Arsenal ace Granit Xhaka told three things he must do after Tottenham penalty incident
Granit Xhaka has come in for intense criticism following his display in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham last weekend, but Gunners hero Ray Parlour has leapt to the midfielder’s defence.
Granit Xhaka has been defended by Arsenal legend Ray Parlour (Image: GETTY)
Arsenal Invincible Ray Parlour has leapt to the defence of Gunners skipper Granit Xhaka but has urged the midfielder to change how he operates on the pitch.
Switzerland international Xhaka has come in for intense criticism following Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday.
The former Borussia Monchengladbach ace gave away a penalty in the first half of the north London derby with a reckless tackle on Son Heung-min.
Xhaka gave away a total of seven fouls but avoiding being yellow carded until the 91st minute.
Many pundits were critical of the 26-year-old’s performance, with former Gunners midfielder Paul Merson adamant he offers nothing to the team.
Parlour, however, believes the criticism being levelled Xhaka’s way is unwarranted and that he had a bad day at the office against Spurs.
“Xhaka is good on the ball, he’s decent!” Parlour said during an appearance on talkSPORT.
“He can spray passes 25 or 30 yards no problem, he’s very good at doing that.
Granit Xhaka had a game to forget against Tottenham (Image: GETTY)
Xhaka has just got to calm down sometimes, he’s got to be a bit cleverer, you’ve got to be clever as a player
Ray Parlour on Granit Xhaka
“Sometimes he fits in and keeps it simple, but at the weekend he didn’t have a good game.
“You know when you’ve not had a good game as a player and I’m sure he knew that at the end but he’s got to get back now, he’s skipper, he can’t let it worry him.”
Parlour believes Xhaka can take his game to the next level if he operates with a cooler head and stops making rash challenges.
He added: “Xhaka has just got to calm down sometimes, he’s got to be a bit cleverer, you’ve got to be clever as a player.
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