Bernd Leno made a really silly error which helped Everton pick up a win at the Emirates Stadium on Friday night but pundit Graeme Souness has also put Granit Xhaka under the scanner.
Leno has been receiving all the blame for the goal but according to Souness, Xhaka did not cover himself in glory when he decided to make a last-ditch tackle outside the box which clearly helped Richarlison bypass the makeshift left-back with considerable ease.
“For me, Richarlison eases Xhaka off the ball too easily. He just gets eased off the ball too easily for me,” Souness said on Sky Sports, as reported.
“He makes his mind up – I’m going to stand my ground and tackle to win the ball instead of forcing him down the line, showing him down the line.
“You’ve got know who you’re playing against. Instead of buying his team-mates some time to get in position, he tries to tackle him. He should show him down the line. He’s too square on to him.
“It’s farcical, and that really is a very, very poor goal to give away. An embarrassing goal to give a way.”
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Granit Xhaka has been playing at left-back for the past few matches only because Kieran Tierney is out injured and somewhere down the line, there was bound to be an error from the Swiss international.
Up until now, Xhaka looked pretty solid in the full-back role which is why Mikel Arteta chose to stick with him but against Everton, the law of averages just caught up with him. This loss means Arsenal remain in the ninth spot of the Premier League table but they could slip further down by the end of this weekend.
Next up, Arsenal face Villarreal in the Europa League semi-final and Tierney will not be available for that game either. So, it will be interesting to see if the manager opts to use Granit Xhaka at left-back once again, especially since this will be a make-or-break match for Arsenal.
