Some Arsenal supporters were left frustrated when they faced difficulties accessing Sky Sports+ to catch the Carabao Cup clash with Preston North End. A technical snag meant that fans were greeted with a nine-word message: "There is a technical issue. Please try again later", accompanied by a baffling code on a blue backdrop.

The glitch wasn't exclusive to the Gunners fanbase; Chelsea and Manchester United followers also encountered similar issues while trying to watch their teams take on Newcastle United and Leicester City respectively. The hiccup appeared to affect smart TVs specifically, with laptop and PC streams running smoothly.

Amidst the chaos, Arsenal stormed into a 2-0 lead but it's uncertain if some fans missed the moment due to the streaming woes. The issue was reportedly fixed during the initial half of the game.

Frustration spilled over onto social media, where numerous fans voiced their demand for a refund from their Sky Sports subscription. In response to an aggrieved user online, a Sky Help Team representative extended an apology: "Thanks for getting in touch. I apologise sincerely for the problems you are experiencing."

"We are aware that this is a wide issue that most customers are impacted by. Rest assured we have the right teams working hard to resolve this as quickly as possible."

This isn't the first time users have experienced issues with the newly launched Sky Sports service this year, with EFL club fans previously voicing their dissatisfaction with the service.

Speaking ahead of kick-off, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta gave updates on Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White. Arteta said: "He (Gabriel) could not train, obviously he’s out at the moment so let’s see how he evolves over the next few games.

On White, he said: "He was struggling at the end of the match (vs Liverpool) so he wasn’t available for tonight’s game," he said.

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