Former Premier League footballer Danny Murphy has justified his apparent vendetta against Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka following his performance in the commentary box as the Swiss helped to see off Leeds United in the FA Cup on Monday.
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Xhaka made a team-high tally of four fouls during the game but escaped a caution from referee Anthony Taylor, who did not go uncriticised by Murphy following his coverage of the game for BBC Sport.
Murphy defended his stance on TalkSPORT, explaining that Xhaka was lucky to stay on the pitch – and that his frustrations were mainly directed at referee Taylor rather than the Arsenal midfielder, who has endured a tumultuous campaign so far.
The ex-Liverpool man suggested that the reckless nature of Xhaka’s unpunished misdemeanours meant he could not escape his wrath – and suggested the 27-year-old represents a dilemma for new boss Mikel Arteta.
He said: “If you play in midfield, you can’t keep making the same mistakes and expect not to be criticised.
“I can’t doubt his passion and his work ethic, but when you run around headless and you don’t think about what you’re doing, you’re going to keep getting booked and you’re going to be a liability for your team.
“He was lucky to stay on the pitch and he doesn’t learn his lessons.
“When you’re playing in a team that’s struggling a little bit, he’s a passenger defensively and he’s a liability. It’s a dilemma for Arteta.
“It sounds like when you’re constantly on about one player that you’ve got this personal thing against him but actually, it was more the referee.”
In fairness to Murphy, Taylor did seem to be especially lenient on the night, though he did caution Mateusz Klich – the only player to foul more often than Xhaka – while the likes of Matteo Guendouzi and Alexandre Lacazette were also let off despite committing three fouls apiece, with the latter escaping a possible red card for violent conduct following a VAR review.
It could hardly be expected of Murphy to gloss over what had seemed a relevant talking point during the game, especially as the accumulation of fouls did not result in the former Gunners skipper going into the book.
Though as Murphy went on to clarify, he even absolved Xhaka of the blame for his continuous misbehaviour during the match given the referee’s resistance to cautioning him – even if his comments on the following day suggested that he is still not the player’s biggest fan.
Arsenal fans, is Xhaka capable of winning back the fans’ support given what has happened this season? Let us know below!
