Arsenal: About that “outrageous” Granit Xhaka tackle…

Arsenal got the screwed end of the stick in terms of missed calls against Tottenham, but there is one that goes the other way that deserves to be accounted for.

Watching the difference between Unai Emery and Mauricio Pochettino post-match made me smile. You have one manager, the Arsenal one, owning the match, not passing out blame, being a mature and respectable man.

Then you have the Spurs one, dolling out how unlucky his team has been all season because Granit Xhaka‘s challenge went unaccounted for.

So let’s talk about that Xhaka challenge. No denying it should have been a yellow card, but also no denying that Pochettino thinks it should have been a red, as should all tackles ever made on any Spurs player, because Spurs.

But Xhaka’s tackle had no malice, plus it was early enough in the match that yellow should have been the extent of it, and I am happy to own that fact. It was a poor tackle, studs up. For the sake of the argument though, let’s say that it does go straight red, for a high-studs, no-malice tackle.

That then calls into question two things – Danny Rose‘s high-studs, no-malice tackle that cleated Bernd Leno in the chest, and Davinson Sanchez deciding to kick Laurent Koscielny in a high-studs, lots-of-malice tackle outside of the theater of play when Koscielny was still on the ground.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

Rose got a yellow, which was tame. Sanchez got nothing, which was ultra tame.

Later on, Lucas Torreira would get a red for a high-studs, no malice tackle in which he even got the ball first, and many, myself included, will argue that this should have been a yellow, because if this is red, so too was Rose’s.

There was a clear theme between Xhaka, Rose and Torreira’s tackles. All were high-studs and all had no malice. Xhaka’s and Rose’s were poorly timed, and Torreira’s was actually a decent tackle, Rose just got there late and in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Yet even among these three tackles, the Gunners got the worst end of the bargain, with Torreira sent off and Rose left on to get Torreira sent off.

And that’s without Sanchez even being in the conversation. No one can say that Xhaka skirted a red card unless they categorically deny that Sanchez even kicked Koscielny, which clearly happened and should be straight red, same as a headbutt.

In a match with so many calls and missed calls, you have to start canceling things out. Xhaka and Sanchez cancel out, easily. Rose and Torreira don’t. And that obvious offside call that I haven’t mentioned yet? Nothing canceled that out, did it?

So yes, Pochettino, please keep running your mouth about how unlucky you were. Makes total sense.