carabao Cup seriously, says Mikel Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said that the Gunners are taking the Carabao Cup seriously. He is focused on the quarterfinals and said (via Football London):

"Now the most important one is the Carabao Cup against Palace because it's the next game that we have. Take it game by game. Winning and performing every game helps you for the next one. So now full focus on that."

Talking about the quick turnaround, he added:

"We are used to it. I think it's the only week that we had a week to prepare. It was this week, the rest until February at least is going to be like this. We are used to it, to face it. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition. So we'll be ready."

Arsenal and Crystal Palace are fighting for a place in the semifinal, where they will face Chelsea.

Edited by Sripad