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.
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.
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.
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.
‘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.
‘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. ‘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.’
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.’
A graphic on Match of the Day 2 showed that Liverpool had more shots after the altercation with Alexander-Arnold (17 compared to 4) and their possession was 52 per cent before compared to 63 per cent. 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.’
