GRANIT XHAKA was left furious after Arsenal conceded a stoppage time equaliser against Slavia Prague in the Europa League.
And the Swiss midfielder reportedly launched an X-rated tirade against his erring defenders following Tomas Holes’ last-gasp header.
As has become customary under Mikel Arteta, the Gunners tried to play their way out from the back in the dying stages.
But Cedric Soares and Gabriel Magalhaes appeared nervy while doing so, needlessly giving away a 93rd minute corner in the process.
And Slavia gratefully accepted their gift, with Holes grabbing a priceless away goal.
Folllowing the subsequent final whistle, former captain Xhaka raged at the culprits.
According to Charles Watts, he screamed: “Just clear the f***ing ball away man!”
Former Gunners defender and current BT Sport analyst Martin Keown bemoaned his old side’s inability to keep clean sheets.
He said: “The marking for the corner is atrocious or non-existent.
“Gabriel in the build up to that, there’s panic, a nervousness.
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“No clean sheets in 14 games now it showed tonight when they needed it most, to keep a clean sheet in the last five or ten minutes, they just couldn’t do it.”
And he also claimed that Arsenal need a ‘slap’ or ‘punch’ in the face before they start playing.
He added: “It seems like Arsenal… they’re not proactive in games.
I’ve said it before, teams are not beating us, it’s us losing the games
Hector Bellerin
“They need somebody to slap them in the face almost, or punch them in the face, before they wake up and start to play.”
And Hector Bellerin admitted: “I’ve said it before, teams are not beating us, it’s us losing the games.”
And Arteta admitted: “We played two or three balls in certain areas that we should not do.
“We put ourselves on the back foot and we concede the corner and from there they put a lot of bodies in there and anything can happen.”
Arsenal will now dust themselves down for a Premier League trip to Sheffield United on Sunday, before next Thursday’s second leg in Prague.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
