The Swiss international also heaped praise on coach Arteta for Gunners’ comeback after horror start to the Premier League season.
Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka received his fifth red card in a Gunners jersey since joining the club in July 2016, despite severe backlash from fans and experts alike.
He brought Liverpool forward Diogo Jota to the ground in a last-man situation during their 0-0 draw against Liverpool in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final (Jan 13), earning him a straight sending off.
The red card was Xhaka’s second of the ongoing season across all tournaments. Back in August, he was sent to the dressing room for a rash foul on Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo during the Gunners’ 5-0 Premier League defeat.
However, Xhaka refuses to get alarmed, saying that taking risks is part of the game.
“Sometimes, I am in a position where I have to take a 50:50. It’s risky, of course. Now people will say, ‘Yeah, but why do you always [take] risks?’. This is who I am. I can’t change myself from today to tomorrow. Of course, I need to improve and I know I need to improve.
But at this moment, if Jota takes the ball and he scores, they will say again, ‘Why didn’t you stop him?’ Now, I stop him, they say, ‘Why do you get the red card?’
the 29-year-old was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
In his interview ahead of the second leg of the semi-final, Xhaka also criticised the VAR for their poor decisions, particularly the penalty given against him during the Premier League game against Pep Guardiola’s City on January 1. The Gunners lost that match 2-1 despite a terrific performance against the league leaders.
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With a few games in hand after Covid-related postponements, Arsenal are in a race for the top four spots along with Tottenham, West Ham and Manchester United. Arteta’s side have turned around their season after a shocking start, and Xhaka gives his manager full credit for their progress.
“We had a very, very bad start. We were hoping to start much better than we did. But how we came back, how we believe in ourselves and how we believe in the philosophy of Mikel, is amazing. Mikel is a freak but a freak in a positive way. He sees football with different eyes and in different ways.”
said Xhaka.
