Speaking on the All To Play for Podcast, Joe Cole has been discussing Granit Xhaka and his controversial interview after Arsenal’s loss to Newcastle.
Xhaka didn’t hold back after the Gunners lost to the Magpies, he was quick to throw some of his teammates under the bus and he made it very clear that he was unhappy with the performance on Monday.
Cole wasn’t best pleased with Xhaka’s comments, claiming that he showed a lack of emotional intelligence in his interview, stating that he’d be fuming with the Swiss international if he was Mikel Arteta.
What’s been said?
Cole spoke about Xhaka’s interview.
“For Xhaka to say it is ironic. He’s let that club down on multiple occasions will ill-discipline. The young players have carried that club and for Xhaka to not have the emotional intelligence to think he can just vent to a camera, if I was his manager I’d be furious with him,” Cole said.
Not helping anyone
Xhaka has broken rank with this interview, and his comments aren’t helping anyone.
It wasn’t constructive criticism, it was simply pessimism and comments like this can quickly lead to a dressing room divide.
As Cole says, the younger players have carried Arsenal this season, and while they could have performed better against Newcastle, the campaign hasn’t been decided on that one performance, it’s about the last 37 matches.
Xhaka himself isn’t blameless in all of this, and for him to be pointing fingers at this point of the season is just counter-productive.
Cole says that he’d be fuming if he was Arteta, and it wouldn’t surprise us if the Spaniard was angry about this interview.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
