W & ALLACE GRANIT
Xhaka’s latest comedy clanger beyond a joke... but Arteta backs ‘trier’
THERE might soon be a new term in the football lexicon – ‘doing a Granit Xhaka’.
It won’t be the section that includes the Cruyff turn, the Panenka penalty or any of those other flashes of individual genius to have lit up the game.
Instead, it will be tucked away with the less complimentary phrases that illustrate football can be the stuff of nightmares as well as dreams.
No player in the Premier League has made more mistakes leading to opposition goals in the last five seasons than Xhaka. It has become a rather irritating habit – especially if you’re an Arsenal fan.
But error number eight in that collection might just be the Swiss midfielder’s crowning glory.
The Gunners were leading at the time through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s early strike and looking in complete control.
Xhaka dropped deep to offer keeper Bernd Leno the chance to find him with a short, simple pass.
With Burnley striker Matej Vydra hovering behind, the sensible thing would have been for Xhaka to roll back the ball for Leno to make the clearance.
Instead, he attempted to reach David Luiz with a pass that should have come with a written apology to manager Mikel Arteta. Chris Wood was stood directly in Xhaka’s chosen flightpath – all 6ft 3ins and 14 stones of him – and the New Zealander didn’t even have to move get the equaliser.
The ball simply bounced off his hip and rolled into an empty net.
Wood didn’t know whether to apologise or celebrate the most freakish goal of his career.
The Burnley man’s shrug of the shoulders said it all.
Arteta admirably refused to point a finger of blame. “It is the way I want us to play,” said the Gunners boss.
“You just have to know when to take the risk and it is something we talk about all the time. But if someone makes a mistake when they are trying to play, I will always support them.
“It is when people are hiding and don’t want to play that I won’t support them.”
Instead, Arteta (below) chose to lay into the officials for failing to award his team a second-half penalty when the ball hit Erik
Pieters on the arm – the TWO handball incidents in the Dutchman.
“If that isn’t a penalty would like someone to what is a penalty in this said Arteta, conveniently a blind eye to a challenge on
Vydra by
‘‘
If that isn’t a penalty then I would like someone to tell me what IS a penalty in this league...
has scored more Premier League goals against Burnley (8) than against any other club, whilst only against Hamburger SV (9) has he netted more often in the top five European leagues.
Bukayo Saka that might in itself have got Burnley a rare spot-kick.
It’s been a busy few days for handball controversy.
Fulham were denied an equaliser against Tottenham for handball on Thursday, then on Friday a future rule change was confirmed – one that would make Fulham’s infringement unlikely to be punished next season.
Pieters put in a lively cameo all round after coming on as a sub just after the hour, including forcing Leno into a brilliant save.
Pieters’ arm seemed outstretched when he handled Pepe’s cross in the box, but VAR did not alert referee Andre Marriner. Then the Clarets star was reprieved after
■■Willian has provided an assist in each of his last three games for Arsenal, as many as he registered in his previous 25. He is still the Gunners’ top assister in the Premier League this season (5). conceding a penalty on 84 minutes and had a red card struck off too – the VAR official spotting that the Pieters had deflected Pepe’s fierce volley onto the bar with his shoulder rather than his arm.
Burnley boss Sean Dyce said: “I think Andre Marriner is a top referee, so I couldn’t understand why it took him a milli-second to show a red card.”
The Clarets had their golden chance to secure a double over the Londoners when Wood sent his shot against the legs of Leno in the second half. But it was Arteta who had most to regret.
Arsenal had scored on six minutes when home keeper Nick Pope allowed an Aubameyang shot to squirm past him at his near post.
Aubameyang,
Saka and Thomas
Partey could have added to the tally.
The afternoon got tricky after
Xhaka suffered his brain freeze on 39 minutes.
Dyche said:
“We deserve credit for the press. We thought we’d get something from the way they try to play out from the back.”
But it was Arsenal who had the
■■Since the start of 2016-17, Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has made more errors leading to goals than any other outfield player in the Premier League (8). ripest chances. Saka saw a shot blocked by James Tarkowski early in the second half.
Pepe mis-kicked in front of an open goal, before a late flurry saw Dani Cebellos rattle a post in injury-time.
Pukki 12, 43,
Cantwell
73
NATHAN JONES hailed Norwich as the Manchester City of the Championship after his Luton side became their latest victims.
A seventh straight win courtesy of a Teemu Pukki brace and a third from Todd Cantwell kept Daniel Farke’s side 10 points clear at the top.
Norwich beat Pep Guardiola’s side in a traumatic top-flight return last season and are close to getting another crack.
Pukki is leading the
3 charge, just as he did two want to get to but we’re years ago, with nine goals not there yet.” in his last seven games Norwich are 11 points and 20 overall. clear of third-place
Luton boss Jones said: Swansea and have 13 “At this level, these are more than Brentford. Man City – so they are Farke said: “We were very difficult to play unbelievably greedy against. They score because we wanted to plenty and don’t concede show a title-winning much. mentality. We wanted to
“We have to realise prove this because that’s that this is the level we what winners do. NORWICH: Krul 7, Aarons 7, Hanley 7, Gibson 7, Giannoulis 6, Skipp 6, McLean 8 (Idah 86), Buendia 6 (Dowell 82), Rupp 7 (Sorensen 78), Cantwell 8 (Hernandez 78), Pukki 8 (Hugill 82). Unused subs: Barden, Zimmermann, Vrancic, Tettey.
LUTON: Sluga 8, Cranie 6, Pearson 7, Naismith 7, Potts 6, Ince 6 (Cornick 60, 6), Tunnicliffe 6, Dewsbury-Hall 6 (Bree 78), Moncur 6 (Mpanzu 60, 6), Berry 6 (Clark 46, 6), Collins 6 (Adebayo 60, 6).
Unused subs: Shea, Hylton, Nombe, Morrell.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Todd Cantwell. Midfielder was involved in everything good by the Canaries.
REFEREE: David Webb 6.