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Football London
Football London
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Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

'This is just getting silly now!' - Angry Arsenal fans react as Eddie Nketiah is benched again

Three goals for Eddie Nketiah on international duty in midweek, but that's not enough to earn him a start for Leeds United this afternoon.

This means the Arsenal youngster is still without a start in the Championship.

Although, him not being in the starting XI against Birmingham City at Elland Road shouldn't come as too much of a surprise given that Marcelo Bielsa hinted at that being the case ahead of the game.

"Nketiah is a player that, at the moment, is not in the starting XI," the Argentine said. "But we are not being so efficient. It is natural that one striker, a goalscorer like him is claimed by the people. He scored four goals, maybe he could score five. Obviously people start to talk about if it's Bamford or Eddie.

"But football changes every day. In the last match before Millwall, the public, the supporters recognised Bamford a lot.

"Maybe it was the first time that the supporters recognised him, as they did in that match. For this reason there is a dynamic that changes every match. I am in charge, I have to try and manage the resources the team has.

"For me it is very important that Eddie has a good spell at Leeds.

"The person who most wants Nketiah to have success at Leeds is me, but also I value Bamford, I value him a lot."

"If Nketiah doesn't do well here in Leeds, the responsibility is going to be mine. That will be fair because Nketiah is a player full of results and as coach, I have to know how to manage all this skill to improve the team.

Eddie Nketiah celebrates scoring for England U21 (Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images)

"When someone takes decisions, they have to take decisions that have to last in the team. It is not just in response to the supporters, the public. It is about taking decisions that last in time, at the right moment, when the team needs it.

"After, I back the player who comes into the team. When one player deserves to be in the starting XI, after, I back them to stay in the team. Nketiah is in this process."

However, Bielsa decision has not gone down well with some Arsenal fans on social media.

Take a look at some of the responses on Twitter...

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