Arsenal issued ‘careful’ Brentford warning as Campbell wants £27m star benched

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A round-up of the latest Arsenal news as Paul Merson has warned Mikel Arteta about Brentford and Kevin Campbell names the star he wants Leandro Trossard benched for.

Merson warns Arsenal where Brentford can cause trouble

The international break is over as Arsenal visit Brentford on Saturday evening for the second time this season. Arteta has already overseen a 1-0 win over Thomas Frank’s side after their Carabao Cup clash in September. But Merson believes the Bees have a way to cause trouble.

Despite backing Arsenal to beat Brentford 3-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium, Merson has suggested that the Gunners must ‘be careful’ at set-pieces. He feels Frank’s team can prove dangerous at dead ball scenarios. So, whoever controls those situations may claim the edge.

“Arsenal will go into this game after having known the result of City and Liverpool’s clash,” Merson has told Sportskeeda. “Brentford are a strong team and if Arsenal can match their physicality and be careful during set-pieces, they should win [3-1] here.”

Read more about what Merson has predicted for Brentford vs Arsenal, here.

Campbell wants Arteta to bench Trossard when Arsenal visit Brentford

Arsenal hero Campbell has apologised to Trossard after urging Arteta to start Gabriel Jesus at Brentford this Saturday. He believes Jesus should return to their line-up in west London as the Brazilian delivers ‘another dimension’ for the Emirates Stadium natives’ attacking threat.

Arteta has confirmed that Jesus is in contention to return following a hamstring injury away to the Bees. The 26-year-old has not played a Premier League game since Arsenal drew 2-2 at Chelsea. But he enjoyed 96 minutes as Brazil lost a 2026 World Cup qualifier to Argentina.

Now, Campbell wants Arteta to start Jesus at Brentford, even if the Arsenal boss must bench Trossard to do so. The £27m Belgian has stood in for Jesus of late due to Eddie Nketiah also having fitness issues. Trossard returned Arteta’s faith with goals against Sevilla and Burnley.

“Jesus comes back in, sorry Trossard,” Campbell has said on the Highbury Squad podcast. “I think Trossard is a top player but he’s not Jesus. Jesus gives us another dimension.

“I was hoping when Jesus went down that Trossard would have grabbed a few games a bit more. But he shared the load with Eddie a bit more. Jesus is the top man.”

Read more about what Campbell has had to say about Trossard and Jesus, here.

Arsenal blow as Timber suffers a setback in his recovery from an injury

Arsenal have taken a blow as Jurrien Timber has now suffered a setback in his recovery from an ACL injury. That is according to Ben Jacobs, who reports that the Gunners hoped to get the 22-year-old back in early April after undergoing surgery on his ACL injury back in August.

But Timber is now likely to remain out of action until next summer at the earliest. It will also rule him out of representing the Netherlands during Euro 2024. The news effectively writes off the defender’s first season at Arsenal. He suffered the blow on his Premier League debut.

Arsenal saw April as a best-case scenario for Timber to recover as they play his ACL injury with caution. But a setback in his rehabilitation has pushed the date for Arteta to get his star summer signing from AFC Ajax back into the summer. He will then have to get match fit, too.

Read more about the latest news on the ACL injury to Arsenal defender Timber, here.