GRANIT XHAKA will be blocked from tackling by Arsene Wenger after he picked up his ninth red card in less than three full seasons against Burnley last week – but he backed his man over ugly racism accusations.
Hours after the Switzerland international was dismissed for a two-footed lunge on Steven Defour he was quizzed by cops after allegedly branding an airport staff member a “f****** white b***h” at Heathrow.
The £32million summer signing will face a four-game ban – which will rule him out of a crucial Premier League clash with Chelsea – and could still face criminal charges for the alleged airport incident he has discussed with his French boss and totally denied.
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Ahead of the FA Cup game with Southampton on Saturday, Wenger said: “There are two incidents that have been talked about.
“I felt the sending off was harsh. It was not a dangerous tackle, it was clumsy.
“He denies the other completely at Heathrow, I have talked with him. I have spoken to him about it and he denies it completely.
“He has been absolutely marvellous to handle on a daily basis.
“I think he is not naturally a great tackler and I think he is intelligent on the pitch but the way he tackles it not convincing. I will encourage him not to tackle.”
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Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown agrees with Wenger that, rather than being a spiteful hatchet man, Xhaka is just bad at tackling.
He also thinks the current Gunners side lacks the strength to win with 10 men like his old group mastered when Patrick Vieira or one of the other old guard got their marching orders.
Keown told the Mail: “Granit Xhaka is falling into a habit of overcommitting when a player is running at him.
“If you cannot get there to make a tackle then you have to slow the player down. You have to jockey with him and ferry him across the pitch.
“When the ball is there to be won, you should go and win it. But with both of his red cards for Arsenal this season, Xhaka had no chance of winning the ball and cleaned out his opponent.
“If you go in with both feet, you are off the pitch.
“Xhaka needs to eradicate that mentality from his game.
"He must also practice one-vs-one situations with players running at him in training so he can learn how to slow them down before making the tackle.
“With some players there can be an element of laziness. It is much easier to tackle straight away than running 20, 30 yards before making the challenge.
“Xhaka needs to get out of the habit of trying to win the ball straight away.
“I am not so certain that this current Arsenal team are as capable of coping when they go down to 10 men.
“It should have been a comfortable victory against Burnley but after Xhaka was sent off it was anything but.”
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