Granit Xhaka’s Arsenal actions speak louder than words

This club will be the death of all of us! With the battle for Europe intensifying each week and the margin for error becoming increasingly small, an already unlikely charge for a top six finish this season was dealt a further blow on Saturday as Arsenal were held to a highly frustrating 1-1 draw away to Burnley.

Having enjoyed an unusual six-day break before our trip to Lancashire, the Gunners’ rejuvenation showed as they made the perfect start at Turf Moor, taking an early lead when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang slotted home after a wonderful team move.

Yet as seems to be the case every game now, Arsenal were once again undone by an individual error, as a risky pass by Granit Xhaka ricocheted off Chris Wood and flew past a helpless Bernd Leno in goal.

Although many will express sympathy for the Swiss captain and the unenviable position Leno’s distribution put him in, having a midfielder drop between the centre-backs to beat the press is a common, integral part of building from the back.

Granit Xhaka’s accountability is admirable, but his mistakes continue to hurt Arsenal and they have to stop

Playing the ball to the edge of the box changes the direction of the build-up, thereby catching out the pressing forwards and opening up space for the full-backs to exploit. While it can be a risky strategy, it can also be very rewarding and is something Mikel Arteta’s squad are well-versed in.

Of course, mistakes can happen – and at least it was systematic and not throttling someone’s throat – but such errors have been a regular occurrence this season and have hampered our efforts of recovery after the dreadful Autumn collapse.

To his credit, Xhaka rarely shirks responsibility and often holds his hands up on the pitch after committing mistakes, including last week at Leicester when he acknowledged his involvement in the Foxes’ goal.

However, actions speak louder than words and the former Borussia Monchengladbach man’s infuriating knack for making mistakes continues to strike, evident by the dubious honour he holds of making more errors leading to goals than any other Premier League player since the start of the 2016-17 campaign.

This latest setback only emphasises the importance of Europa League success for our season, and attention must quickly turn to Thursday night’s must-win first leg knockout contest against Olympiacos.

Xhaka will retain his place for the trip to Greece, as he well should considering his impressive displays of late, but the mistakes have to stop and no one will be more keen to ensure they do than the man himself.