Ian Wright believes Granit Xhaka was made a scapegoat
Ian Wright believes Granit Xhaka has been made a scapegoat amid claims he ‘lifted’ the Liverpool crowd by squaring up to Trent Alexander-Arnold and says Arsenal’s failure to hold on to their lead is ‘not on’ the midfielder
- Arsenal had taken a two-goal lead after an impressive first-half at Anfield
- Granit Xhaka was involved in a heated altercation with Trent Alexander-Arnold
- Liverpool halved the deficit straight after and would go on to get an equaliser
Ian Wright has defended Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka after claims that he lifted the Liverpool crowd in an enthralling 2-2 draw.
Arsenal got off to a brilliant start at Anfield, taking a two goal lead after strikes from Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus.
Xhaka though lost his cool as he felt he had been fouled by Ibrahima Konate, and seconds later went in on Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The moment riled up the Liverpool crowd with Mohamed Salah halving the deficit almost immediately afterwards, before Roberto Firmino completed the comeback with a late second-half header.
Despite criticism from the likes of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, Wright believes that Xhaka has been made a scapegoat and that the Gunners’ failure to hold onto their lead is ‘not on’ the midfielder.
Granit Xhaka and Trent Alexander-Arnold clashed during a feisty league match at Anfield
Liverpool and Arsenal players had to step in to separate the players, who were both booked
He said on Match of the Day 2: ‘It doesn’t take too much to get that crowd going.
‘Even if Granit Xhaka went in there and slapped someone it’s not going to get that crowd any more going than they were gonna get going.
‘The fact is he’s been brilliant for us this season. I think the narrative is people are trying to point at someone. That’s how he plays, that’s probably how he plays in his back garden.
‘I wouldn’t put that on him. What I would put on us is how we weren’t able to see out and continue to play like we did in the first-half but I think we will have learnt a lot from that game.
‘A lot of people have gone to Liverpool and not got that. We should be delighted with that point. We haven’t won there since 2012 so we’ve got to take that point and be very happy.’
Xhaka’s claims come after a graphic on Match of the Day 2 showed that Liverpool had more shots after his altercation with Alexander-Arnold (17 compared to 4) and their possession was 52% before compared to 63%.
Mohamed Salah halved the deficit not long after the confrontation before substitute Roberto Firmino scored a late equaliser causing Arsenal to lose points in the title race
Ian Wright insisted that Xhaka losing his cool was not to blame for Arsenal’s failure to win
Sky Sports pundit Neville was confused as to why Xhaka chose to lash out in an intense moment.
Neville said: ‘He cannot get involved. He’s been so good for Arsenal this season. That’s exactly what Liverpool would want.’
Carragher responded, saying: ‘What is he thinking? 2-0 up away at Anfield, he just throws his arm into Trent. Just ridiculous.
‘The crowd gets up, the ball’s already gone. It’s 2-0, we’re almost at half-time.’
At half-time after Salah’s goal, Micah Richards said: ‘They deserve that [the goal]. It all started with that Xhaka argument with Trent.
‘Both got yellow carded, the crowd lifted, and it was brilliant from that moment on.’
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