Wenger: Xhaka’s history has made him a target

Arsène Wenger takes his side to West Bromwich Albion today fearing his star summer signing, Granit Xhaka, will be a marked man.

The Switzerland international has been sent off twice and booked nine times since his £35 million move from Borussia Mönchengladbach. Five of those yellow cards have come in the last five games since returning from his most recent suspension.

And embattled Arsenal manager Wenger, desperate for a win in the lunchtime kick-off if his side are to rejoin the race for a top-four finish, believes his 24-year-old midfielder is being harshly treated despite conceding to a crucial failing in his tackling technique. “He is a victim a little bit of his reputation,” Wenger argued on behalf of a player whose red card against Burnley was the ninth in his young career. “You see tackles of some players who are much worse than what he did who don’t even get a yellow card and he got a straight red because he had a history of that in Germany – I think he is a bit of a victim.

“I believe he is now in a position where on the first foul he gets a yellow card. For example, last Saturday; first foul, soft yellow card. It is the way he tackles. He does not try to hurt people; it is more the consequence of the fact that he doesn’t master well the technique of tackling. He has improved a lot since he has arrived I think but he still has to work as you can always improve.”

Wenger insisted, however, that it was unfair to compare him to Chelsea’s N’Golo Kanté. The French coach added: “Xhaka is more about distribution of the pass and Kanté is more the ball winner, with the real technique to steal the ball without making the foul. You should compare Kanté more with [Francis] Coquelin than with Xhaka.”