Earlier today, Arsenal recorded their fifth Premier League away win in a row after defeating Aston Villa 1-0 at Villa Park.
There were few negatives to take from the game, as Bernd Leno stepped up in the absence of Aaron Ramsdale, and Bukayo Saka scored again.
However, there was one slight downside to the victory, as Granit Xhaka found himself harshly treated by Andy Madley.
What’s the story?
Well, the Switzerland international has developed such a reputation for rash tackles, that referees are now imagining fouls they think he’s committed.
In the 46th minute at Villa Park, we witnessed Madley hand Xhaka a yellow card, but his explanation for doing so made no sense whatsoever.
Having brandished the yellow card, Madley then points to three areas of the pitch to say that Xhaka had committed three fouls, and his booking was due to persistent fouling.
However – as WhoScored shows – the Arsenal No.34 only committed one foul throughout the entire game.
Arsenal and Granit Xhaka hard done by
Throughout the Premier League, there are a few players who have a reputation among officials – some deservedly, some unfairly.
Wilfried Zaha is known for diving, and as a result, the Ivorian rarely wins freekicks even when he has genuinely been fouled.
In this case, it seems Xhaka is being tarnished with a similar brush.
For Arsenal, this is a very difficult narrative to change, as it’s been built up over time ever since Xhaka arrived in the Premier League.
Hopefully, other referees don’t follow in Madley’s footsteps by imagining nonexistent fouls they think Xhaka committed.
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