Speaking on BT Sport’s coverage of Arsenal vs Manchester United (2:40PM 23/4/22), Martin Keown has been discussing Granit Xhaka after his wondergoal against Manchester United.
Xhaka is undoubtedly one of the most polarising footballers in Arsenal’s recent history, but, somehow, someway, he remains a stable in the Gunners’ starting XI.
Keown praised Xhaka’s ability to continuously force his way back into the manager’s plans, claiming that he just won’t go away, despite previous poor showings and falling out with the fanbase.
What’s been said?
Keown discussed Xhaka.
“There have been a lot of misgivings on this player, and I’ve been very critical of him. Two and a half years ago, 60,000 people booed him off here, but he just won’t go away. He stood up today and scored this and it turned the game,” Keown said.
Nine lives
Like a cat, Granit Xhaka seems to have nine lives at Arsenal.
Many other players would have been out of the door after being stripped of the captaincy, consistently red-carded and falling out with the fans, but somehow, Xhaka is still a key player for Arsenal.
It’s a testament to his ability to bounce back from setbacks, but it’s also a bit of an indictment of Arsenal’s recruitment strategy in that they’ve failed to bring in any player who would be a competent Xhaka replacement, despite signing numerous midfielders such as Lucas Torreira, Mateo Guendouzi and Albert Sambi Lokonga.
Keown is right, despite a number of problems over the years, Xhaka is proving to be rather unshakeable at Arsenal.
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