Martin Keown criticises Granit Xhaka after Arsenal’s draw with Tottenham

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Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has blasted the performance of Granit Xhaka in yesterday’s 2-2 north London derby draw against Tottenham yesterday.

As per the Daily Mail, Keown had a pop at the £100,000-a-week (Spotrac) star for his lack of discipline in the tackle after another errant display.

He said: “Xhaka is so bad at tackling that Arsene Wenger once admitted he told him not to bother. Since signing for Arsenal in 2016, Xhaka has given away five penalties – more than any other player in the Premier League in that period.

“What we witnessed against Tottenham was classic Xhaka. His constant fouling interrupted Arsenal’s flow. The hosts lost momentum because he kept breaking up play. This is what Xhaka does. He does more damage than good when it comes to tackling. Xhaka may be on borrowed time in this team.”

TBR’s View – Xhaka needs to step up now he’s wearing the armband

Xhaka has taken on a more senior role following the departure of Laurent Koscielny this summer, wearing the captain’s armband in the derby yesterday.

But he didn’t put in a captain’s performance, rushing into tackles and not controlling his aggression in the way Unai Emery might have hoped.

That’s nothing new for Xhaka but he needs to cut that out of his game now that he’s got more responsbility and the early signs on that front are not good.