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Gary Neville has criticised Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka on Sky Sports following his post-match reaction to the Gunners’ defeat to Newcastle United away from home at St. James’ Park.
Arsenal suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle United in the Premier League on Monday evening damaging their hopes of a top-four finish at the end of the season on Sunday.
The loss means that Arsenal are now in real danger of missing out on a Champions League place to bitter North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham effectively need just a draw from their final game of the season to qualify for Europe’s most elite competition next season.
After the match, Arsenal midfielder Xhaka criticised his teammates for not following manager Mikel Arteta’s instructions and doing their own thing.
🤔 Was Granit Xhaka right to publicly call out his team-mates after Arsenal's defeat to Newcastle last night?
💬 Have your say and tweet #BBCFootball
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) May 17, 2022
Former Manchester United defender and Sky Sports pundit Neville slammed Xhaka for his scathing remarks, pointing out that over the years the Switzerland international has been sent off for reckless challenges.
Neville said about Xhaka on Sky Sports: “I hope he wasn’t having a go at the young players. I will tell you what? He has been a disgrace at times, him over the last four or five years, getting sent off recklessly.”
"He's having a right dig at people within his dressing room" 🤨@Carra23 and @GNev2 discuss Granit Xhaka's post-match interview… pic.twitter.com/B709zkyOfZ
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 16, 2022
Our thoughts…
Arsenal were incredibly disappointing against Newcastle, just as they were against Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby in midweek.
This time last week, they had Champions League football in their grasp, but for two poor performances and results, it is now out of their hands with their bitter North London rivals now the favourites to secure the last coveted European spot.
While Xhaka was right to feel aggrieved at his team’s performance, he was indeed wrong for criticising his teammates the way he did.
Such actions may have damaging repercussions, especially to the confidence and the squad morale, and with the race for top four still not over, the Gunners will need all the confidence they can get if they are to end their season on a high point.
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