Arsenal
‘MOTM’, ‘incredible’: Some Arsenal fans hail £100k-a-week man’s display against Crystal Palace
A number of Arsenal fans have taken to Twitter to praise Granit Xhaka for his display in Thursday night’s Premier League stalemate against Crystal Palace.
The Gunners’ recent resurgence, with four consecutive wins in all competitions, was checked against a stubborn Eagles outfit at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s charges weren’t quite as dangerous in attack as they had been in recent weeks, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang failing to impress.

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Palace had numerous chances of their own, with Christian Benteke, Eberechi Eze and Wilfried Zaha involved in many of the visitors’ good moves as they sought to catch their opponents on the break.
Xhaka was key to Arsenal keeping a clean sheet as he made a number of crucial tackles, blocks and interceptions while tracking back, and his passing was superb as well – close to 90 percent accuracy from 112 passes, plus seven accurate long balls.
Here is some of the fan reaction to the £100,000-a-week man’s display on the night:
#Xhaka MotM tonight. Absolute monster tonight at tracking back, winning the ball back, good distribution. Handful of times he gave the ball away yes but doesn’t take away from how superb he’s been overall. #AFC #ARSCRY
— Andrew Thompson (@Logiklehrer) January 14, 2021
Probably Xhaka’s best performance in an Arsenal shirt pic.twitter.com/bmZNa5fBHc
— Charlie Carey (@JafuliCharlie) January 14, 2021
Granit Xhaka vs Crystal Palace (H):
•129 Touches
•97 Accurate Passes
•8/9 Long Balls
•2/2 Dribbling
•9/15 Duels Won
•3 Clearances
•1 Blocked Shot
•6 Tackles Won
•7.8 RatingIncredible defensive display. The MOTM 👏 pic.twitter.com/MyZLtB5b8i
— . (@XhakaStat) January 14, 2021
The MOTM for me would be Xhaka. Held that midfield very well all through! #ARSCRY
— Olumide Olaoye (@olumideholaoyeh) January 14, 2021
Xhaka’s best defensive game in living memory tbf.
— YankeeGunner (@YankeeGunner) January 14, 2021
The less said about thst game, the better, just give Xhaka his MOTM & move on.
— Nnamdi Obinwanne (@obisingledigit) January 14, 2021
Xhaka brilliant today so far!
— TJ Taple (@TongnanT) January 14, 2021
Arsenal are currently 11th in the table with 24 points from 18 games, and are next up against Newcastle on Monday.
