‘You CAN’T excuse this!’ Alan Shearer rips into Granit Xhaka after Arsenal midfielder was sent off for lunge – the ELEVENTH red card of his club career – in defeat by Manchester City… and insists Swiss put Joao Cancelo in danger
- Granit Xhaka was sent off for Arsenal after a two-footed lunge on Joao Cancelo
- Alan Shearer slammed the Swiss for the eleventh red card of his club career
- The Gunners had conceded twice and went on to lose 5-0 to Manchester City
- The former striker insists the midfielder put Cancelo in danger with wild tackle
Granit Xhaka’s red card in Arsenal’s defeat by Manchester City was inexcusable and sent a very damaging message to his team-mates, insists Alan Shearer.
The Gunners were already 2-0 down when the Swiss midfielder was sent off for a reckless two-footed lunge when trying to win the ball against Joao Cancelo.
Referee Martin Atkinson wasted little time in giving the 28-year-old his marching orders, with his side going on to concede another three goals in a 5-0 hammering at the Etihad Stadium.
Granit Xhaka’s red card in Arsenal’s defeat by Man City was inexcusable, says Alan Shearer (R)
The Swiss midfielder was sent off for a reckless two-footed lunge on Joao Cancelo
The defeat has seen the Gunners suffer their worst start to a season since 1954-55, with Mikel Arteta’s men having lost against Brentford, Chelsea and now City in their first Premier League games of the season.
And speaking on Match of the Day, Shearer insisted the Swiss put Cancelo in danger with his wild challenge and insists Xhaka cannot afford to keep putting his side in these situations.
‘That’s 11 red cards in his career, you can’t excuse this,’ the former striker said.
‘All he’s said to his teammates is “sorry you’re on your own I don’t feel this today”. Who he’s trying to impress? I don’t know.
Their defeat at Manchester City means they have suffered their worst start to a season since 1954-55
‘You cannot tackle and go in like that, we all know the rules. He’s putting his opponent in danger.
‘It’s the correct decision and he’s said to his teammates ”sorry you’re on your own thanks very much I don’t fancy it today”.
‘He (Arteta) will be raging at that tackle. You’re up against it anyway, you can’t afford to do that kind of thing.’
Gunners boss Arteta admitted he was furious with Xhaka’s sending off because of the consequent effects it had on the team.
Mikel Arteta admitted he was angry with Xhaka’s sending off due to the impact it had
‘I am (angry) because of the consequences that it had to the team,’ Arteta told BT Sport.
‘I must say that the line we are being judged with is really, really thin because we have seen actions like that in the first two Premier League games and nothing happened and I am disappointed.’
Meanwhile, Sportsmail columnist Micah Richards slammed Calum Chambers for his part in City’s first two goals of the day scored by Ilkay Gundogan and Ferran Torres.
Sportsmail columnist Micah Richards slammed Calum Chambers for his part in City’s first two goals
Chambers failed to mark the German as he headed home the opener, and the Gunners centre-back then fell to the floor after receiving a blow to the face from Aymeric Laporte before Torres had netted.
‘Disastrous, there’s no other words for it, shambolic, all the words under the sun,’ Richards said.
‘Chambers can see Gundogan, he looks again around and he (Gundogan) beats him.
‘His body shape is all wrong. He’s claiming for a foul, he’s supposed to be a big, strong centre-half.’
