“Get ready for 60 minutes of inevitable pain”, “We are finished” – Arsenal fans fear the worst as Mikel Arteta names 23-year-old in starting line-up against PSV

Arsenal fans appear to be unimpressed that Albert Sambi Lokonga has been named in the starting lineup to face PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League today (October 27).

The Gunners have already qualified for the next stage, having beaten tonight's opponents 1-0 last week at the Emirates Stadium. However, they need to avoid defeat in the Netherlands to secure the top spot and skip the competition's play-off round.

Mikel Arteta's side have a perfect record in Europe this season, despite him resting several key players in all of their games. Arsenal will also be keen to get back to winning ways after they dropped points against Southampton in the Premier League.

Arteta has made five changes from the draw at St. Mary's Stadium on October 23.

🧤 Ramsdale makes European debut
🧱 Saliba and Holding start at the back
💯 Martinelli's milestone appearance

Here's how we line up to face PSV 👇 https://t.co/hFdC3kicuF

Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney have come into defense, while Eddie Nketiah and Fabio Vieira have both been given opportunities with rare starts. Lokonga will play in the double pivot alongside Granit Xhaka, which has concerned Arsenal supporters.

The 23-year-old is yet to impress since his move from Anderlecht last summer. He has started every Europa League game this season and made six Premier League appearances.

However, Gunners fans are clearly un-enthused with his position in the starting lineup, with many of them taking to Twitter to vent their frustrations:

lokonga ugh twitter.com/arsenal/status…

Another night watching Lokonga jogging back while the opposition sprint through the midfield on a counter attack.

How is Lokonga gonna develop playing in a position he's not used to? He needs a cultured deep lying player to give him reassurance twitter.com/Arsenal/status…

Lokonga has gotten all the game time he needs to prove himself!

@Arsenal Why do we keep playing Lokonga as 6? Don’t we have anyone in the academy or Ben White who could play as a 6? Lokonga hasn’t got a single chance in his natural position. Poor kid

ffs i have to watch lokonga ball twitter.com/arsenal/status…

@Arsenal LOKONGA WE ARE FINISHED 💀😭😭

Get ready for 60 minutes of inevitable pain until Lokonga gets subbed. I pray for the day that he engages in duels with intensity. I doubt it ever comes. January departure round the corner

Mikel Arteta aiming to bounce back after Arsenal's 'lesson' against Southampton

Following their draw with the Saints, Arteta couldn't hide his frustration over the fact that his team threw away the lead to drop points in the title race.

He did insist that it was a lesson for his team, as the Arsenal boss proclaimed to Sky Sports (as per The Mirror):

"It's disappointing. We created enough chances but couldn't put the ball away. It's a lesson because we wanted to win again. They put us under more pressure through direct play in the second half, and we were struggling."

The Spaniard further added:

"It should have been a different outcome. Credit to Southampton, they did very well. We started to concede a lot of long throws. We created the two biggest chances in the second half but it wasn't enough to win the game. We just didn't put the ball in the back of the net. We had enough chances to get the win. It's very disappointing."

Arsenal fans seeing rival fans laugh at them for drawing with Southampton and going from 1st to 1st in the table https://t.co/r03UUeflEG